With the Redskins going to posthumously induct Sean Taylor into their "Ring of Fame" this month, it will cause the sports world to reflect back a year to the tragic death of a very talented young football star with a very bright and prosperous football career ahead of him. His untimely death was horrible. There's no debating that. And the Redskins should honor him and continue to honor him just one year later.
Inducting him into the Redskins Ring of Fame bastardized the honor of being in that select group of Redskins. For a football team with so much history, putting Taylor in not a way to honor the free safety, but instead it trivializes the accomplishments of its members.
This is a guy who played for four years in Washington, and while he did go to two Pro Bowls, if his career had ended due to injury or had he died in a way where he wasn't such a sympathetic victim, this ceremony wouldn't be happening. Don't compare him to Pat Tillman either. Please. Just don't.
Sean Taylor died too young. There's no debating that. But to put him in the Redskins Ring of Fame is insulting to the men in that group. Dan Snyder should be ashamed of this decision. I always assumed the Redskins were a better organization than that. I thought they would hold players to higher standards for their Ring of Fame. Guess I was wrong.
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Also for anyone who loves seeing the "Silver & Crap" fledgling around, here's SWO's take on why they're in so much trouble...
Deangelo Hall was supposed to be a key addition to an already stoud Raider defense. Today the Raiders cut the controversial cornerback, basically paying Hall 8 million dollars for eight games. The Raiders also gave up a second round pick to Atlanta to bring him to Oakland.
It's not often you see a team cut loose a player they just signed to a 7-year, $72 million contract, but then again anything is possible when Al Davis is the owner/dictator of your franchise. This may only be the beginning too: WR Javon Walker, a guy the Raiders gave an $11 million signing bonus to is rumored to be on the outs as well.
All of these recent moves leave one pressing question that needs to be asked...who is really at fault here?
Lane Kiffin took the fall and the brunt of Davis' rage, but the fact is the Raiders' problems start at the top and work their way down.
I'll be one of the first people to admit that Kiffin wasn't ready for an NFL coaching job. Hell, he could barely manage running an offense at USC. But let's take a minute to look at the coaching history of the Raiders from 1988 to today:
1988-1989
Mike Shanahan
(8-12)
1989-1994
Art Shell
(51-46)
1995-1996
Mike White
(15-17)
1989-1994
Joe Bugel
(4-12)
1997-2001
Jon Gruden
(40-28)
2001-2003
Bill Callahan
(51-46)
2003-2005
Norv Turner
(9-23)
2006
Art Shell
(2-14)
2007-2008
Lane Kiffin
(5-15)
2008-?
Tom Cable
(1-3)
**It's worth pointing out that Shanahan went on to win two Super Bowls with Denver and is still the coach there. Gruden left Oakland because of a riff between him and Davis, then went on to beat the Raiders in the Super Bowl the next year with his new team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.**
What's shocking about this list is not only how many coaches the Raiders have been through, but how incompetent some of them were. As for the coaches who were actually good...they ended up either feuding with Davis and/or leaving for better opportunities elsewhere.
At which point do we stop blaming these lame duck coaches, and start pointing the finger at the Owner/GM running the show? The Raiders certainly had their glory days under Davis, and I'm not trying to take that away from him, but in this day and age Davis has the distinction of running one of the worst franchises in professional sports.
Let's look at what Lane Kiffin had to work with for a minute...he had an inexperienced rookie QB that he didn't even want to draft and most of the Raiders offseason moves have backfired. Davis made safety Gibril Wilson the third highest paid safety in the NFL, and while he leads the team in tackles he only has 1 interception this season. Tommy Kelly signed a seven-year, $52.5 million deal and has just 1 sack so far this season. Offensive tackle Kwame Harris signed a three-year, $14 million deal and has been a bust. Deangelo Hall got cut even though he was productive, and Javon Walker is about to be cut.
And that's just 1 offseason. Don't forget, Al Davis was also the guy who traded Randy Moss to the Patriots for a 4th round pick.
This is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of horrible moves Davis has made over the years. How long is he going to keep blaming his coaches until he realizes that the real problem might just be himself?
3 comments:
I do not get where your problem with the Redskins adding Sean Taylor to their Ring of Fame
1) It is their team and they chose to honor someone who died tragically in their own way.
2) I have not heard and you have not cited any current Ring of Fame members that are secrety or openly disputing this move. Those members may have been consulted or not to ensure they were ok with it. We dont know but they probably spoke to someone and Im sure they are fine with it.
3) As a Philadelphia fan there are two examples very similar to these situations. Pelle Lindbergh was a phenominal goalie that died in drunk driving incident afte 3 seasons and leading the team to the stanley cup finals. His number hasn't been official retired, but 31 hasn't been worn since and the interal "most improved" played award is named after him. Also, Jerome Brown was killed after a high speed car accident after 5 years and 2 pro-bowls (similar to Taylor) and had his jersey number retired and is part of the honor roll. NOT ONE person has chaffed at the fact that these two, who were taken way before their time in fashions even LESS sympathetic to that of Sean Taylor, were honored as they were posthumously. I do not get where you, a dallas fan, can chirp about how a team can honor ONE OF THEIR OWN, when it has nothing to do with you.
Man you made me defend the Redskins, thats how ridiculous the argument is.
@brett
it's a tragedy and he deserves to be honored in some way as he was last year. but at the same time, i think it cheapens the Redskins Ring of Fame.
This isn't like Derrick Thomas, the great Chiefs linebacker who had what can be argued a Hall of Fame career before his death. Sean Taylor was a good, solid player. His death was a terrible thing.
And no members of the Skins Ring of Fame would come out and say "this is bad" but at the same time, guys like John Riggins, Mark Rypien, Joe Theisman, Darrell Green had to spend their careers earning their spots in Redskins lore. Taylor is being honor because of a premature death, not because of a stellar career. It's not a horrible thing. But it's something not to be overlooked either.
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