Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor is as honest as they come when it comes to talking to the media and on Saturday he was asked to give his thoughts on rookie safety Shamarko Thomas.
Being as the Steelers defense is pretty complex, the learning curve can be tough. Taylor was asked about that learning curve and if Thomas was having a problem with it.
“Not at all, he picks up things real well,” Taylor said. “The good thing about Shamarko is that he wants to learn. So why not learn from a Ryan Clark and a Troy Polamalu? He sees that and he understands that. In meetings he\’s asking questions, so that\’s a good thing.”
Taylor says he isn\’t sure how much longer both Troy Polamalu and Ryan Clark will play, but having them both around as long as possible to mentor the Syracuse product is a great luxury to have.
“Just having those two guys back there, you know what you\’re going to get,” Taylor said. “One is a Hall of Famer, both are Pro Bowlers, but having a young guy coming in like Shamarko, with a little spark, with a little spunk, there\’s nothing wrong with that.”
Until Thomas is ready to play a few snaps on defense, he will be expected to contribute on special teams. Bringing that spark and spunk to that area of his game is surely needed and I suspect new special teams coach Danny Smith is more than happy to have him on those units.
