Indianapolis Colts Rookie Jonathan Taylor a Nightmare Match-up for the New York Jets
In just two weeks, Jonathan Taylor has emerged as a prominent piece of the Indianapolis Colts offense. The rookie running back showing off the dependability and explosiveness that made him a Heisman candidate in college.
And now, Taylor presents a headache for the Jets this Sunday.
Last week in a win over the Minnesota Vikings, Taylor had 101 rushing yards. The week before, he totally 89 yards of total offense.
“He’s really strong minded, got a lot of reps in college and everything, I’ve watched him for many years, on some of the crossover tapes when we’re studying other people. But he’s had some very good first couple of weeks here,” Jets defensive coordinator Gregg Williams said. “They do a very good job with how they utilize him, all their backs, I think, you know, from a concept standpoint, of how they manage their personnel and what they ask their personnel to do, they’re doing a very good job with that, so we got our work cut out for us.”
Taylor was considered one of the best backs available in the draft, this after a college career where all three seasons at Wisconsin he topped 1,000 rushing yards. A former track star in high school out of Salem, N.J., Taylor is elusive in the open field with breakaway speed.
The Colts have been effective in getting the ball into his hands in a variety of ways, including assimilating him into the passing game with Philip Rivers. In Week 1 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, he had 67 receiving yards on six receptions.
“You’ve got a guy that’s had quite a few – his experience level in college was – he had a lot of carries. It feels like it’s a different deal, you feel like you’re going against a guy that has a veteran quality to him, doesn’t play like a rookie, the game is not too big for him,” Jets head coach Adam Gase said. “It doesn’t seem like they’ve lost – the transition has been pretty smooth, they’ve been productive, they’re not afraid to run the ball, I know that. The way they’re operating, the way Philip (Rivers) does things where he’ll be at the line of scrimmage and they’ll make a bunch of changes, it doesn’t seem to be really bothering, really putting any more pressure on him. He just seems to be executing the plays that they’re calling.”
The Colts moved up in April’s draft to select Taylor at No. 41.
