ESPN NFC East Blog

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	It has been nearly a year since Sean Taylor's tragic death.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

It's impossible to measure the impact that Sean Taylor's tragic death had on his Redskins teammates. Not a day goes by without their looking over to see his jersey and a picture of his girlfriend and daughter inside his old locker. The locker is right next to where his former University of Miami teammates, Clinton Portis and Santana Moss, dress every day.

It's hard to believe that it has been almost a year since Taylor was shot and killed while defending his girlfriend and daughter during an attempted robbery. The Redskins will induct Taylor into the Redskins' Ring of Fame on Nov. 30 before the Giants game. But his teammates actually honor him on a daily basis.

On the phone Tuesday, defensive captain London Fletcher talked about the first time he met Taylor. Fletcher had just signed with the Redskins as a free agent following the 2006 season, and he'd heard that Taylor was the brooding sort who rarely opened up to anyone.

"I'd heard he was standoffish and not easy to get to know," Fletcher said. "But my first day at Redskins Park, he's the first guy to walk across the room and introduce himself. He couldn't have been more respectful. I was like, 'Where's this guy I kept hearing about?'"

Players such as Moss and Portis were closer to Taylor because of their connection to the "U," but Fletcher said it didn't take him long to realize how much passion Taylor had for football. His favorite memory of Taylor occurred during the final moments of a game against the New York Jets last season. The Redskins were driving for the winning score in overtime, and Fletcher said he was enjoying the moment when he felt a tap on his shoulder. It was Taylor.

"'Man, don't you wish we could go back out there,'" Fletcher recalls Taylor saying. "He was so competitive that he was a little bummed we had to stop playing. That's the type of guy he was."

Moss and Portis have both changed since Taylor's death. Moss told me two weeks ago that he went into a tailspin for a couple weeks after Taylor's death. But a speech from former Redskins great Gary Clark sort of jolted him out of a state of depression and he finished the 2007 season strong. Portis, who wears a shirt with Taylor's picture on it underneath his jersey, is a lot more serious. The wacky characters he used to create during interview sessions have been retired.

Fletcher gives former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams a lot of credit for holding the defense together in the days and weeks following Taylor's death. He began team meetings by talking about Taylor, and then he would start preparing his players for the next game. Fletcher said that the first time safeties coach Steve Jackson stood up to deliver a report on an opposing team, he "choked up and started crying."

Players and coaches took advantage of the grief counselors that owner Dan Snyder had invited to Redskins Park. Fletcher said players weren't concerned about "being macho" at that point. Head coach Joe Gibbs encouraged them to talk about their feelings for Taylor, and then somehow they rallied together to win four games and make the playoffs.

"Those may have been the most gratifying four wins of my career," Gibbs told me recently.

Earlier this season, the defense gathered to prepare for the Eagles. As they watched a Redskins-Eagles game from the 2007 season, everyone noticed No. 21 making plays all over the field. Fletcher said no one said a word.

"Those are difficult moments," Fletcher said. "You get upset and you think about how it's unfair that it happened. He was such a great talent. Such a great talent. But he'll always be a part of this team. That experience from last year will be in our makeup for the rest of our careers."