Sans Super Bowl, Taylor awed by call to Hall
MIAMI » During a half-hour interview in advance of his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Jason Taylor asks himself the best question of all.
“Would I,” he says, “trade the Hall of Fame for a Super Bowl?”
Taylor is bound for Canton but never made it to an NFL title game, which still gnaws at him five years into retirement.
He played for 15 years, mostly with the Miami Dolphins, and ranks among the greatest defensive playmakers in league history. No player recovered more fumbles or scored more touchdowns on fumble returns, and no lineman scored more on interception returns.
Even so, Taylor was surprised to be selected for the Hall of Fame in February.
“I didn’t think I would be a first-ballot guy,” Taylor says. “I thought the lack of a Super Bowl, the lack of playoff success, would come back to bite me.”
Taylor played from 1997 to 2011, and aside from one season each with the Redskins and Jets, he was with the Dolphins, playing for seven coaches who combined to win three postseason games — none after 2000.
Taylor was a 36-year-old rush linebacker with the 2010 Jets when they lost to the Steelers 13-6 in the AFC championship game. That’s the closest he came to a Super Bowl.
“I still regret I was never able to play in one or win one,” he says. “You’re in this game to win championships, you know? But I didn’t earn it. We just didn’t earn it. We had some pretty good teams a few years; it wasn’t meant to be. It stinks, but it wasn’t meant to be.”
The list of Hall of Famers who never played in a Super Bowl is long. Among others, it includes Dick Butkus, Earl Campbell, Eric Dickerson, Deacon Jones, Merlin Olsen, Barry Sanders, Gale Sayers, Lee Roy Selmon, O.J. Simpson and Derrick Thomas.
Taylor is surprised to hear such esteemed names on the list.
“Really?” he says. “Wow, I never would have thought that.”
So he’s in good company, and a defensive end has only so much influence on wins and losses. But the irony is that few defensive ends had more impact on the scoreboard.
Taylor’s 29 opponents’ fumble recoveries are tied with Jim Marshall for the league record. His six fumble returns for a touchdown are a record. His three interceptions returned for a touchdown are tied for most among defensive linemen. And his nine touchdowns are the most by a player whose primary position was linebacker or in the defensive line.
“A lot of players make plays,” former Dolphins coach Jimmy Johnson says. “Jason made plays that won games.”
Taylor was an undersized lineman from the University of Akron when Johnson picked him in the third round of the 1997 draft. As a rookie, Taylor says, Johnson had more faith in him than he had in himself.
“In 1997 I thought to myself, ‘Man, maybe the NFL is not for me,”’ Taylor recalls. “Jimmy’s the guy who gave me a chance to play defensive end in the NFL at 240 pounds. People were saying, ‘He’s not big enough, he’s not strong enough.’ Jimmy believed in me from Day One, and showed me what it took to be successful in this league. That was a great foundation.”
His first NFL sack came when he tackled Brett Favre in an exhibition game. When the season began, Taylor was in the starting lineup.
Now, 20 years later, Johnson will present Taylor at the induction ceremony. What did Johnson see in skinny No. 99 that others a missed?
“I saw some of the same traits as a player I had in Dallas who is also in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Charles Haley,” Johnson says. “Jason was an undersized defensive end pass rusher, but he had long arms and could separate from the blockers and had great quickness.”
Jets rookie Adams says football field ‘perfect place to die’
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. » New York Jets rookie safety Jamal Adams says during a forum with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and seasonticket holders that if he had his choice, the football field is “the perfect place to die.”
Fans were able to ask questions Monday during the session, which also included Jets running back Matt Forte. One brought up player health and safety, coming off the largest update on chronic traumatic encephalopathy so far.
Boston University and VA researchers reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association last week that they found signs of the disease in nearly 90 percent of the 200 brains examined, including 110 of 111 from NFL players.
Lions sign Becton, remove Milligan from PUP list
ALLEN PARK, MICH. » The Detroit Lions have signed tackle Nick Becton and put tackle Tony Hills on the reserve/retired list.
The team announced the moves Monday. Detroit also removed safety Rolan Milligan from the active/physically unable to perform list.
Becton appeared in five games for the Chicago Bears during the 2015 season, and he also played in one game for the San Diego Chargers two years earlier. He entered the NFL in 2013 as an undrafted rookie free agent out of Virginia Tech.
Grand jury declines rape charges against Raiders’ Conley
CLEVELAND » A grand jury in Cleveland has decided not to charge Oakland Raiders rookie Gareon Conley with any crimes after a rape investigation.
Spokesman Ryan Miday of the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement Monday that the grand jury declined all possible charges for Conley after being presented the facts and circumstances surrounding the sexual assault allegations.
Conley is a defensive back who starred at Ohio State. He was accused by a 23-yearold woman of sexually assaulting her in a Cleveland hotel room April 9. Conley’s attorney says the sex was consensual. Conley has cooperated with the investigation and said he passed a polygraph test.
Shoulder injury sidelines Steelers rookie RB Conner
LATROBE » Pittsburgh rookie running James Conner’s first training camp is off rough start.
Conner missed practice Monday while undergoing tests on a shoulder injury sustained Sunday during the team’s first padded workout.
Conner, a third-round pick out of Pittsburgh, also missed time during organized team activities and minicamp with a hamstring problem.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said Conner was sent back to Pittsburgh for tests, but did not have an update on Conner’s condition. The players have a day off Tuesday. Steelers back NFL to a