Post by MizzouTiger on Jan 10, 2008 13:47:48 GMT -5
www.kansascity.com/sports/story/438077.html
Jaguars’ Taylor aging very well
By RANDY COVITZ
The Kansas City Star
They once called him Fragile Fred.
That was in the days when Jacksonville running back Fred Taylor couldn’t stay healthy. His shoulder, hamstring, knees, ankles and groin conspired to cause him to miss 24 full games and parts of nine others during his first four seasons in 1998-2001.
Now, they call him The Franchise.
“He is the Jaguars,” said Jaguars defensive end Paul Spicer.
Taylor, a few weeks shy of 32 years old — an age when most NFL running backs have reached the end of their careers — has helped carry the Jaguars into the second round of the AFC playoffs, where they’ll meet New England on Saturday night.
The Jaguars finished the regular season ranked No. 2 in the NFL in rushing, thanks to the 1-2 punch of Taylor, who rushed for 1,202 yards and a career-best 5.4-yard average, and second-year man Maurice Jones-Drew, who added 768 yards at 4.6 yards an attempt.
Most impressive, Taylor finished the regular season with a flourish, recording five consecutive 100-yard rushing games, including a franchise-record 80-yard touchdown run against Carolina and a 62-yard run against Oakland.
Taylor also had a 76-yard run against Houston, giving him four carries of 50-plus yards, including two of the four longest rushes in the NFL this season.
Even his contemporaries are amazed.
“For as long as Fred has been in the league, you’d think you’d lose a step a little bit, especially as a running back with all of the pounding that you take,” said Patriots linebacker Junior Seau, still going strong at nearly 39 years old. “But as you watch him on film, he still has that great breakaway speed and you see him pulling away from linebackers and especially defensive backs and safeties. They just can’t catch him, so I think he’s playing the best type of football he has in his career.”
How has Taylor, the oldest running back still standing in the playoffs, been able to dominate at such an advanced age?
Acupuncture. Deep-tissue massage. And an offseason workout regimen apart from his teammates where he works with a personal trainer who supervises Taylor’s conditioning program and diet.
“The thing you have to do is, you get a little bit older, you get more mature, not in age but just in experience,” Taylor said. “You try to give yourself the best opportunity, the best advantage, and that’s taking care of your body.
“During the past few years I have been doing that, realizing that it takes a little bit longer to heal so early in the week and you do the necessary things to try to prevent those small injuries from becoming bigger. I love playing football, I love competing, so that’s the second part. God has definitely blessed me in that area, but you have to do the other things, just taking care of your body, because if your body goes, then you can’t compete.”
Taylor also cited another factor in his ability to remain healthy for all but a handful of games since 2002.
“I got married,” Taylor said of his 2002 nuptials. “I had to slow it down a little bit. I would go clubbing four or five nights a week (in the offseason), and that’s the time I should be training. I just grew up, and a lot of that credit goes to (Andrea) and my kids.”
Consequently, Taylor has moved into 17th place on the NFL’s all-time rushing list with 10,715 yards. He was the only player among the top 48 rushers in NFL history to have never made a Pro Bowl until this year, when he was selected as an injury replacement for Pittsburgh’s Willie Parker.
Jaguars’ Taylor aging very well
By RANDY COVITZ
The Kansas City Star
They once called him Fragile Fred.
That was in the days when Jacksonville running back Fred Taylor couldn’t stay healthy. His shoulder, hamstring, knees, ankles and groin conspired to cause him to miss 24 full games and parts of nine others during his first four seasons in 1998-2001.
Now, they call him The Franchise.
“He is the Jaguars,” said Jaguars defensive end Paul Spicer.
Taylor, a few weeks shy of 32 years old — an age when most NFL running backs have reached the end of their careers — has helped carry the Jaguars into the second round of the AFC playoffs, where they’ll meet New England on Saturday night.
The Jaguars finished the regular season ranked No. 2 in the NFL in rushing, thanks to the 1-2 punch of Taylor, who rushed for 1,202 yards and a career-best 5.4-yard average, and second-year man Maurice Jones-Drew, who added 768 yards at 4.6 yards an attempt.
Most impressive, Taylor finished the regular season with a flourish, recording five consecutive 100-yard rushing games, including a franchise-record 80-yard touchdown run against Carolina and a 62-yard run against Oakland.
Taylor also had a 76-yard run against Houston, giving him four carries of 50-plus yards, including two of the four longest rushes in the NFL this season.
Even his contemporaries are amazed.
“For as long as Fred has been in the league, you’d think you’d lose a step a little bit, especially as a running back with all of the pounding that you take,” said Patriots linebacker Junior Seau, still going strong at nearly 39 years old. “But as you watch him on film, he still has that great breakaway speed and you see him pulling away from linebackers and especially defensive backs and safeties. They just can’t catch him, so I think he’s playing the best type of football he has in his career.”
How has Taylor, the oldest running back still standing in the playoffs, been able to dominate at such an advanced age?
Acupuncture. Deep-tissue massage. And an offseason workout regimen apart from his teammates where he works with a personal trainer who supervises Taylor’s conditioning program and diet.
“The thing you have to do is, you get a little bit older, you get more mature, not in age but just in experience,” Taylor said. “You try to give yourself the best opportunity, the best advantage, and that’s taking care of your body.
“During the past few years I have been doing that, realizing that it takes a little bit longer to heal so early in the week and you do the necessary things to try to prevent those small injuries from becoming bigger. I love playing football, I love competing, so that’s the second part. God has definitely blessed me in that area, but you have to do the other things, just taking care of your body, because if your body goes, then you can’t compete.”
Taylor also cited another factor in his ability to remain healthy for all but a handful of games since 2002.
“I got married,” Taylor said of his 2002 nuptials. “I had to slow it down a little bit. I would go clubbing four or five nights a week (in the offseason), and that’s the time I should be training. I just grew up, and a lot of that credit goes to (Andrea) and my kids.”
Consequently, Taylor has moved into 17th place on the NFL’s all-time rushing list with 10,715 yards. He was the only player among the top 48 rushers in NFL history to have never made a Pro Bowl until this year, when he was selected as an injury replacement for Pittsburgh’s Willie Parker.