Ike Taylor
Ivan "Ike" Taylor is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League. He was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League in the fourth round of the 2003 NFL draft, and spent his entire 12-year career in Pittsburgh. He played college football for the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns.
He was formerly an analyst for NFL Now and other shows on the NFL Network.
Early life
Ike was born in Gretna, Louisiana, which is located just across the Mississippi river from New Orleans. As a child, he moved with his mother, Cora, to Raleigh, North Carolina, but he returned to Louisiana as a seventh-grader to live with his uncle and aunt, Herman and Judy Francois, in Harvey, Louisiana. He attended Marion Abramson Senior High School in New Orleans where he played football and basketball. In high school, he played running back, defensive end, cornerback and placekicker.College career
Taylor attended college at University of Louisiana at Lafayette where he majored in psychology, but he was academically ineligible to play football his first two years. He joined the football team as a walk on in 2001, earning a scholarship prior to the season. In his first season, he played tailback and special teams and returned kicks.Prior to his senior season, Taylor asked to be moved to cornerback. He started the season at the right cornerback spot and recorded 46 tackles, eight passes defensed and two forced fumbles. In four games, he did not allow an opponent to catch a ball. Among his college teammates was Charles Tillman who was selected by the Chicago Bears.
Professional career
2003
The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Taylor in the fourth round in the 2003 NFL draft. His selection was made despite his inexperience and lack of consistent play and was based primarily on Taylor's rare combination of size and speed. Leading up to the draft, he was timed allegedly as fast as 4.18 seconds in the 40-yard dash at his pro day., However, most NFL coaches and general managers still failed to see his potential. At the time of the selection, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writer Mark Madden claimed Taylor was the worst pick in history.On May 28, 2003, the Steelers signed Taylor to a three-year, $1.18 million contract that included a signing bonus of $275,000.
Throughout training camp, he competed against Chidi Iwuoma to be the fourth cornerback on the depth chart. Head coach Bill Cowher named Taylor the fourth cornerback on the depth chart to begin the regular season, behind Chad Scott, Dewayne Washington, and Deshea Townsend. He was also given kick return duties by special teams coordinator Kevin Spencer.
He made his professional regular season debut in the Pittsburgh Steelers' season-opener against the Baltimore Ravens and recorded two combined tackles in their 34–15 victory. Taylor also returned two kicks for 29-yards. In Week 8, he returned six kicks for a season-high 145-yards during a 33–21 loss against the St. Louis Rams. On November 23, 2003, Taylor earned his first career start at nickelback and recorded four combined tackles in the Steelers' 13–6 victory at the Cleveland Browns in Week 12. He remained at nickelback for the remainder of the season after Chad Scott was placed on injured reserve due to a torn flexor tendon in his right hand. He completed his rookie season in with 32 combined tackles and three pass deflections in 16 games and one start. Taylor also had 37 kick returns for 831-yards.
2004
During training camp, Taylor competed for a role as a backup cornerback against Ricardo Colclough, Terry Fair, Chidi Iwuoma, and Shane Walton. Head coach Bill Cowher named Taylor the fifth cornerback on the depth chart to start the 2004 season, behind Deshea Townsend, Chad Scott, Willie Williams, and Ricardo Colclough.On October 3, 2004, Taylor recorded a tackle and made his first career interception off a pass by Carson Palmer during a 28–17 victory against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 4. In Week 7, Taylor was promoted to being the fourth cornerback on the depth chart after Chad Scott sustained a slight tear to his quadriceps the previous week and was sidelined for the next nine games. The following week, Taylor made two combined tackles, a pass deflection, and intercepted a pass by Tom Brady in the Steelers' 34–20 victory against the New England Patriots in Week 8. Taylor finished his second season with 16 combined tackles, four pass deflections, and an interception in 13 games and one start. He also had 12 kick returns for 184-yards.
The Pittsburgh Steelers finished first in the AFC North with a 15–1 record after rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger became the starter and went 13–0 to end the season. On January 15, 2005, Taylor appeared in his first career playoff game and made one tackle in the Steelers' 20–17 victory against the New York Jets in the AFC Divisional Round. The Pittsburgh Steelers were eliminated the following week after losing 41–27 to the New England Patriots who went on to win Super Bowl XXXIX.
2005
In 2005, Taylor competed for a job as a starting cornerback against Chad Scott, Willie Williams, Ricardo Colclough, and Bryant McFadden. Defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau named Taylor the starting cornerback to begin the regular season, alongside Deshea Townsend.He started in the Pittsburgh Steelers' season-opener against the Tennessee Titans and recorded nine combined tackles and two pass deflections in their 34–7 victory. In Week 3, he collected a season-high 15 combined tackles and broke up a pass during a 23–20 loss to the New England Patriots. On October 31, 2005, Taylor recorded ten combined tackles, a pass deflection, and intercepted a pass by Kyle Boller in the Steelers' 20–19 win against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 8. He finished the season with a career-high 91 combined tackles, a career-high 23 pass deflections, and an interception in 16 games and 15 starts.
The Pittsburgh Steelers finished second in the AFC North with an 11–5 record. On January 8, 2006, Taylor started his first career playoff game and recorded three solo tackles and deflected two passes during the Steelers' 31–17 victory at the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Wildcard Game. The following week, they defeated the Indianapolis Colts 21–18 in the AFC Divisional Round. On January 22, 2006, Taylor recorded a tackle, a pass deflection, and an interception during a 34–17 victory at the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game. On February 5, 2006, Taylor started in Super Bowl XL and led the Steelers with seven combined tackles, two pass deflections, and intercepted a pass by Matt Hasselbeck in the red zone as the Steelers defeated the Seattle Seahawks 21–10.
2006
On September 3, 2006, the Pittsburgh Steelers signed Taylor to a four-year, $22.5 million contract that included a signing bonus of $6.4 million. The contract made Taylor the highest paid cornerback in franchise history and would tie him to the Steelers through 2010.Taylor entered training camp slated as a starting cornerback and was officially named a starter to begin the season, along with Deshea Townsend. He started the Pittsburgh Steelers' season-opener against the Miami Dolphins and recorded six combined tackles and a career-high seven pass deflections in their 28–7 victory. In Week 3, he made four combined tackles, a pass deflection, and an interception during a 28–20 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. On October 8, 2006, Taylor made a season-high eight solo tackles and two pass deflections in the Steelers' 23–13 loss at the San Diego Chargers in Week 5. On November 5, 2006, Taylor was benched in favor for Bryant McFadden after giving up six receptions for 134-yards and two touchdowns to wide receiver Javon Walker during a 31–20 loss to the Denver Broncos in Week 9. Prior to his benching, Taylor routinely covered the opponent's top receiver man-to-man. He finished the game as their fourth cornerback and recorded six solo tackles and three pass deflections. Head coach Bill Cowher officially demoted Taylor to being the third cornerback on the depth chart in favor of Bryant McFadden in Week 12. He finished the season with 69 combined tackles, 15 pass deflections, and two interceptions in 16 games and 11 starts.
2007
Head coach Mike Tomlin named Taylor and Deshea Townsend to starting cornerbacks to begin the regular season. He started in the Pittsburgh Steelers' season-opener at the Cleveland Browns and recorded five solo tackles, a pass deflection, an interception, and made his first career sack in their 34–7 victory. He sacked quarterback Charlie Frye for a ten-yard loss in the second quarter. On October 7, 2007, Taylor made five combined tackles, a season-high four pass deflections, and an interception in the Steelers' 21–0 victory against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 5. He was voted NFL Defensive Player of the Week for his performance. In Week 16, Taylor recorded five solo tackles, three pass deflections, and returned an interception for his first career touchdown during a 41–24 victory at the St. Louis Rams. He intercepted a pass by Marc Bulger in the fourth quarter and returned it 51-yards for a touchdown. The following week, he collected a season-high nine solo tackles in the Steelers' 27–21 loss at the Baltimore Ravens in Week 17. Taylor completed the season with 80 combined tackles, 16 pass deflections, three interceptions, a sack, and a touchdown in 16 games and 16 starts.The Pittsburgh Steelers finished first in the AFC North with a 10–6 record. On January 5, 2008, Taylor made three combined tackles, a pass deflection, and an interception during a 31–29 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Wildcard Game. His interception marked his third consecutive playoff game with a pick.
2008
Defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau retained Taylor and Townsend as the starting cornerbacks to begin the 2008 regular season. On October 26, 2008, Taylor started as the No. 1 cornerback for the first time since being demoted in 2006. Defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau opted to have Taylor play one-on-one man coverage and shadow the Giants' No. 1 wide receiver, Plaxico Burress. Taylor held Burress to three receptions for 15-yards and also made three solo tackles and two pass deflections during their 21–14 loss against the New York Giants in Week 8. The following week, he held wide receiver Santana Moss to 14-yards on two catches and also recorded three combined tackles and two pass deflections in a 23–6 victory at the Washington Redskins in Week 9. In Week 14, he made three combined tackles, a pass deflection, and an interception during a 20–13 victory against the Dallas Cowboys. On December 21, 2008, Taylor collected a season-high seven combined tackles and broke up a pass in the Steelers' 31–14 loss at the Tennessee Titans in Week 16. He finished the season with 65 combined tackles, 14 pass deflections, and an interception in 16 games and 16 starts.The Pittsburgh Steelers finished first in the AFC North with a 12–4 record, clinching a first round bye. They reached the Super Bowl after defeating the San Diego Chargers 35–24 in the AFC Divisional Round and the Baltimore Ravens 23–14 in the AFC Championship Game. On February 1, 2009, Taylor started in Super Bowl XLIII and recorded eight combined tackles during the Steelers' 27–23 victory against the Arizona Cardinals.