4/28/2024 0 Comments Jacksonville jaguars radio networkWhen I noted that was a big statement, he didn’t waver. When I asked Hall of Famer Troy Polamalu what it was like to stand on the other side of the line from Fred Taylor, he paused and said, “I think he’s the best running back I ever faced.” I would be proud to see him put on a gold jacket. “When somebody steps on the field who’s a Hall of Famer, he’s a problem. And that was when it was legal to try and tear a guy’s head off.” We had some classic battles that nobody ever saw. “Fred was a “something else” type back,” he started. And Leon Searcy, once, in ’99, Leon’s last year in the league.Īnd when I went to get off the phone with Ray Lewis and read back some of his quotes he said, “I want to say something stronger,” and went on a soliloquy. He didn’t have a bunch of Pro Bowlers blocking for him but still he put up numbers.”ĭuring Taylor’s career, only two offensive lineman blocking for him ever went to the Pro Bowl: Tony Boselli, in the first three years of Fred’s career. He ran the ball well, he caught the ball well. “I’ve always thought Fred was that guy who should be in the Hall. “Being a running back I always watched his career and I thought his strongest part was his mental game and how he overcame stuff,” he added. Thurman Thomas, a Hall of Famer with 350 more career carries but one fewer rushing touchdown than Taylor said, “A lot of people didn’t get to see him play. Those of us with a keen eye know Fred Taylor is the best running back I’ve seen in a long time.” And Fred is cold blooded and nobody generally talks about this guy. In an interview in the early 2000’s, Brown said, “Marcus Allen and I used to talk about a running back that no one used to talk about out of Jacksonville, Fred Taylor. If he played in a different market than Jacksonville, with his numbers, I don’t think we’d even be having this discussion.”Īpparently, Allen and the late Jim Brown, who many consider the best to ever play the game, thought Taylor was something different. Marcus Allen couldn’t say enough good things about Taylor. I went down on my knees and I thought, ‘Maybe I shouldn’t even play the next play.’ That’s the kind of player he was.” “He didn’t even see me coming and I didn’t knock him down. “I hit him when he wasn’t looking and I felt like I hit a brick wall,” he said. He was gifted and he also had grit.”Īnd Troy laughed at a memory of facing Fred on Sunday in Pittsburgh. There’s nobody he wasn’t better than in our era. Those games against Jacksonville were so physical. “When I went to Pittsburgh, nobody talked about any other running back but Fred,” Hall of Fame safety Troy Polamalu told me. I never set a goal of mine to be in the Hall of Fame. When I played, I played hard and I played the game the right way. “When it comes to something like this,” Taylor said of the Hall of Fame, “I never really understood how much this meant to me. Talking to Hall of Fame Selection Committee members Clark Judge and Ira Kaufman on the “Talk of Fame” network, Taylor outlined what he thinks of the whole Hall of Fame process. So presenting his case for the Selection Committee of the Pro Football Hall of Fame as the Jacksonville representative, just raising awareness of Fred’s career for the other selectors has been part of the task.īut what I have found during my research into Fred’s career is the overwhelming respect Taylor’s opponents have for him, his style of play, his stats and how he treated the game. Thank goodness that’s gone.īecause of Jacksonville’s market size, and the newness of the franchise, games shown nationally that involved the Jaguars were few and far between.Īnd consequently, a lot of people didn’t get to see Fred Taylor play. If the home team didn’t sell out 48-hours in advance, the game wasn’t shown in the home market. Only the home market and the visiting team city received the broadcast of the game, and as many of you remember, blackouts were still a part of the NFL. Most of their games were what is called “point-to-point” broadcasts. When the Jaguars were and early expansion franchise, they were competitive, but not a national draw on TV.
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