--With 12 of 16 NFC teams at .500 or better, the Redskins could be on the precipice of being out of a playoff spot when they return from their bye. Washington and Tampa Bay, which is also off this week, would be the wild cards if the season ended today. But if Philadelphia upsets the New York Giants and Atlanta beats New Orleans on Sunday, there would be a four-way deadlock for the two wild cards at 6-3. If Carolina loses to Oakland, the Bucs would move ahead of the Panthers -- who would be 6-3 -- in the NFC South.
"Playoff scenarios, it's way too early to start talking about that as far as I'm concerned," said Redskins guard Pete Kendall, the senior starter in his 13th NFL season. "It's not time to jump on the panic trampoline."
--Safety Sean Taylor, who was on his way to a second straight Pro Bowl when he was shot to death last year, will be inducted into the Ring of Fame at FedEx Field before the Redskins-Giants game on Nov. 30.
The ceremony will take place just three days after the first anniversary of his murder at the age of 24 during a botched break-in of his South Florida home. Taylor was shot when he confronted the would-be burglars who didn't think he would be there. Taylor wasn't with the Redskins because he was rehabbing a knee injury and wasn't traveling to road games. Washington had played at Tampa Bay that Sunday.
"It's appropriate that Sean joins our Ring of Fame after a stellar career cut short far too soon," Redskins owner Dan Snyder said in a statement released by the team, which has sealed Taylor's lockers at their practice facility and the stadium under plexiglass. "His life touched so many of us in such deep and lasting ways. His presence is all around us, in our organization and among our fans."
Taylor, the fifth pick in the 2004 draft, had overcome two-plus years of tumult that included pleading no contest to assault and simple battery charges in June 2006, to be chosen for the Pro Bowl that December. He was playing even better in 2007, with 46 tackles and five interceptions in nine games, when he injured a knee against Philadelphia on Nov. 11. He was voted to a second Pro Bowl posthumously.
"Sean was developing into one of the best to ever play the safety position," Redskins executive vice president Vinny Cerrato said in a statement.
BY THE NUMBERS: 108 -- Days from the start of training camp through Tuesday's meetings that the Redskins, now on a five-day bye, worked without an extended break.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "I imagine most guys feel humbled by what happened. I can't imagine any other response than that. But we've got a week to rest up and get healed up. A short memory goes a long way in this league." -- 13th-year guard Pete Kendall, Washington's senior starter on Monday night's 23-6 home loss to Pittsburgh.
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