Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor had the rare distinction of being singled out for not playing well enough by each of the last two Steelers coaches in the last week.
On Sunday, Bill Cowher pointed to Taylor’s play as one of the biggest problems for the Steelers defense right now and Mike Tomlin said Tuesday that Taylor “needs to get back to playing good, sound football.” Taylor got attacked early, often and successfully by the Titans in Week Six, something that led to even more criticism of his play in the media. That criticism isn’t sitting well with Taylor.
“I always felt like, you know, if we’re in the same city, regardless what’s going on with the team, why can’t we just be family? Why can’t we just point out the facts? Why does one individual have to be pointed out?” Taylor said, via Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “The stats are the stats. Y’all look at numbers, y’all throw numbers out, the numbers don’t lie. And, if you want to go by numbers, we’re not doing as bad as what they say we’re doing.”
The Steelers have been stingy in terms of yards allowed, but they’ve given up 23 points a game so far this season. That’s tied for 17th in the NFL, which is less complimentary to Taylor’s point even if points allowed aren’t always the sole fault of the defense. Whatever numbers you choose, though, the fact that the Steelers are 2-3 and their defense has given away fourth quarter leads in all three losses. That makes the larger statistical picture less meaningful any way you want to spin it.
Taylor is going to have a big job in his hands this week against Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green and the only final stat that’s going to quiet criticism of the Steelers defense is the final score. If the Steelers fall to 2-4, Taylor might want to invest in some earplugs.