It's been more than five months since Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor was targeted again and again by Tim Tebow in the Steelers' wild-card playoff loss at Denver in January. Taylor gave up four big plays, including one from Tebow to Demaryius Thomas on the first play of overtime, which went for 80 yards and sent the Steelers home.
Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor gives instructions to children attending his 'Face Me Ike' football camp Friday at Arden Cahill Academy in Gretna. Nearly 200 kids attended the annual camp.
After the game, a defeated Taylor sat at his locker with his head slumped, not speaking to anyone. Taylor has since apologized for playing what he called the "worst game at the wrong time."
This season, Taylor is out to prove he's learned from his past.
"I remember it every day," Taylor said. "People remember you for things you do, and I don't want to have that game be what people remember me for."
Taylor was back in Louisiana on Friday, hosting his ninth annual "Face Me Ike" football camp at Arden Cahill Academy in Gretna, where he grew up.
The camp had a turnout of nearly 200 children who went through numerous drills after listening to Taylor speak.
Kids sprinted and side-stepped through rungs on ladder drills, and other groups of children practiced resistance training by running with parachutes tied around their waists.
New York Jets wide receiver Santonio Holmes, Arizona Cardinals offensive lineman D'Anthony Batiste and former New England Patriots strength and conditioning coach Tom Shaw were all in attendance to help Taylor guide camp attendees through the drills.
"(Taylor has) been asking me for years to come and do his camp," Holmes said. "It's just always around the time I'm either with my kids, with my family, or I have a camp of my own, so it's been strenuous when I couldn't make it. This year, the opportunity presented itself, so I showed up."
Batiste, a Marksville native who played with Taylor at Louisiana-Lafayette, had to leave the camp after a couple of hours to catch a flight.
"The more the offseason gets closer to the season, it's kind of tough to get guys to come out," Taylor said. "But everybody's enjoying themselves. I know my guys out here are enjoying hanging with the kids. It's all a good time."
While at the camp, Taylor discussed why the Steelers were the only NFL team not to sign the league's new collective bargaining agreement last year.
"(Steelers teammates) Charlie Batch and Ryan Clark really sit us down and let us know what's really going on and not just rely on hearsay or word of mouth, or this is what other teams are doing," Taylor said. "I like to say we have our own mind over there, and it shows."
For Taylor, the decision not to ratify the CBA was more about sticking with his team than about NFL politics.
"We're just a 'ride or die' team," he said. "We're going to go 100 percent with our guys. We had a couple of guys who sat down and understood the situation and brought it to the team, and we all made one decision as a team."
Clark, a former LSU player, said he felt the new CBA gave NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell too much power over players.
Taylor also said he believes fellow New Orleans native and Steelers teammate Mike Wallace will solve his contract dispute soon. Wallace, a restricted free agent, still hasn't signed his $2.7 million tender as he holds out for a longer deal.
"He's going to be there (training camp)," Taylor said. "They'll get it done. When you talk about that kind of money, it's not an overnight type of deal. By the end of the day, I think for sure he's going to get that thing done. Both sides are working together, so that's a good thing."
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