Ten defenders ran onto the field, reserving a spot for one they knew wouldn’t come. Sean Taylor won’t join them in the huddle again. But his teammates wanted everyone to know he was still a part of their defense.
And always will be.
“It was important for the team to know that Sean was with us that one last time on the field,” Redskins safety Reed Doughty said.
As the 10 other defenders lined up Doughty remained on the sidelines for Buffalo’s first play from scrimmage. The players and defensive staff talked about this during the week and finalized their decision Saturday night.
“We knew that we could minimize any kind of explosive play,” Redskins assistant head coach/defense Gregg Williams said. “We were going to let him ride with us one more time. It was a unanimous choice on thedefensive staff and the players. It was nice to see. We got to our business after that.”
Though a rumor seeped out about their intentions, it never crossed over to fact until the game started as the players remained silent. Apparently, Redskins coach Joe Gibbs did not know it was going to happen either.
When asked about it in the postgame news conference, he said, “Gregg said something about telling me about that. It’s probably better for me and him to talk about it before I really comment on it.”
But Gibbs said he had no problem with the move. He and Williams spoke after his news conference Sunday.
After the first play, a 22-yard run by Fred Jackson around left end, Doughty trotted onto the field.
“It was really hard to come out there knowing I was coming in for Sean one last time,” Doughty said.
The players said the move didn’t leave them short-handed.
“We didn’t come out with 10 men, we came out with 11,” linebacker London Fletcher said. “We wanted to play defense with Sean Taylor on the field one more time.”
