Fred Taylor Targets Jim Brown

As Hall of Famer Franco Harris moved closer to Jim Brown’s career rushing yardage, which at the time was the most in NFL history, Brown threatened to come out of retirement. As chronciled in Mike Freeman’s biography of Brown, the man who gained 12,312 yards in only nine seasons (four of which had only twelve games and five of which had 14) didn’t like Franco’s style. “Why would a 230-pound man run out of bounds?” Brown once said, per Freeman’s book. “Why is everyone dancing, mugging for the camera? Where’s the danger in the game? Where are the characters and the warriors? You talk about records. Why even compare me to Franco? He played thirteen years, I played nine. He played something like fifty more games. Man gets four strikes to my three, where’s the significance? My performance spoke for itself. I don’t want to hear any shit about Franco.” Well, Jim Brown has another guy on his tail. According to Vito Stellino of the Florida Times-Union (via Mike Reiss of the Boston Globe), former Jaguars and current Patriots tailback Fred Taylor wants to catch Brown’s career total, which has been surpassed over the years by eleven men -- none of whom are named Franco Harris. “I’ve always said I wanted to catch Jim Brown,” Taylor said. “Whether I do or don’t, it’s been great playing in the NFL for this long. When you look at the average life span, things that I’ve gone through throughout my career with injuries. . . . I’ve just got to keep moving forward. Whatever I end with, I’ll take it.” Taylor has 11,271 yards in eleven NFL seasons, playing in 140 total games. So he needs 1,041 yards to tie Brown. To get there, Taylor has been working out with his new teammates in New England, despite skipping some voluntary workouts during his final years with the Jaguars. As Taylor continues to approach Brown’s mark, we doubt that the man who is still arguably the best running back in NFL history will talk about unretirement this time around. But maybe he’ll challenge Taylor to a 40-yard dash.