Pittsburgh Steelers Ike Taylor on his stone hands

Nate Washington (85) pulls in a pass against Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor (24) during the third quarter at Heinz Field. The Tennessee Titans won 16-9. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Even at the age of 33, Pittsburgh Steelers CB Ike Taylor is still a key player and is still a solid starting corner. While he obviously isn’t as good as he used to be and is struggling so far this year, Taylor did play well last season and is still the Pittsburgh Steelers best cornerback. One thing that remains something of an unsolvable puzzle, though, for Taylor are his hands. Although he isn’t as drop-prone of a corner as Charles Rogers, Ike Taylor still has a well-deserved reputation for his stone hands. However, he admits that much, and it isn’t a huge deal anyway with how physical Taylor is in coverage and against the run.

From ESPN NFL Nation’s Scott Brown, “It’s 11 years later and I’m still working on that. I critique myself just as much as you all want to critique me. That’s what makes me, me. Everybody can’t do that. You have your strengths and weaknesses as a reporter but do you want to fess up to them? I fess up to mine so that’s the difference. Obviously those bricks didn’t help but man I’ve been successful. Two Super Bowls (wins) 11 years in the league. Three contracts later I can’t complain.”

Great quote right there from Taylor, and it will be interesting to see who he ends up covering the most this week against the New York Jets. I think he’ll see time on both second-year vertical threat Stephen Hill and excellent chain-mover Jeremy Kerley, but I think he’l see more time on Kerley, who is easily the more consistent Jets receiver.

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