Ike Taylor: "There ain’t nothing better than being a Steeler"

What follows is a part of a recent post and interview transcription I finished last evening on SportsRadioInterviews, a site I helped found and continue to help manage. It is a transcription of Ike Taylor's recent appearance on the Fan Morning Show in Pittsburgh from Thursday. Taylor was quite candid while in the car driving to Orlando with James Farrior, William Gay and perhaps one or two other Steelers. Fans will be particularly pleased to hear that Taylor really makes it clear that he understands what it means to be a part of the Steelers organization. He also has some interesting commentary on the Raiders and the contract they gave Stanford Routt this offseason. -Michael B. -

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On how many cornerbacks are out there that are better than him:

"I mean, it depends on who you ask. But if you ask me, none of them. None of them. Tell me why you think they might be better. As far as interception wise — if you want to argue that — you’ve got me, you can win that one. But if you’re talking about playing the best receivers down in and down out, playing special teams, being durable and playing for 16 games, not afraid of taking the best receiver and wanting to do that, like my guys say all the time…not afraid of contact — you’re talking to the guy. I think a lot of people get caught up in interceptions, but I mean, I’ve been to three Super Bowls in six years so I can’t complain. And I’ve won two. So technically I’ve won more Super Bowls than a lot of organizations. So people can say what they want to say, but at the end of the day I just try to stay consistent."

On his reaction when seeing the massive contract signed by Oakland Raiders CB Stanford Routt, a player he has to know he’s much better than:

“I mean, I see that type of contract and I’m like ‘man, I’m ready to sign for that type of money.’ But I look at the team that he signed that type of money for and I’m like “I’m with the Raiders.’ So you can’t even put into consideration what the Raiders d. Yeah, for my market value and what it is for individuals at my position — yeah, it helped me out bigtime. But man, there are some things you can’t even really pay attention to. Some teams run differently than others, and as we all know, one of them teams is the Raiders. So yeah, it puts a smile on your face, but you’ve got to understand that it’s a business, and that’s what I’m doing.”

How badly he thinks the Steelers appreciate him and want him to re-sign in Pittsburgh:

“I think they want me to. They’re ain’t nothing better than being a Steeler man. No disrespect to any other teams or any other organizations, but I’ve bee with this organization for eight years, I’ve seen guys come from other teams, I hear stories all the time. And just the camaraderie we have on that team, and on that defense and in the locker room. It’s very competitive from an offensive and defensive standpoint and I don’t think people understand that. But just a guy like Mr. Rooney and the Rooney family, from the top to the bottom — Coach T., Coach LeBeau, just the whole staff, the whole organization, just the whole Nation. When they say Steeler Nation, it’s a nation. We’ve got them all over. Take any city, any place in the world, I’m sure you can find a Steeler bar or just a Steeler place. I don’t know if you can get that any other place. So time will tell whether we can come to some type of agreement, but with this lockout, ain’t nothing going on right now.”

Click here to read the rest of the transcription.

Click here to listen to Taylor's interview on 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh