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Ike Taylor retires

Discussion in 'Steelers Talk' started by brassbawls, Apr 14, 2015.

  1. brassbawls

    brassbawls Well-Known Member

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  2. TerribleTowelFlying

    TerribleTowelFlying Staff Member Site Admin Mod Team

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    Thanks for your years of service, Ike.
     
  3. Coastal Steeler

    Coastal Steeler

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    Thanks Ike.
    I remember his 1st contract we all thought he would go take the big money. In an interview Ike said."I WILL BE A PITTSBURGH STEELER" and he kept his word.
    Thanks Ike
     
  4. blountforcetrauma

    blountforcetrauma Well-Known Member

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    So long, Ike. You've driven me crazy from time to time over the years but your love for the Black and Gold will never be in doubt.
     
  5. GB_Steel

    GB_Steel Well-Known Member

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    Loved him. Thanks for everything, champ.
     
  6. Thigpen82

    Thigpen82 Bitter optimist

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    Yep.

    Barring your lack of effort in the Christmas song videos, he was a great servant of the club and a true Steeler.
     
  7. Blast Furnace

    Blast Furnace Staff Member Mod Team

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  8. FeartheBeard

    FeartheBeard Well-Known Member

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    Thanks, Ike. If you have ever been to training camp, Ike was one of the best at interacting with the fans.
     
  9. biggbunch68

    biggbunch68

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    Wishing him the best in his future indevers ..
     
  10. TheSteelHurtin2188

    TheSteelHurtin2188 Well-Known Member

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    Peace Ike! If he could have caught half the footballs he got his hands on we would be talking about 2 future HOFers retiring from our secondary.
     
  11. knab70

    knab70 Well-Known Member

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    Your loyalty and talent won't be forgotten. Best wishes in your future endeavours. :applaud:
     
  12. mac daddyo

    mac daddyo Well-Known Member

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    thanks ike and good luck in the future. you were what being a steeler was about.:applaud::applaud::applaud::cool:
     
  13. NashvilleCat

    NashvilleCat Well-Known Member

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    I like Ike. He was a big part of two championships and a great cover guy. As has been said, if he could catch he'd be a first-ballot HOFer too.

    Steeler through and through. Good luck with your life's work, Ike.
     
  14. LongIslandSteel

    LongIslandSteel Member

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    Salutations, Steeler Nation. I'm new to the board, hailing from Long Island, N.Y. Formerly a member of Steelers Fever Forums, which seems to have disappeared.

    Ike, for all his stone-handedness, is one of my favorite Steelers of all-time. I always loved his fiery nature, how quick he was to get into an opponent's face. He was truly an underrated leader in Pittsburgh for the past decade, and a solid, if mostly unspectacular, cornerback. He may have never been one to make the splash plays, but there were many times over the years that he rendered the other team's top wideout a non-factor (AJ Green springs to mind.)

    Great to see that he and Troy both chose to retire rather than go elsewhere.

    Thanks for the memories, #24. Swag off into the sunset...
     
  15. Ray D

    Ray D Staff Member Mod Team

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    I always thought he was underrated when he was in his prime. Definitely a key piece of our defense when it was in top form.

    So long, Ike. Thanks for your hard work and dedication. Best of luck to you in whatever comes next.
     
  16. JAD

    JAD Well-Known Member

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    Best man to man cover guy we had for years. Along with being a loyal Steeler and a good man. Best luck to you on whatever you decide to do.
     
  17. gpguy

    gpguy Well-Known Member

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    Ditto to what most have already said.

    :applaud::bowdown:
     
  18. SC Gamecock

    SC Gamecock

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    You beat me to it!
     
  19. grannieBurgh

    grannieBurgh Well-Known Member

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    Thanks,Ike, for all those years of dedication to the home team.
     
  20. HugeSnack

    HugeSnack Well-Known Member

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    He was definitely underrated when he was in his prime. He was one of the top CBs in the league for a few years.

    I always considered him The Missing Link to our 2005 Super Bowl. We had the offense, we had the run defense, we had the pass rush. That had been the case since the early 90s. Why no Super Bowl? Our QB play was part of it (O'Donnell especially springs to mind), but our secondary was always our achilles' heel. Then comes 2005, and we've finally got both safety positions locked down, and Townsend has emerged as a very good corner, but is often stuck on the Brandon Stokleys of the league leaving others to cover the Marvin Harrisons and Reggie Waynes. We needed Ike to emerge, or we weren't going anywhere. He finally did, and once we had that piece to the puzzle, we won a Super Bowl.

    Something not everyone knows about him, and something he never got credit for, for some reason: until he aged out of it, he was THE fastest man in the league. There isn't much tape (that I can find) of him proving so, because his job was to run with receivers and not past them, and unfortunately he rarely had opportunities or motive to display his true speed. But he did post a crazy Pro Day time (4.18!). That time would surely be a little slower at the combine, but he wasn't invited. On top of the 40 time, his speed coach Tom Shaw says Ike's the fastest player he's ever coached, and that includes some names like Chris Johnson and Deion Sanders. Shaw clocked Taylor at 4.26 in 2009, at age 29. Check out the article and video below:

    http://triblive.com//x/pittsburghtrib/sports/s_635267.html#axzz3XIpf9doQ

    Here are a couple plays where you do get just a hint of Taylor's truly impressive speed. Unfortunately both are long touchdowns against the Steelers, for which Ike is either partly or entirely responsible. It appears embarrassment is what fueled his in-game speed, the way anger fueled Casey Hampton's in-game strength. (Go back and watch what Casey does to a center the play after Casey was called for defensive holding or something, lol.)

    These two stuck in my mind when they happened, and I was able to find them. The first play was in our 2005 Monday Night loss to the Colts. You may remember Taylor being burned by Marvin Harrison on a double move on the Colts' first play from scrimmage for an 80 yard touchdown. But for a couple seconds on that play, Taylor catches up to Harrison at an alarming rate. It's worth noting that although on the wrong side of 30 at this time, Marvin was a still a fast receiver tearing the league apart with Manning. He ran an official 4.38 at the combine.

    [video=youtube;18CCFLgvkvs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18CCFLgvkvs[/video]

    Skip to 7:14 for the play. Note they are a solid 5 yards apart at midfield. From the time Ike is on the 50 to the time he's on the 20, he makes up a lot of ground. Marvin does slant his run at one point, making it easier for Ike to catch up, but even so... Just keep clicking on 7:21 and watch those 2-3 seconds a few times to see Ike gain on him.


    The next play is Jamaal Charles' KR TD against us in 2009. Charles (official 4.36 at the combine, the year before) was a 22 year old speedster, considered one of the fastest players in the league. Ike was almost 30 at this point. Ike dives on the ground and misses Charles, then gets up and gives chase. You can only see Ike's speed for a period of about 20 yards, from midfield to the 30 (before he gives up), but it's impressive. He gains a little on the speedy Charles, but Charles is so far ahead it's kind of hard to tell. Check out the ground gained on the speedy (4.4) Stefan Logan (#11, Steelers) and regular-speed (4.5) Terrance Copper (#10, Chiefs). He makes them look slow. And he makes the rest of the guys look like they're standing still. All this over a period of just 20 yards. Keep clicking the :16 second mark.

    [video=youtube;qE-pxwxUxNY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qE-pxwxUxNY[/video]

    We will miss you, Ike! Thanks for everything.
     
  21. Jball

    Jball Well-Known Member

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    Like others have said, he was a good, durable player for a lot of years and a respectable man. He's what you want a Steeler to be.

    Had he had better hands, or any hands at all, he would've been thought of a lot differently around the league.

    I would take a guy like Ike on my team any day.
     
  22. Steel_in_DC

    Steel_in_DC Well-Known Member

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    Truly an underrated/underappreciated Steeler. Yes he had hands of stone, but as we all know the primary thing a corner needs to do is cover and Taylor was one of the best for a number of years not just on the Steelers but in the NFL. As someone noted if this guy would have gotten some interceptions aligned with how often and how well he defended the ball he would have been a multi Pro Bowl player.

    Like Troy - another guy who we can say was also a good guy off the field as well.
     
  23. Blast Furnace

    Blast Furnace Staff Member Mod Team

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    I was actually surprised to read he has 14 career interceptions, until I thought about it, thats about 1 Int a year :lolol:
     
  24. Thigpen82

    Thigpen82 Bitter optimist

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    Welcome to the board!

    Completely agree that Ike was underrated due to the lack of interceptions. Didn't know that stuff Snack posted about his speed, either.
     
  25. SGSteeler

    SGSteeler Well-Known Member

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    I always loved me some Ike. Loved his swagger and how he played the game. One of my favorite memories as a Steeler fan was going to a home game against the Cowboys (which was sealed in OT with a Townsend pick 6) and witnessing the rarest of the rare birds... An Ike int! Took one away from TO on a fade route in the red zone. He actually made a pretty nice play mirroring the route then high pointing the ball in front of Owens. Good stuff. I also loved how well he played against Chad Johnson (OchoStinko). Being an Ohio boy, I had too many Bengal fan friends and too many of them idolized 85. It was always sweet when Taylor shut him up hahah thanks for everything Ike. You will be missed!
     

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