NEW YORK — The NFL's decision to cancel Sunday's games was a simple one.

        Players were distracted. They didn't want to fly. Some said they wouldn't have played even if the rest of the league did.

        “It really came down to the loss of life and the ability of players to absorb what we've all been through,” commissioner Paul Tagliabue said Thursday after calling off Week 2. “We felt it was right to take a week to reflect and to help or friends, families and people in the community who need our support.”

        Tagliabue's decision to cancel because of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington had the full support of owners, coaches, players and, he said, even fans. Calling off the games changes the NFL season dramatically as did the strikes in 1982 and 1987, the only other time the league wiped out games.

        Even if the league had played, three teams would not have: the New York Giants and Jets and the Washington Redskins, what the league called “the teams at ground zero.” Because even Thursday, standing on the New York Giants' practice field, it was hard to look toward the east.

        Morten Andersen tried not to do it while kicking field goals. Offensive tackle Lomas Brown seemed to shake his head every time he did.

        Even Wellington Mara, the 85-year-old co-owner of the Giants, had trouble scanning the New York City skyline.

        On a clear and perfect day, the cloud of smoke that obscured part of the skyline was a constant reminder of Tuesday's terrorist attack that destroyed the twin towers of the World Trade Center and left thousands missing and presumed dead.

        That's why the Giants and Mara applauded Tagliabue's decision to call off all 15 NFL games this weekend.

        “I don't know if I would have played,” defensive end Michael Strahan said. “At this point money is not im portant, keep the money. This is life. This is respect for everybody over there.”

        Cornerback Jason Sehorn said the players union was unanimous in its desire to not to play this weekend.

        “It would have been crazy to play a game on Sunday, knowing they are taking bodies out of that place five miles away,” Sehorn said.

        Brown said it was horrible trying to get ready for a possible game with the Green Bay Packers at Giants Stadium on Sunday. It would have been even worse playing.

        “How can you sit in the stadium and enjoy a football game, and wherever you are sitting, you look and see smoke,” Brown said.

        Andersen agreed.

        “It was eerie,” the 41-year-old place-kicker said. “I was trying not to look. We were kicking field goals that way and it felt awkward. It just didn't feel right. It's time for us to pull back and go hug our kids and family and realize that our innocence as a nation has been shattered.”

        NFL spokesman Joe Browne said the Giants would not have been asked to play at home Sunday in the shadow of the attack.

        Tagliabue decided Tuesday to offer the Giants the option of moving the game to Green Bay, delaying it a couple of days or taking a bye, Browne said.

        Mara said he was prepared to take the bye had the commissioner not called off this weekend's games.

        Indianapolis Colts tight end Ken Dilger began the players' union conference call feeling “indifferent” about this weekend's football games. Listening to New York players' representatives, Strahan and Kevin Mawae of the Jets, Dilger's opinion changed. “We heard from the different reps and then from the Giants and Jets reps,” said Dilger, the Colts' player representative. “That put everything in reality right there.”

        Dilger made up his mind immediately — not to play.

        Still, he voted to play this weekend because that's what he thought his teammates wanted. Dilger said no team vote was taken, but many Colts said they agreed with Tagliabue's decision.

        From coach Jim Mora to quarterback Peyton Manning to two former New York Giants — defensive lineman Christian Peter and Chad Bratzke — there was no sign of dissent.

        “The focus just hasn't been there this week like it normally is because of what happened, and understandably so,” said Bratzke, who spent five seasons with the Giants before joining Indianapolis in 1999. “If we did play, it wouldn't be your normal, enjoyable weekend.”

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