By Teresa Varley
Steelers.com

What a difference a year has made for cornerback Ike Taylor.

            Last season through three games Taylor’s defensive stat line was empty. He was inactive for the first two games and dressed for game three against Miami.

            This year, things are quite different.

            Taylor started the first two games of the season and although he didn’t start against the Patriots, he saw extensive action, coming into the game in the first series.

            And his stats are a far cry from a year ago. He currently is tied with linebacker James Farrior for the lead in tackles with 30, including a team-high 23 solo stops.

            “I still have a whole lot of room for improvement,” said Taylor. “I just want to get better every day. There is something new to learn every day.”

            Taylor was not expected to be the starter at left cornerback when the season started. But in the week of practice leading up to the opener, Willie Williams suffered a hamstring injury and Taylor got the call. His performance earned him the right to stay put.

            “I worked pretty hard since the coach sessions, through training camp and up until this point,” said Taylor. “That’s all the coaches want to see is some consistency. It’s just knowing your plays and knowing what to do in the defense.”

            Knowing what to do was a factor. By his own admission it took some time for Taylor to pick up the defense, understand all of the blitzes and schemes and know where he was supposed to be at all times. But he put the time in, watched film and studied more and it’s paid off.

“Coming from the school that I went to where we just ran a lot of man-to-man defense the whole game,” said Taylor, who attended Louisiana-Lafayette. “Then I had to learn this defense which is kind of confusing. It’s good now.”

            Taylor has utilized Williams and his NFL experience to help him out as well. He has become a mentor for him, and Williams has offered some advice that has helped Taylor’s game.

“When bad plays were happening to him last year he would get frustrated and show it on the field,” said Williams. “Now when that happens, he walks away, gets in the huddle and moves on to the next play. That’s key for him. You don’t want to show people that you are frustrated if you get beat.”

Taylor knows that was a problem for him now, but he didn’t realize it then. He left his emotions get the best of him. But he now knows how to keep that under control.

            “If I couldn’t make the play or a guy caught a pass on me, I would have a whole lot of extra emotion instead of letting that play die and moving on to the next play,” explained Taylor. “Willie would tell me those guys get paid too. If you let a guy get a play on you, it’s not the end of the world. Just come back and let that play be dead, learn from it and take advantage of the next play.

            “It’s made me a better player.”