Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor had a fantastic 45 minutes of football on Super Bowl Sunday versus the Arizona Cardinals. The only problem is that Taylor came up 15 minutes short. Taylor blanketed Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald in the first three quarters of football, holding him to just one catch for 12 yards. What happened after that almost cost the Steelers their sixth NFL championship. Fitzgerald, a former University of Pittsburgh star, added 6 catches for 115 yards and 2 touchdowns all in the fourth quarter against Taylor. Fitzgerald\’s first touchdown came on a fade pattern to the right corner of end in which Taylor never turned to find the ball. On that drive Fitzgerald had five big receptions. The second touchdown was a inside slant route in front of Taylor from the Cardinals 36 yard line. Fitzgerald caught the pass at the 43, broke Taylor\’s attempt at a tackle, and took it 64 yards down the middle for a touchdown. To make matters worse, Taylor had an unnecessary roughness penalty that could have been costly in the fourth quarter.
If Taylor is to remain a Steeler, he needs to understand that it is about the team and not him. He also needs to be able to put together a multiple complete games, not just partial games. The game is 60 minutes long and you can pat yourself on the back after the game, but not before them.
