RELATED LINKS:
-- Cousins One Of The Best Dressed Of Week 14
-- Week 14: Redskins-Bears Video Highlights
Stay in the league long enough and you'll probably run into the strange dilemma of playing against a long-time friend, mentor or brother.
The latter is true of Redskins defensive back DeAngelo Hall (though not in the biological sense), who will reconnect with quarterback Tyrod Taylor when the Bills come to FedExField this Sunday.
The two call Virginia Tech their alma mater and grew up close by in the Tidewater region of Virginia, a hotbed for professional talent that includes the likes Allen Iverson, Ryan Zimmerman and Mike Vick, to name just a few.
"I've known him since he was, gosh, 13, 14 years old," Hall said of Taylor. "It was funny, we were talking yesterday. He's texting me and he was like, 'Man it's crazy I'm about to play against you,' I was like, 'Yeah kind of crazy.'"
"He was like, 'Man I can remember watching you in high school playing my high school as a middle school kid going to the game, watching you play,' and I'm like, 'Yeah man, I can remember rooting for you at Virginia Tech and now I get the chance to go against you.'"
Hall played At Deep Creek High School in Chesapeake, Va., while Taylor, several years later, went to Hampton High School. Taylor played four years at Virginia Tech, where he threw for more than 7,000 yards in his career. In his senior season, he threw 24 touchdowns to five interceptions along with five touchdowns rushing.
He stayed in the area after getting drafted by the Ravens in 2011, and now, four years later, has revitalized his career with the Bills, winning the starting job out of training camp.
On Sunday, Hall, playing in his 13th season in the league, will stare down the kid that watched him from the high school stands years ago and do his best to make him miserable – at least for the 60 minutes Taylor's on the field.
"It's crazy but that's the game, that's the game," Hall said. "I'm probably one of his biggest fans but I'm going to be out there trying to pick him off and knock his head off, too. It's going to be fun, because I've never played against him obviously, I've seen him play in college, haven't really got to see him play in the league. So a couple games on film. So I'm excited to watch him play and to go against him."
.
.
.
