Washington Redskins: Sean Taylor, RGIII and Distinctive Character

The other day, Washington Redskins’ tight end Chris Cooley said that his new quarterback, Robert Griffin, III, did not carry himself like a youngster. Cooley compared the Heisman Trophy winner to the late (great) Redskins safety Sean Taylor saying that, like Taylor, he had not seen anything from Griffin that would indicate that he’s a rookie.

When Taylor was drafted, a veteran player said something very complimentary about him as well.

“I don’t really take to too many people but I like him,” former Redskins linebacker LaVar Arrington had said the day Taylor arrived at Redskins Park after being drafted fifth overall in the 2004 NFL Draft. “I like his spirit… the way he carries himself.”

The year that Taylor came to Washington, he was about as highly anticipated here as Griffin was this year and, as a rookie, he was just as composed… just as mature… in the way he carried himself.

When he was introduced by Gibbs to the media at Redskins Park just after the draft, he was humble and poised, much like Griffin has always been.  The safety spoke of going from the traditions at the University of Miami to those of the Redskins and then candidly stated his mission.

“I am a young guy trying to come in here and earn some stripes and try to win some games.” Taylor had said.

Sound familiar?

Like Griffin, Taylor had a strong debut in his first preseason game as a rookie. The Redskins played in the Hall of Fame game that year (beating the Denver Broncos 20-17) and Taylor had an interception for a score in what turned out to be a sloppy win. But the point is that Taylor immediately showed why he had rated being a first round pick.

Every year at least one athlete causes stir in Washington, but with Taylor and Griffin, both were/are amazing athletes with a natural talent that was obvious. The excitement was and is justified. They were/are both unique “characters” as well.

Griffin has his socks, sleeve and glove. Taylor had his sweat suit.

Recently, Phillip Daniels (Director of Player Development for the Redskins) reminded a member of SportsJourney that, no matter what the temperature was outside, Sean Taylor used to wear a full sweat suit under his practice uniform. Daniels said that it could be 100 degrees outside and Taylor would run around in those sweats as if he had on shorts and a t-shirt.

Former Redskins running back Clinton Portis – one of Taylor’s best friends – reiterated this recently when he told a story of Taylor’s quest to fight any and all adversity by being proactive. Not only did he wear those sweats at practice, he would make it a point to wear them any time he was working out in any way in the heat.

“If it was hot outside then he would go outside and run in a full sweat suit,” Portis said. “And if it was cold outside then he would come out in shorts and a t-shirt and fight through the chills.”

Training like that, it’s no wonder Taylor was a good athlete.

Khary Campbell, former Redskins linebacker from 2004 through 2008, told Sports Journey’s Lake Lewis at a recent event, that there was a time when Taylor – although he had access to two vehicles – chose instead to run the four miles to Redskins Park every day. He would obviously still do his workouts and practice – two-a-days at the time with Joe Gibbs – after those runs. And he, of course, was wearing the sweat suits. As a matter of fact, once Taylor became a vegetarian, we were told, he ran all the time.

The man was an athletic freak of nature. But he was also a good man who loved his family and friends, much as Griffin has indicated he cares about his.

Current linebacker Chris Wilson was also a Redskin while Taylor was with the team. He told us stories of how competitive Taylor was at everything he did (it reminds me of Lorenzo Alexander and Kedric Golston!) from playing chess with Wilson in the player lounge to gunning drills during practice. Wilson also said that Taylor wasn’t the type of man to want a lot of media attention. With him, it was all about family, teammates and friends. This was known all too well after his tragic death.

“I want to be a great player,” Taylor had said in a rare interview after he had a couple of preseason games under his belt that rookie year. “And being great takes some effort. If you want to be perfect with something, you have to work every day. I’m never really satisfied until it’s a full product.”

Griffin has a similar attitude towards himself and his team.

“We all know that if I am getting a lot of attention that means we are doing extremely good on the field,” Griffin said at his last press conference. “When people say to me, ‘Do I care about the fans?’ or ‘Is it going to bother me if it continues to increase?’ We want to play well. I want to play well so it’s going to increase and we are looking forward to that.”

Hail.