Fred Taylor Fan Site

Pete Prisco, from CBS Sportsline, posted his top 50 players in the NFL regardless of position. You can check out the entire rankings here.

Fred Taylor, the only Jaguar to make the list, came in at #49. A little bit low considering he had a Pro Bowl year, but still a nice honor considering he is 32 years old. Here’s what Pete had to say:

49. Fred Taylor, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars: Taylor finally got his due last season with his first Pro Bowl appearance. At 32, he remains one of the biggest home-run threats in the league. His 5.4 per-carry average was second best among the league’s best rushers to Peterson (5.6).

There’s no denying Fred Taylor is one of the most important, if not the most important, pieces to the Jacksonville Jaguars success. Over the past decade, if Fred Taylor went down, the team would fall in the toilet until he returned. It’s nice to see this #49 ranking, and I hope he can have a great 2008 season and move up the list next year.

The Jacksonville Jaguars ended mini-camps last week. They now have 5-6 weeks off until the start of training camp, which begins July 25. Fred Taylor looked great in mini camps and came out healthy. He now returns to South Florida where he will continue to condition his body for the NFL season.

John Clayton of ESPN.com thinks Fred Taylor needs back-to-back 1,200 yard seasons to be considered for the Hall of Fame. That would put him at over 13,000 total rushing yards. You can read the entire article here, otherwise, below is the excerpt about Freddy T.

Fred Taylor’s 10,715 career rushing yards put him on the radar, but the Jacksonville Jaguars standout’s lone trip to the Pro Bowl means he really needs to make the most of his remaining seasons. He might need back-to-back 1,200-yard seasons to put his bid over the top.

Clayton talks about how the implementation of the two running-back systems has a negative effect on players and their chances on reaching HOF levels. Running backs simply aren’t getting the carries they used to. It’s understandable from a business standpoint though, no owner wants their star running back getting hurt.

If players aren’t getting enough carries anymore, then HOF measurements should be based on what they do with those carries. And right now, Fred is averaging 4.7 yards per carry.. that’s more then Tomlinson (4.5), Steven Jackson (4.4) and Edgerrin James (4.1).

Because I was not able to make it to mini camp this weekend, I thought I would post a couple of notes on Fred that can be found on the Jaguars Message Board.

In the 11×11s:

Fred Taylor is looking smooth and quick.  Gone is the stutter step that was his trademark for many years.  The more seasoned Fred Taylor continues to show outstanding patience, allowing blockers to set up in front of him, and then hitting the burners to burst through the line.  He is looking as sharp as he did at any point last year.  Granted, there is no contact to be found, but the way he allowed his blocks to set up, then finding the crease and accelerating through it was a thing of beauty.

In the 7×7s:

Fred Taylor showed some nice hands on a couple of plays out of the backfield.  With Mathis not practicing, Brian Williams was victimized by the Pro Bowler, as Fred blew right by him.

Overall it seemed like a great session for Freddy. He came out looking like he should. He was fast and strong and showed poise running through the tackles.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are holding their first mini camp of the season today. The mini camp on Friday June 6 and Saturday June 7 ( each day there are two sessions, beginning at 10:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m) are free and open to the public. This is a great opportunity for you to see Fred Taylor in action on the practice field.

“We’re excited about letting the public get a glimpse at some of the hard work we’ve been putting in,” said Jaguars Head Coach Jack Del Rio. “We feel like we’ve got a good squad this year and a lot of excitement in the area, and so it’s the one opportunity prior to training camp where we’ll allow the public to come out and see what we do and see us working.”

If you plan on going out, JagNation put together a nice list of what to expect and what not to expect from this weekend’s mini camp. Check it out here.

Check back on Sunday or Monday and I will be sure to post a recap on what we saw from Fred Taylor.

Fred Taylor is taking a break from his South Florida workouts to join the team and the new rookies at practice this week. Taylor will participate in four of the volunteer workouts this week, then head back to do his personal condition, before returning to Jacksonville for the mandatory mini-camps on June 6-7.

“I’m a veteran. This is ‘veteran camp.’ I just wanted to come back and be with the team,” Taylor said following practice.

Just a few weeks after Fred Taylor said he only plans to play football until he passes Jim Brown on the all-time list, he had this to say:

“These next two years, of course; a third year, we’ll see,” Taylor said when asked how long he intends to continue playing. “I do love this game. Maybe I’ll try to get into the top five (all-time rushing leaders).

“I feel I can play as long as I want. When I come out here, I get excited just being around these young guys,” Taylor added.

Speaking of the young guys. Jack Del Rio asked Fred Taylor and Mike Peterson to speak to all the rookies about how to handle the media and fans. Fred is a great person for this. He has a wonderful relationship with the media.

Sites like ESPN and Sportsline are coming out with their NFL Power Polls this week. The Jaguars are getting a ton of respect from the national media. CBS ranked the Jaguars #3 overall and ESPN ranked the Jaguars #5. The high ranking is mostly attributed to the excellent running game anchored by veteran Fred Taylor.

Fred Taylor may be old by running back standards, but he shows no sign of slowing down. Fred’s been working out hard this off-season in South Florida just like has has the past few years.  Taylor wants to come into camp strong and ready to win a Superbowl. The Jags are a trendy pick this year for the Superbowl, so let’s just hope it doesn’t get to their players’ heads.

The Jaguars OTA practice schedule starts today. The practice isn’t open to the public, but Fred Taylor will be there.

In a recent interview with Jaguars.com Fred Taylor hinted that he could retire in just two more years. “I’m going to have a better season. I’m on a mission. I’m just trying to catch Jim Brown and then we’ll close the curtains.” Taylor has rushed for 10,715 yards in his 10-year career. Brown rushed for 12,312 in nine seasons with the Cleveland Browns. Taylor, therefore, needs 1,598 yards to move past Brown and into eighth place on the NFL’s all-time rushing list. Most likely that will take him two more years, but if he continues where he left off in 2007, Fred could get 1600 yards next season.

It’s pretty scary trying to picture the Jaguars without Fred Taylor, but you can’t fault the guy for wanting to get out of the game and enjoy time with his family. “I can play as long as I want. I really believe that. But I’m not going to play as long as I want. I watch these older players walk around. I don’t want to walk around like Shack Harris. I want to enjoy my family and my kids. There’s going to be an end one day. I want to honor my contract but that would be in a perfect world. Twelve years would be ideal,” said Taylor.

Good news for the Jacksonville Jaguars (and Fred Taylor). Both Jack Del Rio and David Garrard have been extended this offseason. Del Rio for five more years and Garrard for seven. This benefits Fred Taylor by keeping stability in the coaching ranks and at the quarterback position.

Fred Taylor’s late career dominance may be slightly due to David Garrard. With Garrard at the quarterback position, team defenses can’t stack the box. Garrard can play in the shotgun and nuder center (something Leftwich couldn’t do). This really opens up the running game for Fred Taylor.

With these two positions locked up for the future, I can only predict another great season for Fred in 2008.

The Jacksonville Jaguars recently extended full-back Greg Jones to a nice new contract, giving him the most money of any fullback in the NFL. Greg Jones was a pro-bowl first alternate in 2007, and should continue to be a stud fullback for many years to come.

This is great news for Fred Taylor, who loves to run behind Greg Jones coming off the line. Jones picks up all the defenders and clears the field for Freddy to gash through. It’s important to keep the chemistry of the backfield intact. You can’t just plug in any old full-back and expect to be as successful. It takes a lot of time to build trust and to know where your teammates will be on the field.