FanHouse IkeTaylor

When William Gay was drafted, the worries were that he was too light and too short to ever be more than a nickel back.

He may still be short, but no one can accuse Gay of being too light to start any more. The third-year corner who is penciled in to replace Bryant McFadden at cornerback told the Washington Observer-Reporter that he is 15 pounds heavier than he was last year, up from 183 to 198. At 5-foot-10, 198 pounds, Gay now weighs three pounds more than 6-foot-2 corner Ike Taylor is officially listed at.

Heading into free agency, most people assumed that former Steeler Bryant McFadden would be in demand, perhaps even the first cornerback to ink a big-money deal. Ten days and a handful of defensive back signings later, McFadden finally got a new contract. And it has to be a lot less than what he was expecting: he's headed to Arizona for two years and $10 million.

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As they create room in the trophy case for a sixth Lombardi Trophy, the Steelers also have some decisions to make. Four of the team's top five offensive tackles are free agents (although Willie Colon is only a restricted free agent), as are starting cornerback Bryant McFadden and No. 3 receiver Nate Washington.

But according to Sports Illustrated's Don Banks, the Steelers have already decided on their top free agent priority. Banks says the Steelers plan to try to re-up McFadden before free agency begins on Feb. 27. With $19 million in cap room, Pittsburgh has some room to get McFadden under contract while also either re-upping Max Starks or trying to bring in free agent offensive line help.

Over the past two weeks we've heard all about the numerous connections between Pittsburgh and the Arizona Cardinals, and there are plenty. So many, in fact, that the Cardinals are jokingly referred to as "Pittsburgh west" by Steelers fans.

The story's of Ken Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm are well documented. Clark Haggans, Brian St. Pierre, Jerame Tuman and Sean Morey are all former Steelers, while Steve Breaston and Reggie Wells were actually born in Pittsburgh.

You know about Hines Ward and Kurt Warner, but this week we'll also try to spotlight some non household names who could play crucial parts in Sunday's Super Bowl.

Who: Ike Taylor

What Does He Do: Steelers starting cornerback.

Stats: 65 tackles, one interception.

How He Got Here: Taylor was the Steelers' fourth-round pick in 2003 out of Louisiana-Lafayette. He had good combine numbers coming out of school (4.35 speed to go with good size), but very little experience at cornerback -- he had only played the position for one year in college.

James Harrison could have been a Raven. After the Steelers released him in 2003, Baltimore added him to the roster during the 2004 offseason. But the Ravens released him during training camp, he re-signed with the Steelers, and it sure seems like he's spent the past couple of years trying to remind Baltimore of what it could have had.

He's had six sacks in the past two years against the Ravens. He's forced three fumbles and picked off one pass. So when the Ravens watched the film of their first regular-season games against the Steelers, it must have become clear quite quickly that they had to figure out someway to stop their worst nightmare -- an angry Harrison.

As we get ready for the Steelers-Texans game, I laid out three things that look good for the Steelers. Now here are three worrisome aspects of the game for Steelers fans.

1. The Steelers offensive line will face a tough test.

Yes, we could say this every week, but facing Mario Williams will give Pittsburgh plenty of challenges. Williams will likely be facing Marvel Smith for most of the game, which is actually a very good thing for the Steelers. If Williams moves around and flops over to the other side, he could give Willie Colon nightmares, especially as Colon sometimes has trouble maintaining his blocks when he gets double-team help (something that would be required if he's asked to block Williams). If Williams is left on the right side, facing Smith, Pittsburgh can at least endure that with minimal problems.

If this had been any other third-year cornerback, I would've just dismissed it as silly talk. But when the Chargers' Antonio Cromartie says that he has impossibly big plans for the 2008 season, well, I believe him.

Cromartie is throwing around the number 15. You hear it and know what he must be referring to. Yet you must get clarification.

Antonio, you seriously think that's how many interceptions you can get in a single season? This season?

"That's a very serious statement," Cromartie said. "A very, very serious statement."

And you know what, I'm taking it very, very seriously. Cromartie pretty much forces you to do so after some of the things he did last season (see YouTubes fun above).

The thing is, the Chargers' could have one of the best secondaries in the AFC in a year or two. Second-year safety Eric Weddle may not look like much, but he's a player. And 2008 first-round pick, cornerback Antoine Cason has a chance to be the team's nickel back while he's groomed for the starting gig at some point in the future.

In other, less pick-erific news, there's the Steelers Ike Taylor. A fine cornerback in his own right, who also happens to have cement mitts for hands. From the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

Ike Taylor has made six interceptions since becoming a starter in 2005. The Steelers cornerback said that total should be closer to 25.

"At least eight a year," Taylor said of how many interceptions he could have made the last three seasons.

Ike Taylor, the anti-Cromartie.

Last year Javon Walker was responsible for ruining Ike Taylor's season and nearly singlehandedly sent the Steelers to a 31-20 loss that eventually ensured Pittsburgh was sitting home come playoff time. So it's pretty big news to the Steelers that Javon Walker will miss the next four weeks after knee surgery.

Walker caught two touchdown passes over Taylor last year (as part of a six catch, 134-yard day) that led to Ike's benching by Bill Cowher. Walker also had a 72-yard touchdown run on a reverse that put the Steelers away.

Brandon Marshall has actually been Denver's top receiver this season and Walker had already missed the past two games with swelling in the knee, so missing Walker won't have the same effect for the Broncos as it would have had last year, but he still is a big receiver with good hands, and one that the Steelers, and especially Ike Taylor, will be happy to miss. And while the Broncos are banged up, nickel back Bryant McFadden is ahead of schedule and looks more and more likely that he could get back on the field Sunday night.