In Sean's shadow: Gabe Taylor stirs memories of older brother in D.C. - ESPN

Gabe Taylor has tried not to think about what Saturday's home opener for the DC Defenders against the Houston Gamblers at Audi Field (noon, ESPN) will mean to him.

He talked about focusing on each day, each practice.

«But I can't wait to be in that atmosphere,» the Defenders defensive back said before the season started.

• Full standings | Team schedules
• New coaches, familiar faces | New unis

He will be emotional, for sure. He is always that way when it comes to playing games.

But this one will be different.

His brother, Sean, spent four seasons with the then-Washington Redskins. His last game at FedEx Field, now Northwest Stadium, was Nov. 11, 2007. Gabe's Washington, D.C., debut comes at Audi Field, about a 20-minute drive from where his brother played in Landover, Maryland.

Sean's No. 21 is retired by Washington. Gabe is wearing No. 21 for the Defenders.

«I love that part of it,» said Santana Moss, who played at the University of Miami, like Sean, and was his teammate in Washington. «I think that's one of the things that people take for granted. How much Sean meant to him, how much Sean still means to him. And it's just going to be a way he could continue that progression of kind of wanting to follow in those footsteps.»

Gabe was 6 when his brother was killed. Sean was shot in the upper thigh after confronting a group of intruders at his home on Nov. 26, 2007, in Miami. His femoral artery was severed, causing massive blood loss.

The intruders were unaware Sean would be home because the Redskins had a game in Tampa Bay. He was not playing because of a knee injury, so he was home with his girlfriend and daughter.

A two-time Pro Bowler, viewed as one of the best young players in the game and expected to be one of the