Taylor Can’t Be Ignored : NFC championship: As Rams found in December, Rice isn’t the only 49er receiver who requires close attention.
John Taylor is a man of few words and many yards, resolved to regard reporters with the same disdain he shows for opposing defenses.
The 27-year-old wide receiver’s accomplishments for the 49ers this season speak eloquently about his swift, fluid strides, clever hands and recovery from two episodes of substance abuse, the second of which resulted in a 30-day suspension at the beginning of last season. Taylor had only four regular-season touchdowns in 1988, but all were on plays of 65 yards or more; shorter--but more momentous--was his 10-yard reception of a Joe Montana pass with 34 seconds left for the winning score in the 49ers’ 20-16 victory over Cincinnati in Super Bowl XXIII last January.
This season, his third out of 2,500-student Delaware State, Taylor had 10 touchdown receptions and 1,077 yards receiving, second on the 49ers to All-Pro Jerry Rice. He also returned 36 punts for 417 yards, for a solid 11.6 average--fourth-best in the NFL.
That’s not bad for a one-time defensive back who was 5-feet-9 and 154 pounds and never caught a pass in his high school days--and who began his collegiate career at Johnson C. Smith University, a small school in North Carolina. He was called Jake by his receivers coach after he transferred to Delaware State, until he gained enough attention and self-confidence in his second season to tell the coach his real name. Now, people call Taylor a Pro Bowl pick and an important weapon in San Francisco’s arsenal.
“He’s taken a lot of heat off our whole offense,” 49er backup quarterback Steve Young said. “People were starting to figure, ‘If we can take Jerry Rice away, we can win. We can double-team Rice and not worry about Taylor.’ Once, that might have been a risk worth taking, but not anymore. If Jerry Rice doesn’t beat you, John Taylor can.”
The Rams know that only too well. Taylor was their nemesis the last time the teams met, when he capitalized on the Rams’ double coverage of Rice to catch touchdown passes of 92 and 95 yards from Montana. Taylor became the first player in NFL history to have two scoring plays of 90 or more yards in a single game, as the 49ers rallied for a 30-27 victory on Dec. 11 at Anaheim Stadium. His 286 yards receiving set a team record and constituted the fifth-best yardage total in NFL history, but he was oblivious to his achievement.
“He didn’t know how many yards he had tonight,” split end Mike Wilson said after the game. “I told him, ‘J.T., you had almost 300 yards,’ and he said, ‘Really?’ ”
Really.
Unlikely as it is, the 49ers hope the Rams will make the same mistake and underestimate Taylor again Sunday, when they meet for the NFC championship at Candlestick Park.
“They’ve got to respect John,” Rice said. “You can’t play that guy one on one. If they try to focus on me, someone’s going to be one on one with him, and he’s going to get into the end zone.”
Taylor, who was reluctant to be interviewed in college, has done television and radio interviews this season but has shunned newspaper reporters since the San Francisco Chronicle reported that he was in a drug rehabilitation program after his suspension. He insisted that he had not been in such a program. He provided polite and thoughtful answers to a list of written questions submitted through the 49ers’ public relations office Thursday, giving credence to his teammates’ claims that he is basically a low-key sort who learns his teammates’ assignments in addition to his own out of a love for the game. He simply doesn’t need the ego boost of media attention. He is most comfortable, they say, either with his family or in uniform, with the ball in his hands and the end in sight.
“I don’t mind at all that J.R. gets so much attention off the field and on the field; I like it, because it helps me,” Taylor said. As for the extraordinary attention he pays to detail and the execution of every formation and play in practices and games, Taylor considers it natural. “The more you know, the better off you are and the more you can do,” he said.
He did record damage against the Rams in a game that he said gave him satisfaction only because the 49ers won and not because the Rams had overlooked him and overplayed Rice. Taylor, who was held to three catches for 33 yards in the 49ers’ 13-12 loss to the Rams on Oct. 1, credited Rice with making a key block on both of his touchdown plays in the 49ers’ come-from-behind victory.
“Any time you can catch two TD passes it’s a thrill,” he said. “My thrill in that game was more the fact that I was able to do it and help the team win--and on ABC Monday Night Football. It really didn’t have anything to do with the fact that they ignored me. Actually, because Jerry needs to be double-covered, that helps me in each game.”
And Taylor helped the 49ers’ offense become the most prolific in the NFL this season.
“J.T. had a great season for us,” split end Mike Wilson said. “He might have played over a lot of people’s expectations. He said last year that he’d like to be a Pro Bowl wide receiver. He set his goals high and he attained them. He really was very impressive this season.
“A lot of his routes were short ones where he could catch the ball and go maybe four, five yards for a short hook. He was able to turn those five- and eight-yard plays into 60- or 70-yard plays. He’s having a great year. He’s showed he’s a Pro Bowl player. That says a lot there. I think he feels he complements Jerry very well, and his blocking allows Jerry to get open, too. Hopefully, they’ll continue to double-cover Jerry on one side and leave him open.”
Taylor’s emergence as a potent threat this season has opened the way for the 49ers to score in a myriad of ways.
“Before, it was, ‘We’ve got to stop Jerry. We’ve got to stop Rice,’ and they’d let J.T. catch the ball,” wide receiver Mike Sherrard said, “and even if they let him catch it, he’s shown he can make short or long catches. Teams have to stop two wide receivers now, and that leaves no one in the middle, so (running back) Roger Craig can get big yardage.”
Taylor said he found the Rams’ defensive performances against the Eagles and Giants “pretty impressive.”
“The Rams match up really well against us: our offense and their defense, and their offense and our defense,” he said. “They give our defense problems, and they give our offense problems.”
Asked why he had problems in the 49ers’ first game against the Rams this season, he had no explanation. He had only 27 receiving yards against Tampa Bay but collected 55 yards on punt returns in that game, and he was held to six yards on two catches against Atlanta but had 104 yards on five punt returns. “I haven’t had super games week in and week out, you know,” he said.
The next game the 49ers play after Sunday could be a Super game at New Orleans, if Taylor has another typical game.
“He’s made a great difference for our offense,” said Mike Holmgren, the 49ers’ offensive coordinator. “He’s taken the pressure off Jerry Rice and added another dimension to our offense. Plus, he’s the one guy on the team who keeps me pretty loose.”
The loose, humorous side of Taylor’s personality will remain hidden, at least for now. “He’s a good guy and really genuine,” running back Spencer Tillman said. “I’ve been talking to him about talking to the media. He’s going to start talking sometime.”
In the meantime, his deeds will have to speak for him. So far, they have spoken volumes.
