Ivan "Ike" Taylor (born May 5, 1980 in New Orleans) is a defensive back for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL. He played college football at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. During the 2006 NFL Playoffs he had key interception during the second quarter of the AFC Championship which led to a touchdown that opened a 24-3 lead over the Denver Broncos Also, in Super Bowl XL, he had an interception which stopped a critical Seattle Seahawks drive and helped seal the game for the Steelers, who won 21-10. Taylor has been acclaimed for allowing only 2 Touchdown Receptions and having a low completion percentage of 53% despite being thrown at 112 times in 2005. He is usually assigned to cover the opposing teams best receiver. During the offseason, Taylor trains with Tom Shaw in his Speed, Power, Agility, Reaction and Quickness Training Program.
He has 257 career tackles and 6 interceptions for his career.
In October 2007, Ike received a nomination for GMC Defensive Player of the Week after a stellar performance against the Seattle Seahawks. Ike had a recorded five tackles (three solo) and one interception in the Steelers’ 21-0 win over the Seattle Seahawks. Taylor’s second-quarter interception on the goal line stopped the Seahawks’ best chances of scoring all game. Taylor was part of a defense that limited the Seahawks to only 144 total yards.
Ike won Defensive Player of the Week in October 2007.
Ike is known by most Steelers fans as "Concrete Ike" because of his inability to catch an interception when the ball goes right to him. At one practice Mike Tomlin sat Ike down and showed the playing film of himself dropping potential interceptions.
