Ike retires after 12 seasons!

I like Ike! Retires after 12!!!

http://www.steelers.com/news/article-1/Taylor-Im-going-to-miss-all-of-it/6bb30062-5c5b-4cc1-8535-b7db12abadaa

Quote :

Cornerback Ike Taylor announced his retirement after 12 seasons playing for the Steelers.


“I don’t want my name on the back of somebody else’s jersey. My name belongs on a Steelers jersey. I want my name to represent the Pittsburgh Steelers.” – Ike Taylor, March, 2014

It was a little over a year ago when Ike Taylor did what isn’t easy for athletes to do. He took a pay cut so that he could finish out the final year on his Steelers contract, his 12th season in the black and gold. At the time, money wasn’t the issue for him. Staying with the Steelers was.


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PHOTOS: Ike Taylor
And today, thanks to his unselfish move, Taylor did what not many athletes get to do. He retired from the NFL playing his entire 12-year career in one uniform – a Steelers uniform.

“Other than having my son, playing for the Steelers has been the best experience in my entire lifetime,” said Taylor. “It is rare, in this day of free agency that is super rare to play for one team. For me to have this opportunity says a lot about how they felt about me, what I gave back to the organization.

Rest of the article Here

You can tell that Ike really enjoyed playing here. The bond him and Dan Rooney have is really unique and special. Good luck in retirement Ike and thanks for the memories.

Looks like we're gonna have a lot of youth in our secondary this year.

This is for the best. Ike has clearly lost a step or 2. He's another Steelers player that just wouldn't look right in another team's jersey. He was a solid corner for this team for years and his service was invaluable to all of the winning seasons we had during his time in Pittsburgh. He'll be missed along with Troy in the secondary.

Good luck and thanks, Ike!

Thanks for the memories Ike, you persevered when many wouldn't have. You were a very solid corner for 10 years. Your leadership will be missed.

This is a strange time for us, many long runs coming to an end. I call it more a transitional period and not a rebuilding stage. I agree with you Buddha, I am excited to see what this younger group can do back there!

SoCalFan wrote:

This is a strange time for us, many long runs coming to an end. I call it more a transitional period and not a rebuilding stage. I agree with you Buddha, I am excited to see what this younger group can do back there!

Unfortunately, we are finally seeing the end of an era with the departures of Troy, Ike, and Kiesel this year. Soon Harrison and Heath will follow with Ben closing it out after them (although I think he still has a few years of productive ball left in him). We've seen the slow changing of the guard with guys like Farrior, Ward, Woodley, Faneca, Clark, Fast Willie, Randle-El, and Bettis having retired or  been let go to start paving the way to the next great Steelers team.

Some were probably held onto longer than they should have been, but the FO tried to keep riding with the guys who brought them a ton of success for years and I can't fault them for trying to squeeze one more championship ride out of them. It's sad to see, but we knew it would come one day. All good things must come to an end.

Boy the day Ben leaves is going to be in f**king sane! Hopefully he has at least one more ring! The FO better start getting real serious in the next year or so on finding the next man up!

Happy trails Ike! Though I do suspect he will be back with the Steelers in some capacity...

Today is a sad, sad day for @Drizztbob. Drizz, if there's anything I can do to help you get through this difficult period, please let me know.




I've spent a lot of time arguing that throughout his career, Ike was a solid shutdown corner. If he could catch the ball, he would have been a Pro Bowl corner. Obviously, Ike's strength wasn't catching a football. His strength was in coverage, which allowed him to play on an island a lot and allowed Troy the freedom to roam the field and do what he did best. I will miss Ike.

ImmaculateGreenePolamalu wrote:

The bond him and Dan Rooney have is really unique and special. Good luck in retirement Ike and thanks for the memories.

Absolutely!

Come on @Wallace108, you know damn well @Drizztbob is planning the biggest celebration ever in his town.

As for me, I respect Ike and appreciate what he was able to do on the field in a Steelers uniform.

And NOW more than ever, the Steelers need dire help in the secondary.

I always liked Ike. I think he brought leadership to the locker room, and he may have been one of the most loyal Steelers on record due to his extremely close relationship with Dan. I am going to miss him along with the rest of the old guard that have been slowly dropping off the past few years (except James, who thankfully keeps coming back )

Quote :

It was a little over a year ago when Ike Taylor did what isn’t easy for athletes to do. He took a pay cut so that he could finish out the final year on his Steelers contract, his 12th season in the black and gold. At the time, money wasn’t the issue for him. Staying with the Steelers was.

And today, thanks to his unselfish move, Taylor did what not many athletes get to do. He retired from the NFL playing his entire 12-year career in one uniform – a Steelers uniform.

...oh please ..he didn't do it out of unselfishness.. he did it because the steelers were the only ones dumb enough to pay him for another year.

Quote :

"I'm (ticked) off about it, still am (ticked) off about it, and I'm going to be (ticked) off until the end of the season about it," said Taylor, who along with safety Troy Polamalu is the longest-tenured player on the Steelers. "It's like you get to a point: 'Why me?' Like, I didn't show my loyalty? You want to talk about a guy who's going to come in in-shape, not waiting to build up into shape when he gets to camp.

"Or you want to talk about a guy who's unselfish and puts his team before his family and friends, you want to talk about a guy who has loyalty -- yeah, it's me. When you come to me and ask me for a pay cut, I'm like, 'Damn, out of all these people, you want to ask Ike?' "

always have

Me too @vasteeler. Way better than Chad "Burnt Toast" Scott.

I know Ike had hands of stone, but he was a very good corner for this time for a long time. Unfortunately, his play has clearly been declining over the past few years, and it is clear that it was about that time for him to retire. Hopefully, this team will be able to find a cornerback that can adequately replace Ike.

SoCalFan wrote:

Boy the day Ben leaves is going to be in f**king sane! Hopefully he has at least one more ring! The FO better start getting real serious in the next year or so on finding the next man up!

And hopefully when we hit the next guy its on the first shot. Smooth transition. No Cleveland-esque QB slump for this franchise please. I hope the next guy up is in the same vein/archetype as Big Ben and not some wildcat running qb or some niche shit like that.

Ike was very under appreciated IMO. While he was no longer the number 1 CB on the team, the defense is now sent reeling for an identity. Finally we get the offense to where it needs to be and the defense is playing second fiddle.

This could be a very frustrating season with a polished offense and rebuilding defense.

Damn! Another one of our greats is gone, and there's no debating he was great. Oh sure, he had his weaknesses, but he's been our best CB since Rod Woodson, and that's some good company to be in. You will be missed Ike, thanks for everything!

Sad to see him go. He's been a great player for a long time just wish he could of caught a ball more often.

Thanks for all your service Ike. I always considered him a really good corner. Not a shutdown but close. I agree if he could catch he might have been great.
Next man up.Whoever that will be.

solardave wrote:

Next man up.Whoever that will be.

That's what has me sweating. We weren't stellar in the secondary last year anyways and now we have to replace 2 key parts.

We either have to get really good, really fast in coverage or our blitz game has to make HUGE strides (all with a new DC).

As nervous as I am about it all is also how excited I am. Starting some new eras in Pittsburgh and while it's sad to see those guys leave, it's also exciting to see where we go from here.

SteelersYak wrote:

Ike was very under appreciated IMO.  While he was no longer the number 1 CB on the team, the defense is now sent reeling for an identity.  Finally we get the offense to where it needs to be and the defense is playing second fiddle.

This could be a very frustrating season with a polished offense and rebuilding defense.

It could be, but with a young defense, and a new DC, this season could be one of 'shock and awe'

Well, it really is a sad day. I'm going to miss all of those fond memories of screaming at the TV "NOT AGAIN IKE!!!", or "DONT THROW IT TO IKE'S SIDE!!" or "IF ITS NOT HOLDING ITS PI!!!" or "HOW IS THIS GUY STILL ON AN NFL FOOTBALL TEAM??!!"

All kidding aside, was Ike underrated? No.

Time to celebrate!