During his 12-year career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, cornerback Ike Taylor played a major role in some of the best defenses the franchise — and the NFL — has ever seen.
He was a lockdown cornerback who simply took away the opponent’s top target weekly, doing so with ease. While he didn’t have the interception numbers during his career to give him that elevation into star status, his opponents and the local media that covered the Steelers knew just how great he was.
Turns out, he was also an outstanding trash talker, too.
According to former Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh, the Steelers’ Ike Taylor was one of the best trash talkers he ever went against in the NFL.
“It was anybody with the Ravens. Ray Lewis wouldn’t talk, but it would be like, it was cool. Like, I’m coming to mess you up. Anybody on the Steelers, too. Joey Porter…Ike Taylor,” Houshmandzadeh said to FanDuel’s Gabby Goudy, according to video via YouTube. “He wouldn’t start it. I would start it and then he would just be nonstop. Bleep bleep, bleep bleep, bleep bleep.”
That sounds like the Steelers from that era.
They wouldn’t start the trash-talking, but they’d make sure they ended it.
Porter was the ringleader of that when it came to that era of the Steelers. His play would back it up, too.
It’s a bit surprising that Houshmandzadeh mentioned Ike Taylor because he wasn’t exactly known as a big talker on or off the field. He was typically reserved, quietly went about his business, and, at the end of the day, was quite good at his job.
But, as Houshmandzadeh stated, once someone started trash-talking Taylor, he would fire right back and never stop.
Outside of Houshmandzadeh giving his take on the league’s best trash talkers, former Steelers’ cornerback Joe Haden also weighed in with Goudy, calling former Panthers and Ravens wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. the best trash talker.
Smith, of course, had the famous sound bite of “ice up, son!” during his playing days and played with a massive chip on his shoulder, which carried over into the trash-talking he did on the field.
“I think the best trash talker is Steve Smith. He’s talking crazy people. It’s like just very disrespectful,” Haden said.
That sounds about right with Smith. Heck, he still trash talks today as an analyst, even getting into it on the sideline before a game with former Broncos receiver and current Browns receiver Jerry Jeudy.
