Count Steeler
12-14-2012, 06:15 PM
As the veteran member of the Pittsburgh Steelers' otherwise-youthful cornerbacks, Ike Taylor enjoys being among the first- and second-year players at his position meetings.
''I feel like they keep my young,'' Taylor said. ''Especially with the new young music coming up, the clothes, shoes, all that kind of stuff.''
This week, it's much more than music or fashion trends that have Taylor appreciating players such as Josh Victorian, DeMarcus Van Dyke, Curtis Brown and Robert Golden.
With Taylor sidelined with a fractured right ankle and top reserve Cortez Allen likely out with a groin injury, the likes of Victorian and Van Dyke are thrust into prominent roles.
Picked up late in training camp, neither was even active for games as recently as two weeks ago. But as the Steelers (7-6) head into Dallas (7-6), they'll be counting on the inexperienced cornerbacks to deal with the Cowboys' talented receivers.
''We tried to teach these young players like they are going to be starting because we know someday, they will be starting,'' Pittsburgh defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau said. ''Unfortunately, we got a couple hits at the same spot. Generally speaking, throughout the course of a season, this happens every year. It's not a surprise that some of these guys are going to be starting and taking a significant amount of snaps. Hopefully they will be prepared and answer the challenge.''
full story @ http://sports.yahoo.com/news/steelers-db-victorian-van-dyke-214314909--nfl.html;_ylt=A2KJ3CSwwMtQOSAAYNTwFAx.
''I feel like they keep my young,'' Taylor said. ''Especially with the new young music coming up, the clothes, shoes, all that kind of stuff.''
This week, it's much more than music or fashion trends that have Taylor appreciating players such as Josh Victorian, DeMarcus Van Dyke, Curtis Brown and Robert Golden.
With Taylor sidelined with a fractured right ankle and top reserve Cortez Allen likely out with a groin injury, the likes of Victorian and Van Dyke are thrust into prominent roles.
Picked up late in training camp, neither was even active for games as recently as two weeks ago. But as the Steelers (7-6) head into Dallas (7-6), they'll be counting on the inexperienced cornerbacks to deal with the Cowboys' talented receivers.
''We tried to teach these young players like they are going to be starting because we know someday, they will be starting,'' Pittsburgh defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau said. ''Unfortunately, we got a couple hits at the same spot. Generally speaking, throughout the course of a season, this happens every year. It's not a surprise that some of these guys are going to be starting and taking a significant amount of snaps. Hopefully they will be prepared and answer the challenge.''
full story @ http://sports.yahoo.com/news/steelers-db-victorian-van-dyke-214314909--nfl.html;_ylt=A2KJ3CSwwMtQOSAAYNTwFAx.