Re: Sean Taylor - What if...
 

Look, I'm willing to take this at face value, for the time being. We're all wondering how a kid could "burn out" (Portis's term) like this. It's not so hard to understand. He's a Florida guy all his life, plays in Miami in college where there's a strong support system of friends, family and teammates, and then he's thrown into the draft thing, has trouble getting an agent (probably receiving all kinds of contradictory advice from people who don't know sh**; signs a weak deal becuase he doesn't want to miss camp; hears from everyone how he blew it, switches agents, etc.

Then he skips the NFL thing and gets reamed; Gets a whack DWI thing where he's not even drunk, just speeding; he's just moved to a new town--it's cold, no friends, no family, a young guy on his own for the first time, and then it's a tough 6-10 season with the skins where he gets toasted by Vinny against the cowboys.

WInters are cold and nasty in DC if you're from Fla. So he goes home to lick his wounds. Man, it feels good to get away from all that. He needs to recharge the batteries and get his sh** together. He gets a new agent who most likely does say, hey you've got no real leverage, so the only thing you can do is make them miss you a bit by skipping the offseason stuff. And you can get it together for the moment down in FLA. So that's what he does.

(I think this is exactly the wrong thing to do, BTW--he should have toughed it out, bonded with his teammates, and gotten used to DC--made some friends, hang out with Lavar and his 57 plasma screens, etc.)

I don't think it's unbelievable to think that this is what happened, and he'll be back with something to prove in June. If that's that case, of course he should start. He's got to mend some fences, but Coach Williams has played it VERY cool, and that's the guy who matters, really. Unless he skips non-voluntary stuff, he'll be our starting pro-bowl bound kick ass free safety.

Re: Sean Taylor - What if...
 

[QUOTE=Schneed10]All reports suggest he is working his ass off on his own. As long as he comes to mini-camp and training camp in shape, and he works hard there to improve himself, then benching him would be a MAJOR overreaction. It would just be plain stupid.
[/QUOTE]

I would actually love to see these reports. The only thing I've heard is that he's gone to Miami ONE DAY for a half court basketball game. I haven't heard from one credible source that's actually witnessed him "working his ass off".

And please don't cite Portis......of course he's going to say that about his boy.

Re: Sean Taylor - What if...
 

Good post JWsleep, sometimes we forget that these guys are only 21/22 and it isn't always easy to adjust.

Re: Sean Taylor - What if...
 

[QUOTE=JWsleep]Look, I'm willing to take this at face value, for the time being. We're all wondering how a kid could "burn out" (Portis's term) like this. It's not so hard to understand. He's a Florida guy all his life, plays in Miami in college where there's a strong support system of friends, family and teammates, and then he's thrown into the draft thing, has trouble getting an agent (probably receiving all kinds of contradictory advice from people who don't know sh**; signs a weak deal becuase he doesn't want to miss camp; hears from everyone how he blew it, switches agents, etc.
[/QUOTE]

Probably could have spent some of that $7.2 million signing bonus on some plane tickets for those friend and familiy then, huh? Sorry, but being paid like an NFL player would cure my homesickness...........Oh, and having 3-4 months off to hang at Miami would probably be enough too (which he's already had). I have a tough time feeling sorry for guys who get paid millions of dollars to work out, learn football, and play a game.........but then again, that's just me.

Re: Sean Taylor - What if...
 

[QUOTE=Daseal]Good post JWsleep, sometimes we forget that these guys are only 21/22 and it isn't always easy to adjust.[/QUOTE]

Yah, when I was away from home at college without the money to fly my friends and family out to see me when I was 18-22, I nearly didn't make dean's list one semester. Come on........time to cut the cord and grow up.

Re: Sean Taylor - What if...
 

PSUskinsFan21--you heartless monster! j/k ;)

No, I hear you. I'm not saying this excuses his behavior (especially the phone calls--c'mon). It's just that I can get the picture this way. And like I said, I think the solution would have been to tough it out (aka, be a man) and settle in with your new teammates in your new home. Cooley did it, and the culture shock was probably way greater for a small town westerner like him. But he did it, and it looks to me like he digs it, going to events, wearing a cat-in-the-hat hat, reading to kids, etc. Taylor could learn from that, if he'd only get up here.

But my point was only that it's not "incomprehensible"--and that if he shows for the manditory stuff, he should still start, IMHO.

Re: Sean Taylor - What if...
 

PSU I'm kicking it with you man. We can make all the inexcusable excuses we want to make for a man who has made nothing but negative headlines since he came on the scene. How good a player he is, is a moot point when you can't be counted on to be part of a team, and that's what this is about "TEAM".

Re: Sean Taylor - What if...
 

LOL........you might not be to far off with the heartless monster comment JWsleep. There are probably some posters who would agree with you. LOL

I see where you are coming from now though. And I think I'm ok with him starting if he comes to the mandatories and shows a good attitude when he gets here. I just get frustrated when it seems like we are the only team with a guy like this. I know there are other holdouts, but if we are all assuming for now that it's not about his contract, then who else in the entire NFL is not showing up to OTAs because they need more time at home? I just wasn't prepared to get this immature of a player when we drafted him last year (not that I'd be any happier with Winslow either).

Re: Sean Taylor - What if...
 

[QUOTE=Longtimefan]PSU I'm kicking it with you man. We can make all the inexcusable excuses we want to make for a man who has made nothing but negative headlines since he came on the scene. How good a player he is, is a moot point when you can't be counted on to be part of a team, and that's what this is about "TEAM".[/QUOTE]

:food-smil

Re: Sean Taylor - What if...
 

Expecting a 22yo boy to act like a 40yo man is crazy....That being said...He should act like a decently intelligent college boy.....partying all night and having all the fun he can....Oh! Thats right! He is not at the U anymore, he is a Redskin!....Maybe he forgot too....

Re: Sean Taylor - What if...
 

PSUfan - Perhaps his family has jobs and they can't spend every waking moment in DC. He's playing pro ball, not supporting his support structure.

Re: Sean Taylor - What if...
 

If he shows up for camp without any contract "issues", I would think that Coach Gibbs would have every right to ask him for a direct answer to a simple question:

So how come you wouldn't return any of my calls?

There is a certain level of "courtesy" and "mutual respect" that gets lost when one person will not take or return calls from someone else and frankly Sean Taylor has not yet achieved the status where he can routinely "dis" an extablished NFL coach.

[B]Will he start?[/B] Probably.

[B]Will he play? [/B] Absolutely. Maybe he does not start the first quarter of the first game of the year, but he definitely plays after that.

[B]Would I hold him out for a while in that first game - as they did last season?[/B] It would depend on if I really thought it would teach him something about how NFL life happens in the off-season. If I thought it would shock him into some sense of reality, I'd sit him for a quarter. If I thought it would be a good message to the rest of the team about how to behave when your coaching staff is trying to get in touch with you, I might sit him out for a quarter. Since I doubt he's gonna "learn much" and go through any great changes in his outlook, it won't do much good to sit him down. so what might be the effect on the rest of the team? That's the key question here...

And yes, I still believe that Sean Taylor is a MEATHEAD who has exceptional physical skills to play football...

Re: Sean Taylor - What if...
 

[QUOTE=PSUSkinsFan21]I would actually love to see these reports. The only thing I've heard is that he's gone to Miami ONE DAY for a half court basketball game. I haven't heard from one credible source that's actually witnessed him "working his ass off".

And please don't cite Portis......of course he's going to say that about his boy.[/QUOTE]

OK, want a source? Here's you're daily dose of John Clayton...

From 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET on weekdays, Hurricanes strength coach Andreu Swasey trains 17 to 20 players who could fill out a Pro Bowl roster.

Regulars include James, Shockey, [url="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=5477"][color=#000000]Reggie Wayne[/color][/url] of the Colts, [url="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=5910"][color=#000000]Ed Reed[/color][/url] of the Ravens, [url="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=4275"][color=#000000]Duane Starks[/color][/url] of the Patriots, [url="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=6771"][color=#000000]Jonathan Vilma[/color][/url] of the Jets, [url="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=5906"][color=#000000]Javon Walker[/color][/url] and [url="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=5043"][color=#000000]Bubba Franks[/color][/url] of the Packers, [url="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=5037"][color=#000000]Plaxico Burress[/color][/url] and [url="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=6361"][color=#000000]William Joseph[/color][/url] of the Giants, [url="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=6351"][color=#000000]Jerome McDougle[/color][/url] of the Eagles, [url="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=6359"][color=#000000]Willis McGahee[/color][/url] and [url="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=7231"][color=#000000]Roscoe Parrish[/color][/url] of the Bills, [url="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=5937"][color=#000000]Clinton Portis[/color][/url], [url="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=5463"][color=#000000]Santana Moss[/color][/url] and [url="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=6764"][color=#000000]Sean Taylor[/color][/url] of the Redskins, and [url="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=7184"][color=#000000]Antrel Rolle[/color][/url] of the Cardinals.

[url="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=clayton_john&id=2057818"]http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=clayton_john&id=2057818[/url]

Re: Sean Taylor - What if...
 

[QUOTE=PSUSkinsFan21]Yah, when I was away from home at college without the money to fly my friends and family out to see me when I was 18-22, I nearly didn't make dean's list one semester. Come on........time to cut the cord and grow up.[/QUOTE]

PSU Fan, I hear you ranting and raving about Sean Taylor and how he needs to get his act together and how you don't feel sorry for him and how you have no sympathy for someone making that much money...

But answer the mother-fu*king question, would you bench him for missing [b]voluntary[/b] workouts?

I'm on board with your rants about him, he's frustrating, but it's going way too far to bench him at this point. He'll have to take it to the next level and miss mandatory stuff before I'd consider sitting him down.

Re: Sean Taylor - What if...
 

[QUOTE=Schneed10]OK, want a source? Here's you're daily dose of John Clayton...

From 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET on weekdays, Hurricanes strength coach Andreu Swasey trains 17 to 20 players who could fill out a Pro Bowl roster.

Regulars include James, Shockey, [url="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=5477"][color=#000000]Reggie Wayne[/color][/url] of the Colts, [url="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=5910"][color=#000000]Ed Reed[/color][/url] of the Ravens, [url="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=4275"][color=#000000]Duane Starks[/color][/url] of the Patriots, [url="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=6771"][color=#000000]Jonathan Vilma[/color][/url] of the Jets, [url="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=5906"][color=#000000]Javon Walker[/color][/url] and [url="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=5043"][color=#000000]Bubba Franks[/color][/url] of the Packers, [url="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=5037"][color=#000000]Plaxico Burress[/color][/url] and [url="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=6361"][color=#000000]William Joseph[/color][/url] of the Giants, [url="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=6351"][color=#000000]Jerome McDougle[/color][/url] of the Eagles, [url="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=6359"][color=#000000]Willis McGahee[/color][/url] and [url="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=7231"][color=#000000]Roscoe Parrish[/color][/url] of the Bills, [url="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=5937"][color=#000000]Clinton Portis[/color][/url], [url="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=5463"][color=#000000]Santana Moss[/color][/url] and [url="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=6764"][color=#000000]Sean Taylor[/color][/url] of the Redskins, and [url="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=7184"][color=#000000]Antrel Rolle[/color][/url] of the Cardinals.

[url="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=clayton_john&id=2057818"]http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=clayton_john&id=2057818[/url][/QUOTE]

Ahh yes, I've seen that article. It speaks in general terms of all the guys that have stopped by the facility, but this article specifically addresses what Swasey has said about Taylor:

[url="http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7755392/"]http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7755392/[/url]

Please note: "Redskins running back Clinton Portis has shown up now and then, and defensive back Sean Taylor, who has skipped the team's recent workouts, made one appearance -- and only to play a game of half-court basketball, Miami strength coach Andreu Swasey said. Both are former Hurricanes."