"I kind of feel like
a freshman, walking around campus and trying to find my way, not knowing where
the dorm is, where the cafeteria is," he said when speaking to the media
after workouts today.
The nine-year vet may be
in an unfamiliar setting, but he is anything but a rookie. Taylor was signed
by the Seahawks to be a veteran influence in a secondary littered with young,
talented players who are just getting their NFL legs underneath them.
"He brings great experience,
a winning tradition in Philly, his size and he knows how to win. It's good to
have him on that corner,” S Ken Hamlin told the assembled media.
Hamlin, rookie S Michael
Boulware, second-year CB Marcus Trufant, and third-year CB Ken Lucas are all
players who will see significant time this season in the Seahawks’ secondary
and Taylor knows he was brought in because of his leadership as well as his
abilities.
"The guys here have
welcomed me with open arms," he said. "Mike Holmgren made clear this
was a place he felt I would be comfortable and that I could help the ballclub
out with a young secondary."
"I'm just going to
do what I can, but not be overbearing because that's not my personality,"
Taylor said. "When guys ask questions, I'll just try to be as honest with
them as possible about some of the things I've experienced."
Another reason Taylor was
happy to head 3,000 miles west of Philadelphia, who drafted him in the second
round of the 1995 draft, was because of the presence of defensive coordinator
Ray Rhodes, who was the Eagles’ head coach when Taylor arrived as a rookie.
"We have a relationship
that's about more than football, off the field," Taylor said. "He
played a big part in me coming out here and signing with the team."
Hamlin for one is glad to
have Taylor around.
"I was petitioning
for him to get here," Hamlin said. "I'm glad to have him here. He's
a good friend of mine."
Bates ready to go:
Much has been made of the middle linebacker spot in the Seahawks’ defense.
Second-year man Solomon Bates is one of the candidates up for the spot and he
made it clear how he expects the situation to be resolved.
“I expect to start,”
Bates said. “I’m healthy and it all falls to performance and how
it comes out on the field.”
Tubbs update:
According to published reports, the status of DT Marcus Tubbs
is still up in the air as he tends to his sick mother back in Texas.
It is said that
the Hawks and Tubbs’ agents are close on terms of the contract the rookie
will sign, and it is likely to be finished within the next day or two. The issue
right now is the number of voidable years the team is willing to include in
the contract, something they have historically not done, but have seemed to
warm-up to as Michael Boulware’s contract voids from five to four years
if he meets incentives.
Tubbs is one of seven unsigned
first-round draft choices as teams are now in their first full week of practices.