Ode to The Fragile One
Not so much an "Ode" as much as a quick set of facts. Don't judge, just read the fucker.
When you think of the name Fred Taylor, the first word phrase that comes to mind is probably "pulled hamstring." Or if you're like me and draft him three rounds too early in your Fanta C League because you just KNOW this is the year that Freddy's gonna revert to 2003 (or preferably 1998) form and make you look like a genius, then the first phrase that comes to mind is the mental conversation at the fantasy draft that goes something like this: "don't do it don't do it don't do it, he's just gonna make you cry...." Uh, I'll take Fred Taylor. Which is why some people might do a double-take when they see that Freddy Taylor signed a 4 year extension with the Jags through 2010. The deal amounts to a total of $23 million and a guarantee of $5 million through next year. Almost a twofold salary increase for the oft-injured former Gator. Fred has only made it through an entire season without missing time due to injury twice in his 9 season NFL career. What Fred does bring to the table is a hefty helping of talent and versatility in the same way that Tiki Barber and Thurman Thomas did. That's right. I said it. Tiki Barber and Thurman Thomas. The problem is that you never see Fred mentioned in the same breath as either of these guys largely because of the stigma associated with his frequent injuries. With Thurman's induction into the NFL Hall of Fame this year, we've got to start thinking about Freddy's place in history. I'm not shitting you. Take a look at the stats:
--------------------------G--Yds--Avg--Td--Rec.--Yds--Avg---Td
When you think of the name Fred Taylor, the first word phrase that comes to mind is probably "pulled hamstring." Or if you're like me and draft him three rounds too early in your Fanta C League because you just KNOW this is the year that Freddy's gonna revert to 2003 (or preferably 1998) form and make you look like a genius, then the first phrase that comes to mind is the mental conversation at the fantasy draft that goes something like this: "don't do it don't do it don't do it, he's just gonna make you cry...." Uh, I'll take Fred Taylor. Which is why some people might do a double-take when they see that Freddy Taylor signed a 4 year extension with the Jags through 2010. The deal amounts to a total of $23 million and a guarantee of $5 million through next year. Almost a twofold salary increase for the oft-injured former Gator. Fred has only made it through an entire season without missing time due to injury twice in his 9 season NFL career. What Fred does bring to the table is a hefty helping of talent and versatility in the same way that Tiki Barber and Thurman Thomas did. That's right. I said it. Tiki Barber and Thurman Thomas. The problem is that you never see Fred mentioned in the same breath as either of these guys largely because of the stigma associated with his frequent injuries. With Thurman's induction into the NFL Hall of Fame this year, we've got to start thinking about Freddy's place in history. I'm not shitting you. Take a look at the stats:
--------------------------G--Yds--Avg--Td--Rec.--Yds--Avg---Td
Thurman Thomas--182-12074-4.2-65--472--4458--9.4---23
Fred Taylor----------112-9513--4.6--56--261--2205--8.4----8
Tiki Barber----------154-10448-4.7--55--586--5183--8.8---12
Depending on what goes on with Corey Dillon, Taylor could enter the season the leading all-time rusher amongst active players. Barring a career ending injury (the odds of which are about 70/30) we can safely project Freddy to play another 2 years. Even with the emergence of MoJo Drew, if Freddy does anything even close to what he put up last year (1146yds @ 5.0yds/car, 5tds, 23 rec. 242yds. 200 more yards on the ground than Drew.), he'll break the 10,000yd marker, blow past Tiki in rushing yards and maybe catch the prolific Thomas in Rushing Tds. The following year he will approach Thomas in rushing yards and will creep ever closer to 3,000 receiving yards. If he plays a third year, well, we'll have bigger fish to fry when it starts raining battery acid and the seas fill with feces and flood all the earth's land. You could probably go to Vegas and make up your odds if you wanted to bet on the chances that Freddy makes it through the next three years, but if he does, he'll likely qualify for the Hall of Fame. Fred Taylor, NFL Hall of Famer. That's a pretty f'd up thought.
Depending on what goes on with Corey Dillon, Taylor could enter the season the leading all-time rusher amongst active players. Barring a career ending injury (the odds of which are about 70/30) we can safely project Freddy to play another 2 years. Even with the emergence of MoJo Drew, if Freddy does anything even close to what he put up last year (1146yds @ 5.0yds/car, 5tds, 23 rec. 242yds. 200 more yards on the ground than Drew.), he'll break the 10,000yd marker, blow past Tiki in rushing yards and maybe catch the prolific Thomas in Rushing Tds. The following year he will approach Thomas in rushing yards and will creep ever closer to 3,000 receiving yards. If he plays a third year, well, we'll have bigger fish to fry when it starts raining battery acid and the seas fill with feces and flood all the earth's land. You could probably go to Vegas and make up your odds if you wanted to bet on the chances that Freddy makes it through the next three years, but if he does, he'll likely qualify for the Hall of Fame. Fred Taylor, NFL Hall of Famer. That's a pretty f'd up thought.
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3 comments:
i can't see him being in the hall of fame simply because there was no one time in his career where you really felt like he was one of the best in the league at what he did. i guess that's precisely why it's such an f'd up thought.
what a joke, there's no chance he gets anywhere near those same numbers. Tiki Barber shouldn't even be in the hall, and when it's all said and done Fred Taylor won't even match his numbers
I am feeling the statistical merit of this study, but Micah crystallizes the essence of the issue. If Fred is in and Art Monk isn't, the seas will fill with feces.
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