Recently, there has been less than flattering conversations about veteran Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor. I have observed Taylor very carefully over the past few years. He has matured into one of the top rated corners in the National Football League. Taylor seems more related to “General Ike” (former president of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower) than to some of his teammates and colleagues around the NFL.

IKE TAYLOR

Taylor’s development from an all-around athlete into the cornerback that he is today is the direct result of hard work and dedication (he only began to play the position as a senior in college). He is the one steady element in a defensive backfield within a Steelers defense that has lately well, been rather unsteady. Ike walks softly, but carries a “huge” stick. He is relied on to support the “run” as well as being responsible to blanket the opposing team’s best receiver. He performs his duties with a quiet excellence that is very rare in these days of end zone dances that rival “Dancing with the Stars” and the “bling-bling” culture.

Taylor is truly the cornerstone of the current Steelers defense. During the early ’70s when Pittsburgh began to shed its losers “skin,” a rich tradition of defensive players began to emerge. Aside from the legendary Steel Curtain defensive line and the team’s Hall-of-Fame linebackers, a succession of All-Pro caliber defensive backs began to make their mark. First, there was NFL Hall-of-Famer Mel Blount followed by cornerback turned judge, Dwayne Woodruff. After Woodruff came Purdue track star, NFL team of the century member and future Hall-of-Famer, Rod Woodson. Now there is Ike Taylor. Taylor is keeping the Steelers image of hard-hitting Steeler cornerbacks alive.

Last season the Steelers had a weak pass rushing attack on the defensive side of the ball and a suspect offensive line that in 2008 may result in worse pass protection for quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. The current formula that the alchemists in the Steelers laboratory are toying with may possibly lead to disaster. In 2008, the skill and dependability of Ike Taylor is going to be needed on a team that so far did not do much to upgrade itself during this off-season.

The road to the NFL was not easy for Taylor, who was displaced and went to live with his uncle Herman Francois when he was in seventh grade. His uncle served as a surrogate father and became a steadying influence in the life of the future NFL star. One of the things that keeps Taylor focused and committed professionally is his connection with family. He says that he talks with his uncle, “at least three times a week.” The training techniques developed by Francois to prepare Ike for competition is the stuff legends are made of.

His uncle worked him out year around. But life was more than just football because Francois and Ike would get up at midnight to go to work for the family business. After they finished working at the crack of dawn, Francois would go and work out with Ike finding and using any material that was handy. Taylor goes on to say that; “I realized if I could do his workout, I could do anything.” Ike said that his uncle even had him chasing rabbits in an open field. When asked if he ever caught the rabbit, he smiled and said, “no.”

I asked him if he thought that his soft-spoken public approach to the media might not be as marketable as some of his more vocal colleagues around the league and if that might be one of the reasons that he has not been voted as a member of the Pro Bowl, Ike smiled and said; “I might not say a lot publicly but I am not quiet on the field, I talk trash, that’s part of the game, plus making the Pro Bowl is all about interceptions.” Ike also displays no animosity towards the media as far as their unbalanced assessment of him and the positive impact he has had on the success of the team because he feels that “I can’t control what the media does, they do what they do and I do what I do.”  

In an attempt to validate their criticism of Taylor, a few prognosticators have had the audacity to compare him with some of the so-called “great” cover corners such as former Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens star, Deion ‘Primetime’ Sanders. Sanders is a virtual lock to be inducted into the NFL Hall-of-Fame. However, as great as Deion himself proclaimed he was, (he never met a microphone or camera that he didn’t like) if he, like Taylor, had played within defensive schemes that relied on his tackling skills and had “Neon” Deion been forced to face and put down some of the speediest and brutal ball carriers in professional football, game after game and week after week, he might have had second thoughts about playing the position. Sanders, like many of the other famous “cover” corners, were exposed on a few occasions during their storied careers seeming not to be particularly eager to tackle Brahma bull-like running backs exiting the offensive backfield and in a few instances they themselves appeared to be running for cover. There may be corners in the NFL who have more interceptions.

There are also a few picks Ike Taylor who could have held onto. However, tackling 250-pound running backs storming out of the backfield is a chore that a few of the “elite” cover corners past and present have and still may shy away from, possibly saving themselves for the next set of downs. In roughly 14-plus seasons, Sanders had 513 tackles. In five years Taylor has 288 tackles. Playing corner in the NFL is not all about interceptions. You do the math.

In regards to the transition year under Steelers, new head coach Mike Tomlin, Taylor says, “Me and Coach ‘T’ are alright. We have been alright from the beginning. He called me right after he was hired. I knew it was him. When Tomlin asked him how he knew who was calling Taylor said, “I recognized the telephone exchange.”

Ike Taylor is a fierce and fiery competitor on the field, but he is quiet and humble off the gridiron. He is reminiscent of his employer, Dan Rooney. As I watched the two men along with a guest eat lunch in the Steelers cafeteria, I felt privileged to witness the greatness of the Pittsburgh Steelers, past and future. Rooney, in light of all that he has accomplished and the power that he wields in the National Football League, still speaks to everyone as if it is his first day on the job.

Taylor, with all of his millions and his accomplishments on the field including a Super Bowl ring, still says, “Yes sir” to his elders. I asked Ike what advice he had for the youth of today who aspire to become professional athletes. His tone became serious and he had this to say. “Work hard and remember, you have to work to eat, I don’t care what you do for a living, you just have to work hard at it.”

If you compare Taylor to some of his counterparts such as the Denver Broncos All-Pro cornerback Champ Bailey and even his teammate, Troy Polamalu, Taylor is worth his weight in gold. The key to greatness and success is staying power. When the referee signals the start of play on Sunday, Monday or any other day, when you look across the defensive line of scrimmage chances are you will see Ike. You probably won’t see Taylor running around the field, cornrows flapping in the wind. However, what you will most likely see will be the opposing wide receivers going back to the huddle empty-handed after he has broken up a pass or Taylor himself leaving the playing field after a making pick.

Over the years Taylor has missed very few games due to injury. When it is all over and history has its say when it comes to defensive backfield play, Heinz Field just might be “the house that Ike built.”

(Aubrey Bruce can be reached at: abruce@newpittsburghcourier.com.)