Catch the damn ball, Ike!
In the Steelers’ game against the Colts, Ike Taylor had two opportunities to defend (and perhaps even intercept) passes, that unfortunately were instead tipped and caught by opposing receivers. If Taylor had been able to intercept one or both of those passes, the results of the game would have probably been very different.
But of course, Ike didn’t intercept the passes. Ike seldom intercepts passes. Heck, if I had a dollar for every potential interception that Ike Taylor has dropped, I’d be a rich man.
That is why I am officially introducing a new term into the Steelers lexicon. My new word is “ike”. No, not the name Ike. This “ike” is a verb. It means “to drop a catchable pass”. Here is the word used in a sentence; “Tony Romo was disappointed when a wide open Terrell Owens iked his pass”. Here is another example, “Big Ben thought about throwing Dallas Baker the ball, but he hesitated because he thought Baker would ike the ball”. See how it works? “Ike” is a new verb.
Some will argue that I am being unnecessarily mean to Ike Taylor. They will argue that Ike Taylor is the Steelers’ best cornerback. They will tell of how he is often called upon to shadow the opposing team’s best receiver. I’ve even heard some Steelers fans say that he is one of the best shut down corners in the NFL. I tend to disagree.
I do agree that Ike Taylor has exceptional physical tools. At 6’2″, he is a “big” cornerback. Moreover, he is fast enough to run with just about any receiver in the league. Those are great credentials for any aspiring cornerback.
Despite Ike’s impressive physical talents, I don’t think he is an elite cornerback. I sat down and listed the players that I considered to be the top cornerbacks in the NFL. Ike Taylor didn’t make my top 10. In fact, he barely made my top 20.
The players who immediately came to mind when I thought of the league’s best cornerbacks were people like (in no particular order) Champ Bailey, Dre Bly, Nate Clements, Asante Samuel, Lito Sheppard, Rashean Mathis, Marcus Trufant, Ronde Barber and Chris McAlister. All are smaller (and probably slower) than Ike Taylor, but all are undoubtedly better than Ike.
Even among the Steelers’ cornerbacks, Ike Taylor may not be the best. Before he got hurt, Bryant McFadden was establishing himself as the Steelers’ best cornerback. And DeShea Townsend has always made up for his limited physical tools by being a heady player who rarely makes mistakes.
Bryant McFadden has played in about half as many games as Ike Taylor, yet he has the same number of career interceptions. Ike Taylor averages the lowest number of interceptions per game among the Steelers’ 3 key cornerbacks. This is particularly disappointing because Taylor averages the highest number of passes defensed per game. That means that he has more opportunities to make interceptions. However, when you look at his ratio of interceptions to passes defensed, Taylor’s ratio is less than half that of either Bryant McFadden or DeShea Townsend. Both Townsend and McFadden will make approximately one interception for each 4 passes defensed. Taylor, on the other hand, intercepts one pass out of every 10 passes defensed.
When we look below at my list of the league’s best cornerbacks, we see that Ike Taylor’s career average for interceptions per game is the lowest on the list.
Player/Interceptions per game
Asante Samuel/.30
Champ Bailey/.29
Rashean Mathis/.28
Ty Law/.28
Dre Bly/.26
Nate Clements/.23
Lito Sheppard/.21
Ronde Barber/.19
Chris McAlister/.19
Marcus Trufant/.18
Ike Taylor/.08
His career average of .08 interceptions per game is less than half that of the next lowest cornerback on my list (Marcus Trufant averages .18 interceptions per game). Champ Bailey and Asante Samuel both average almost .30 interceptions per game.
I believe that most fans would agree about what separates good cornerbacks from great cornerbacks. Good cornerbacks block the pass. Great cornerbacks intercept the pass.
Player/career interceptions
Ty Law/52
Champ Bailey/43
Dre Bly/38
Ronde Barber/33
Nate Clements/28
Chris McAlister/26
Asante Samuel/25
Rashean Mathis/24
Lito Sheppard/18
Marcus Trufant/16
Ike Taylor/7
Someone once said that “if defensive backs could catch, they’d be wide receivers”. This is probably true. With Ike’s size and speed, I’m sure that at some point in his football career, a coach has tried to turn him into a wide receiver. But that experiment probably didn’t last very long.
To be fair, interceptions are not the only measure of a cornerback. Ike Taylor averages more passes defensed per game than every cornerback on my top CB list except for Asante Samuel and Marcus Trufant.
Passes defensed/game
Asante Samuel/.90
Marcus Trufant/.89
Ike Taylor/.79
Rashean Mathis/.69
Chris McAlister/.66
Nate Clements/.64
Lito Sheppard/.63
Champ Bailey/.62
Dre Bly/.60
Ronde Barber/.52
That means he is tough to throw against. Very tough. He is also a very good tackler. However, if he were able to increase his interception rate to anything close to the league average, I believe he could be a Pro Bowl cornerback. Moreover, he could have a game changing impact on a Steelers defense that is already one of the best in the league.
During training camp this summer, it was reported that Ike Taylor was working out with the wide receivers. The media mentioned that story once or twice. If the Steelers’ receivers were honest, they’d probably admit that they kicked Taylor out of their practices because they got tired of watching him ike the ball.
(If you enjoyed this article, please consider leaving a comment below. Also, please subscribe to our blog by pressing the orange button below. Thanks.)
this article had a massive lack of substance. While INTs are very important. They are merely a flashy attention grabbing stat. That is all that was accounted here for making a great corner. Yup Ike has terrible ahdns we all know this but he does shut down week in and week out. He would of never been won the super bowl let alone even made the playoffs in 2005 without taylor.INTs get you in the probowl but they dont define a quality corner.
1In what far off, imaginable land do Chris McAllister, Dre Bly, Lito Shepperd and Marcus Trufant exist as “elite cornerbacks”?
2J.R.,
I challenge you to try to list the NFL’s top 10-15 cornerbacks. I think you will agree that all 3 players will make your list as well. Perhaps “elite” is too strong a term. That term is probably only appropriate for the top 2-3 at any given position. However, I thought I made it clear that I was looking at the top 10-15 cornerbacks in the league.
BTW, whenever you try to list the top 10 players at any position, the list is going to be subjective. I chose to leave trouble makers DeAngelo Hall and Pacman Jones off of my list. From a talent standpoint, both players may deserve to be included. But I chose to disregard both.
So, who are YOUR top 15 cornerbacks? Names please.
3Dear “Huh”,
Thanks for the feedback. I agree that it wasn’t my best work, but let’s see you try to write 4-5 articles every week when this is just a hobby for you. I work 12+ hours per day on a real job. The Steelers are a passion for me, but I am not paid to do this. You may have even noticed that my site has no ads. I do this purely for enjoyment.
You are right that this was not my most substantive work, and I promise to do better in the future. I’ve been busy at work and I hadn’t posted anything all week, so I felt compelled to write a new article for my readers. Perhaps I should have written nothing, rather than post something that was below the usual quality that my readers expect.
Once again, thanks for the feedback. I really do appreciate it.
4Admin,
I couldn’t agree with you more. His size and speed make for the prototypical wide receiver; HOWEVER, he has horribly hands.
I’ve heard the same thing about DBs and LBs my whole life (from my football coach/father), if you can catch or hold on to the football, you’ll be a WR or RB, if not, you’re on defense.
Sometime in Ike’s career (probable high school), there was a coach that tried to work with him and realized he would benefit the team more on the defensive side of the ball rather than the other. So far so good, I’d say.
I’m sure someone in the organization has pointed this out to him and I wouldn’t doubt he has worked on this during the season and off-season. If you remember, Cowher got so fed up with him at one point in ’06 that he benched him for several games because of his lack of “Big-play ability”.
Good thing is, “catching” is something you can practice and become better. He has good size (which you can’t practice), strength and the ability to cover the opponent’s best receiver (which he has gotten better over the years). Personally, I hope he stays with us for the next few years and works on his hands because I believe he understands the defense and his role in the defense (plus I’m selfish and would rather see the organizaiton draft a few O-linemen in the first round or so instead of replacing a cover corner).
With that being said, Ike, if you’re reading this, please don’t make me eat my words.
By the way, Admin, great article and keep up the good work.
5Brian,
Great comments! very well thought out.
I agree that Ike’s size and speed can’t be taught. At this point, I have given up hope about Ike learning to catch. But as long as he keeps breaking up passes, that’s fine with me.
6I’m not going to list MY top 15 corners simply because you are correct when you state that it is totally subjective. And you are also right when you say that “elite” is too strong a word. But, I would imagine that Bly and Trufant are top 15 CB. But Lito Shepperd doesn’t start for his own team and McAllister’s play, if you watch him, is nowhere near the level we’ve all been used to seeing. Interceptions are not the be all and end all of a good CB. Throw whatever stats you may at me, but I know what my eyes see. If so, DeAngelo Hall would be on the list. What I think is mostly important is consistency. Granted, Ike consistently drops would be INT, but he consistently covers the opponents’ best WR (and covers very well), may be the best CB vs the run in the NFL, he’s equally adept in man / zone coverage and is never out of position. And I can’t think of 15 corners in the league I’d rather have, week in and week out, than Ike. But, I digress. We’ll just agree to disagree on this one. Either way, I respect your work and you do a great job even if I don’t always agree with you.
7By the way. As a Steeler fan, I know you’re a Steeler fan, so you’re always looking forward to the draft. So, come over to NFLDRAFTBLITZ.COM and get draft info and check out my work. Thanks.
8J.R.,
We don’t disagree as much as you might think. I like Ike, and I gave him credit for being a great cover guy. I just wish he could catch the ball.
I will definitely check out NFLdraftblitz.com. Draft season is my favorite time of the year.
9I am a huge fan of ike taylor, i always have been. I share the same position and number as him. I just wanna say, its not all about INTs. as long as hes making a play on the ball, INTs dont matter.
10