Longtime Steelers shutdown corner Ike Taylor has followed Troy Polamalu in deciding to call it a career.
Ike Taylor was an easy target for fans and pundits because of his lousy hands, but he was anything but a target for opposing quarterbacks throughout his career. Ike never got the credit that guys like Asante Samuel or Darrelle Revis got for their gaudy interception totals, but a cornerback’s job isn’t to catch the football, it’s to make sure it isn’t caught.
In that respect, Taylor was a fine defensive back for many years. He lined up against the other team’s top receiver, and while he occasionally had bad games and got burned a few times, he was largely a successful, but underrated, piece of a dominant defense in the late 2000s.
Even though Taylor and Polamalu weren’t as productive anymore, their presence as accomplished veteran leaders will be sorely missed on the defense. Although I don’t know that I’d count Ike out from finding his way back to the sidelines at Heinz Field in the next few years.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
