Redskins' Taylor Put On the Hits Sunday

Nov/30/06 08:07 AM Filed in: Sean Taylor
When the Washington Redskins drafted Sean Taylor fifth overall in 2004, they envisioned afternoons like Sunday. Taylor would help stifle the run, hit like a linebacker, bruise receivers and track down long passes for interceptions. On Sunday, Taylor did all of that in a 17-13 victory over Carolina, but it was the highlight of an otherwise pedestrian season.

Taylor struggled along with the entire defense, languishing in coverage, racking up personal fouls and seemingly being out of sorts at times as the Redskins won only three of their first 10 games. On Sunday, he seemed at ease, dancing along with the rest of the players during timeouts and working with new starting safety Vernon Fox, who was filling in for injured Troy Vincent. With about two minutes to play, Taylor made a swooping, one-on-one tackle on wide receiver Drew Carter, driving him to the ground two yards shy of the marker on fourth down. When the Panthers drove again a minute later, Taylor read quarterback Jake Delhomme's long pass and intercepted it in the end zone to cement the victory.

"That game was testament to him as a player, his all-around tackling and going after the ball," Fox said. "You got to see every facet of his game Sunday, and we're just hoping that as the weeks continue to progress you'll see more of that. He's a great player, and when he's clicking on all cylinders you get to see those types of performances."
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