Free-agent Steelers mull unsettled future

[papillon]

Re: Free-agent Steelers mull unsettled future

As long as the free agents are willing to accept fair market value and do not have to be the highest paid at his position, the Steelers will work equitable deals for them. The Steelers sign high priced free agents, they just happen to be their own.

The Steelers have a way of putting the pressure on the player by offering fair value and long deals for security. If they want to stay and be a Steeler it will happen. If they want to be the highest paid at their position (until some other team signs a free agent) then they'll wear different laundry next year.

Pappy

I like this actually.

You sound shocked.

Pappy

[hawaiiansteel]

Re: Free-agent Steelers mull unsettled future

Ike is the only good CB we have, the dropoff behind him is so significant that we have to find a way to re-sign him...


Cook: Steelers have Taylor-made shutdown cornerback

Thursday, February 03, 2011



Lake Fong/Post-Gazette
Steelers corner back Ike Taylor.


FORT WORTH, Texas -- Learned something new about Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor Wednesday. He's not the least bit superstitious. He showed up for his Super Bowl XVL media obligations wearing a Pirates cap. I had to ask him: "Isn't that risking bad karma right before the big game?"

"Superstitions aren't going to decide anything Sunday," Taylor said.

Good thing.

If the Steelers suddenly start playing like the Pirates, they'll get beat, 45-0, by the Green Bay Packers.

Not to be cynical.

Taylor has enough game -- and enough faith in his game -- to think nothing bad will happen to him. Other than the quarterbacks, he could play the biggest role on his sport's biggest stage. He's expected to cover Green Bay's top receiver -- Greg Jennings -- on a night the Packers are expected to turn quarterback Aaron Rodgers loose and let him throw the pig all over Cowboys Stadium out of four- or five-wide receiver sets.

That is quite a challenge for Taylor. "Jennings is a beast," he said. "He reminds me of [former Steelers receiver] Santonio Holmes. At the crucial times in the game, he's their guy." Jennings had eight catches for 130 yards against the Chicago Bears in the NFC championship game, eight catches for 101 yards against the Atlanta Falcons the week before. "He's been pretty much unstoppable in the postseason," Steelers linebacker Lawrence Timmons said.

Pretty much.

"I'm up for it," Taylor said. "I always get the other team's best receiver. I'm used to it. Look at my tape. Look at anyone else's tape. I'm just as good if not better than anyone you pick."

I'm in no mood to argue with Taylor this morning. I thought he had an awesome season. You wouldn't want to know where the Steelers would be without him. It wouldn't be in Texas, getting ready for another Super Bowl.

That's why, if you like the Steelers, you should be more than a little concerned that the team will lose Taylor after the season when he becomes an unrestricted free agent.

I believe the Steelers will try hard to do a new deal with Taylor, especially considering they have so little at cornerback behind him. Coach Mike Tomlin was asked to define the "Steeler Way" this week and said, "We believe in building through the draft ... Equally important, we believe in paying our own players -- those who are deserving ... " Taylor qualifies. Frankly, I'm surprised the team didn't reach out to him harder before this season.

For his part, Taylor said he "would love to retire as a Steeler." That sounds nice, but you know how it often goes when a player gets to free agency. Another team makes him an offer he can't refuse. "You only get one shot at this kind of money," Taylor conceded. "It's like hitting the lotto."

I have to admit here that I had a hard time not looking at that Pirates cap as Taylor talked. But I was able to concentrate enough to hear him make a strong case for himself.

"I'm one of three cornerbacks in the league who travel," Taylor said, referencing that he and the New York Jets' Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie are the only corners to go from one side of the field to the other following a certain receiver.

"They always ask me to guard the best guy. A lot of corners don't want that responsibility ... I run, hit and tackle. A lot of corners ole their tackles. If you don't tackle in this defense, you don't play corner ... The only knock against me is I don't get the picks. I know that. But how do you define a shutdown corner? Isn't it keeping the guy from catching the football? I think I do that as well as anyone."

It's instructive that Taylor brought up the interceptions. They've been a sore subject with him for a long time. He had two this season, has 11 in 125 career regular-season games and three more in 14 postseason games. He easily could have 40 or even 50 if he didn't drop the ball so much.

"Defensive backs would be wide receivers if they could catch," a wise man named Terry Bradshaw once said.

Taylor appears to have come to grips -- pardon the poor pun -- with his bad hands. He's right about that shutdown corner business, you know? He's usually in good position against the NFL's top receivers. Interceptions would be nice, but it's more important to keep the other guy from catching the ball.

Right?

"Other than catching picks, I feel like I'm a lockdown cornerback for sure," Taylor said, nodding.

About this time, a Steelers staffer made Taylor exchange his cap for a Super Bowl-approved model. I don't think she's superstitious, either. But you can't blame her for not taking chances.

[url="http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11034/1122598-66.stm"]http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11034/1122598-66.stm[/url]

[hawaiiansteel]

Re: Free-agent Steelers mull unsettled future

Steelers, Taylor open contract talks

By John Harris, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, February 4, 2011



Ike Taylor
Christopher Horner | Tribune-Review


FORT WORTH, Texas — The Steelers, who have a policy of not negotiating contracts during the season, have opened discussions with cornerback Ike Taylor about a new deal that would allow him to finish his career in Pittsburgh.

Taylor, who could emerge as one of the top unrestricted free agents in the offseason, said his contract has been an ongoing topic of discussion and was addressed after the Steelers arrived in Texas this week for Super Bowl XLV.

"There have been conversations. I've talked with a few people in this organization about remaining here. They know I want to retire as a Steeler,'' Taylor said Thursday. "I've been telling them I want to be here since the beginning of the season. Now it's getting down to this point.''

Breaking from tradition, the Steelers decided not to wait until after the season to make Taylor their top offseason priority. The team is free to negotiate with Taylor and can use a franchise tag to retain his rights until 11:59 p.m. on March 3, when the current collective bargaining agreement ends.

If the Steelers sign Taylor to a long-term deal before the deadline, they won't have to use a franchise tag, which is the average of the top five players at that position. Last year, the franchise tag for cornerbacks was $9.566 million.

If Taylor, a starter since 2005, hits the market, the Steelers may not be able to afford him. Last year, Dunta Robinson signed a six-year, $57 million contract with Atlanta as an unrestricted free agent.

Read more: Steelers, Taylor open contract talks - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review [url="http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/s_721276.html#ixzz1D0svrcne"]http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsbu ... z1D0svrcne[/url]

[papillon]

Re: Free-agent Steelers mull unsettled future

Talking is good; now get something done that is good for both sides, then they can get to work on Woodley. Of course, his base is so low and there's that 35% increase rule, so Woodley may have to wait until the CBA expires and with it all the rules regarding increases, etc.

Get Ike signed! One at a time, one step at a time, the Steeler way.

Pappy

[hawaiiansteel]

Re: Free-agent Steelers mull unsettled future

Woodley diary: Team out to prove naysayers wrong

By Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Saturday, February 5, 2011


Steelers linebacker LaMarr Woodley, who will start his second Super Bowl on Sunday, shares his thoughts through today with Tribune-Review sports columnist John Harris:

My family made it here. They drove from Detroit to Pittsburgh to fly on a private plane at the Voyager Jet Center. It actually worked out fine because a lot of flights coming out of Detroit were getting delayed going to Dallas. My younger sister is coming (today). She had a basketball game. I have two brothers, two sisters. But only one of my brothers came down, and one of my sisters is coming. My mother and father are here. My daughter, Gabriel, and my fiance are here and My uncle and aunt. We went to the Dallas Galleria Mall for a few hours. It's a pretty big mall. My dad got lost. He wanted to go his own separate way. We found him before we left the mall.

The big thing at the beginning of the season was losing Ben (Roethlisberger) for four games, so no one believed that Pittsburgh was going to win. We had a chance to be 4-0, but we let that game against Baltimore get away from us. We lost to the Saints, we lost to New England, and we lost to the Jets. Going into the second Jets game, everybody thought the Jets were going to have our number because they beat us the first time. We went out there and killed them in the first quarter. And now we're underdogs once again.

I guess when a team has a pretty good offense they forget about the great defense we have. Everybody's talking about Ben versus Aaron Rodgers. Ben can't go up against Aaron Rodgers. It's Aaron Rodgers versus the Pittsburgh Steelers defense. It's Ben Roethlisberger versus the Green Bay Packers defense.

Then (rapper) Lil Wayne came out with a song called "Green and Yellow.'' That's when you know you're a powerhouse team. They want you to lose so bad, they make a song about you. That's when you know everybody is tired of the Pittsburgh Steelers being one of the top franchises in the NFL. Everybody wants to see you lose. Two years ago, they picked Arizona to win the Super Bowl because they had a high-powered offense. Once again, they forgot about our defense.

This year, we were the team that wasn't supposed to win their division. We proved them wrong. People are always going to doubt you. They're always going to try to find different things to bring the team down. They're always looking to pick you apart. But people were wrong. Everybody had New England winning the AFC Championship. We proved them wrong. Now, we're back in the big dance, and they're underestimating us again. We don't need motivation. Our motivation is already here to have an opportunity to win another Super Bowl. What more motivation do you need?

[url="http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/s_721537.html#ixzz1D6qu7VAI"]http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsbu ... z1D6qu7VAI[/url]