I think Fred will eventually get in. I have a theory that The NFL is going to get more watered down with less and less talent every year or so..

Soon, they'll have a catagory for possible HOF players who have the best choreography for TD dances..

My 2 cents..

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Boselli finally got in because he was just so damn dominant that he was finally able to overcome the short career, small market, unpopular team, no SB ring working against him.

Taylor was certainly talented enough for the hall of fame, obviously, but he's not an inner circle elite talent at the position like Boselli was. It's going to be a lot harder for him to overcome all of the negative obstacles and get in. Same with Jimmy. If either of them was a Steeler or Packer or Cowboy for the majority of their careers they'd be in.

I believe Fred was an elite talent.  He was an absolute freak of nature.  Unfortunately for him, he played most of his career for a coach that believed in running back by committee during an age of every down running backs.  Fred was often off the field in 3rd down passing situations even though he was one of the most (if not the most) dangerous open field threats in the league.  

And I can't remember how many times I saw Fred on the sidelines in goal-line situations so Coughlin's short-yardage back could fill his role, even though Fred was as good or better than anyone we've ever had for that.  Most coaches reward the guy who got you there with the TD instead of pulling the best player on the field for either team.  The lack of finishes/TDs will probably hurt Fred as much as anything.

Also, most every year there were guys who had more yards than him in bigger markets that got the fan recognition and pro-bowl votes, though most of those guys burned out much more quickly than Fred.  And I think Ladanian Tomlinson played in a lot of the same years as Fred, so certainly not a lot of All-Pro wiggle-room.  Hell, by the time Fred got his first pro-bowl nod, he had clearly lost a step compared to previous versions of himself.

I was in complete awe of Fred when he played, especially earlier in his career.  His size and power to go along with his speed and quickness - nobody his size should have been able to move like that.  He was truly a joy to watch and one of the best I've ever seen with the ball in his hands.  
Sadly, lack of touchdowns and post-season honors will probably keep him out of the hall for the foreseeable future.

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Bias works both ways.  People are less likely to rate a play as "memorable" unless it happened for a team they love, or it happened in the super bowl.  I'm biased for Fred because he played for the Jags, but others are biased against him fornthe same reason.  Sports writers should try to look with a more objective standard than one single widely known play.  Especially when it's the sports writers and ESPN talking heads who have the power to make and reinforce these menories.  My point is simply that "does he have a signature run" is a BS standard that shouldn't be considered.

(none of the plays I mentioned were for a team I love nor were they in a superb owl.)

I don't think any HOF voter or sportswriter is using "signature run" as the standard to get someone in (or not), as you claim in the bolded. It's Boselli v. Bruce Smith all over again - those highlights are an example of his dominance and a proof that he deserves to be there. Tony didn't get in (or fail to get in for years) based solely on that one game. That might have been his crowning glory of a performance, but if that was the only time he shined, he wasn't getting in. If the iconic play is all it took to get in, David Tyree would be a hall of famer.

When a voter has a list of 25 finalists in front of them, a guy with a legendary play on his resume is going to get added consideration. Same goes for postseason accolades, memorable interviews, etc. Freddy has some great stats to support his claim to a gold jacket. But outside of his stats, does he have anything that's going to draw the voters eye away from the other 24 finalists?

Lynch is only 1000 yards behind Freddy (29th all time to Fred's 17th), has 85 TD to Fred's 66, has an iconic run, and also the notorious ""I'm just here so I won't get fined" pre-super bowl media day. Fred's fighting an uphill battle, even in this specific comparison. Whether you agree with voters considering singular impact plays in the broader scope of a players' merit, it's reality. Fred's runs were significant TO OUR FANBASE. Iconic runs are significant to the story of the game.

In a fair world both Lynch and Taylor get in.

---

Boselli finally got in because he was just so damn dominant that he was finally able to overcome the short career, small market, unpopular team, no SB ring working against him.

Taylor was certainly talented enough for the hall of fame, obviously, but he's not an inner circle elite talent at the position like Boselli was. It's going to be a lot harder for him to overcome all of the negative obstacles and get in. Same with Jimmy. If either of them was a Steeler or Packer or Cowboy for the majority of their careers they'd be in.

I believe Fred was an elite talent.  He was an absolute freak of nature.  Unfortunately for him, he played most of his career for a coach that believed in running back by committee during an age of every down running backs.  Fred was often off the field in 3rd down passing situations even though he was one of the most (if not the most) dangerous open field threats in the league.  

And I can't remember how many times I saw Fred on the sidelines in goal-line situations so Coughlin's short-yardage back could fill his role, even though Fred was as good or better than anyone we've ever had for that.  Most coaches reward the guy who got you there with the TD instead of pulling the best player on the field for either team.  The lack of finishes/TDs will probably hurt Fred as much as anything.

Also, most every year there were guys who had more yards than him in bigger markets that got the fan recognition and pro-bowl votes, though most of those guys burned out much more quickly than Fred.  And I think Ladanian Tomlinson played in a lot of the same years as Fred, so certainly not a lot of All-Pro wiggle-room.  Hell, by the time Fred got his first pro-bowl nod, he had clearly lost a step compared to previous versions of himself.

I was in complete awe of Fred when he played, especially earlier in his career.  His size and power to go along with his speed and quickness - nobody his size should have been able to move like that.  He was truly a joy to watch and one of the best I've ever seen with the ball in his hands.  
Sadly, lack of touchdowns and post-season honors will probably keep him out of the hall for the foreseeable future.

I agree completely.  Fred did his best with the opportunities that the game plans gave him.  The goal line substitutions were noted and complained about at the time because they really screwed with fantasy football.  
As for guys like Eddie George and Tomlinson getting Pro Bowl nods ahead of Fred, yes, the stats for those years say they deserved that.  Perhaps they should get inducted before Fred is.  But Fred should be inducted.

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My fellow southpaw Mark Brunell will probably always be my favorite Jaguar.

(none of the plays I mentioned were for a team I love nor were they in a superb owl.)

I don't think any HOF voter or sportswriter is using "signature run" as the standard to get someone in (or not), as you claim in the bolded. It's Boselli v. Bruce Smith all over again - those highlights are an example of his dominance and a proof that he deserves to be there. Tony didn't get in (or fail to get in for years) based solely on that one game. That might have been his crowning glory of a performance, but if that was the only time he shined, he wasn't getting in. If the iconic play is all it took to get in, David Tyree would be a hall of famer.

When a voter has a list of 25 finalists in front of them, a guy with a legendary play on his resume is going to get added consideration. Same goes for postseason accolades, memorable interviews, etc. Freddy has some great stats to support his claim to a gold jacket. But outside of his stats, does he have anything that's going to draw the voters eye away from the other 24 finalists?

Lynch is only 1000 yards behind Freddy (29th all time to Fred's 17th), has 85 TD to Fred's 66, has an iconic run, and also the notorious ""I'm just here so I won't get fined" pre-super bowl media day. Fred's fighting an uphill battle, even in this specific comparison. Whether you agree with voters considering singular impact plays in the broader scope of a players' merit, it's reality. Fred's runs were significant TO OUR FANBASE. Iconic runs are significant to the story of the game.

In a fair world both Lynch and Taylor get in.

---

I believe Fred was an elite talent.  He was an absolute freak of nature.  Unfortunately for him, he played most of his career for a coach that believed in running back by committee during an age of every down running backs.  Fred was often off the field in 3rd down passing situations even though he was one of the most (if not the most) dangerous open field threats in the league.  

And I can't remember how many times I saw Fred on the sidelines in goal-line situations so Coughlin's short-yardage back could fill his role, even though Fred was as good or better than anyone we've ever had for that.  Most coaches reward the guy who got you there with the TD instead of pulling the best player on the field for either team.  The lack of finishes/TDs will probably hurt Fred as much as anything.

Also, most every year there were guys who had more yards than him in bigger markets that got the fan recognition and pro-bowl votes, though most of those guys burned out much more quickly than Fred.  And I think Ladanian Tomlinson played in a lot of the same years as Fred, so certainly not a lot of All-Pro wiggle-room.  Hell, by the time Fred got his first pro-bowl nod, he had clearly lost a step compared to previous versions of himself.

I was in complete awe of Fred when he played, especially earlier in his career.  His size and power to go along with his speed and quickness - nobody his size should have been able to move like that.  He was truly a joy to watch and one of the best I've ever seen with the ball in his hands.  
Sadly, lack of touchdowns and post-season honors will probably keep him out of the hall for the foreseeable future.

I agree completely.  Fred did his best with the opportunities that the game plans gave him.  The goal line substitutions were noted and complained about at the time because they really screwed with fantasy football.  
As for guys like Eddie George and Tomlinson getting Pro Bowl nods ahead of Fred, yes, the stats for those years say they deserved that.  Perhaps they should get inducted before Fred is.  But Fred should be inducted.

Taylor wasn't a very good short yardage runner. He was a boom or bust guy.

Fred would get stuffed at the line of scrimmage far to often to be relied on in short yardage situations.

Fred got his YPC by getting stuffed, stuffed, and then breaking one for 20 yards.

Taylor wasn't pulled in goal line situations because coaches wanted to ruin his stats. People like Stacey Mack and MJD were just better in short yardage situations. Fred took yardage in chunks. These guys were better at getting the tough yards.

---

In a fair world both Lynch and Taylor get in.

---

I agree completely.  Fred did his best with the opportunities that the game plans gave him.  The goal line substitutions were noted and complained about at the time because they really screwed with fantasy football.  
As for guys like Eddie George and Tomlinson getting Pro Bowl nods ahead of Fred, yes, the stats for those years say they deserved that.  Perhaps they should get inducted before Fred is.  But Fred should be inducted.

Taylor wasn't a very good short yardage runner. He was a boom or bust guy.

Fred would get stuffed at the line of scrimmage far to often to be relied on in short yardage situations.

Fred got his YPC by getting stuffed, stuffed, and then breaking one for 20 yards.

Taylor wasn't pulled in goal line situations because coaches wanted to ruin his stats. People like Stacey Mack and MJD were just better in short yardage situations. Fred took yardage in chunks. These guys were better at getting the tough yards.

I've heard that criticism before.  Unfortunately, it can't really be shown from stats. No one keeps track of median yards per carry, and people disagree about if it would even be useful.
But we can see 1st down efficiency in the stats.  That's about as good of a measure of "boom or bust" as you're going to get.  Fred's 1st down efficiency was about 0.21 first downs per carry.  It's not the best number, but Marshawn Lynch was about the same.  Fred definitely deserved more goal line nods than he got, and even so, his touchdown total is respectable.

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My fellow southpaw Mark Brunell will probably always be my favorite Jaguar.

Taylor wasn't a very good short yardage runner. He was a boom or bust guy.

Fred would get stuffed at the line of scrimmage far to often to be relied on in short yardage situations.

Fred got his YPC by getting stuffed, stuffed, and then breaking one for 20 yards.

Taylor wasn't pulled in goal line situations because coaches wanted to ruin his stats. People like Stacey Mack and MJD were just better in short yardage situations. Fred took yardage in chunks. These guys were better at getting the tough yards.

I've heard that criticism before.  Unfortunately, it can't really be shown from stats. No one keeps track of median yards per carry, and people disagree about if it would even be useful.
But we can see 1st down efficiency in the stats.  That's about as good of a measure of "boom or bust" as you're going to get.  Fred's 1st down efficiency was about 0.21 first downs per carry.  It's not the best number, but Marshawn Lynch was about the same.  Fred definitely deserved more goal line nods than he got, and even so, his touchdown total is respectable.

I don't need stats. I watched every game he played as a jag.

But if you want to use stats, Stacey Mack got a 1st down or TD on about 30% of his carries for his career. Fred taylor was under 24%. MJD was just under 27%. In 2002 Mack scored more TDs and only 9 less 1st downs on 1/3 of the carries that Taylor had.

Taylor had no torque. He didn't have power until he got his RPMs up. If Taylor got to the second level, he was the most dangerous runner in the game. He just wasn't very good at pushing his way through the line of scrimmage. If he were better at that, he would have had 2000 yrd seasons and be a first ballot HOF.

Give Taylor an opening, he would gash you. If there was no opening, he would usually go down at the LOS.

He just was never that guy who could put his head down and fall forward for a couple of yards very often. Fast twitch muscle guy .

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Go back to the Minnesota game in 1998 which was week 15 or 16. Fred Taylor had more explosive plays than Randy Moss. Fred also had more TDs than Moss. But we got smoked 50-10 because we had Jonathan Quinn at QB.

In 1998 Fred Taylor went over 100 yards rushing and receiving in 7 games. Randy Miss went over 100 yards in just 4 games. The NFL robbed Fred Taylor of rookie of the year in ‘98.

Fred Taylor also had a game winner against Tampa Bay which had Ronde Barber, Warren Sapp, John Lynch, Simeon Rice, and the Tampa 2 Defense with Tony Dungy. Fred went for 128 and 3 with 68 receiving against the best defense in the world at the time.

He got robbed. And that was his signature run and his signature game. Don’t even get me started on the 234 yards up in Pittsburgh.

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Go back to the Minnesota game in 1998 which was week 15 or 16. Fred Taylor had more explosive plays than Randy Moss. Fred also had more TDs than Moss. But we got smoked 50-10 because we had Jonathan Quinn at QB.

In 1998 Fred Taylor went over 100 yards rushing and receiving in 7 games. Randy Miss went over 100 yards in just 4 games. The NFL robbed Fred Taylor of rookie of the year in ‘98.

Fred Taylor also had a game winner against Tampa Bay which had Ronde Barber, Warren Sapp, John Lynch, Simeon Rice, and the Tampa 2 Defense with Tony Dungy. Fred went for 128 and 3 with 68 receiving against the best defense in the world at the time.

He got robbed. And that was his signature run and his signature game. Don’t even get me started on the 234 yards up in Pittsburgh.

Signature run, LOL. These national guys are so knee-jerk shortsighted. If that's the criteria, then put Fornette in next year for that 2017 run against the Steelers when he plowed that CB.

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"Remember Red, Hope is a good thing. Maybe the best of things. And no good thing ever dies."  - Andy Dufresne, The Shawshank Redemption

Fred is everywhere now. He did an interview with Tomlin with Ryan Clark not too long ago. Hopefully all the media work will get him in the HOF.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

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"What do I know of cultured ways, the gilt, the craft and the lie? I, who was born in a naked land and bred in the open sky. The subtle tongue, the sophist guile, they fail when the broadswords sing; Rush in and die, dogs - I was a man before I was a king."

Fred is everywhere now. He did an interview with Tomlin with Ryan Clark not too long ago. Hopefully all the media work will get him in the HOF.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

The podcast that he, Channing Tatum and Ryan Clark do together is called the pivot. 

It's one of the most well-produced podcasts out there and they do a great job of hosting it. The lists of guests they have had is REALLY impressive and they get them to open up with some great content. 

The stuff from that pod is getting Fred and Ryan into lots of other media outlets.

I too hope it helps his visibility and his HOF chances as a result.

---

I've heard that criticism before.  Unfortunately, it can't really be shown from stats. No one keeps track of median yards per carry, and people disagree about if it would even be useful.
But we can see 1st down efficiency in the stats.  That's about as good of a measure of "boom or bust" as you're going to get.  Fred's 1st down efficiency was about 0.21 first downs per carry.  It's not the best number, but Marshawn Lynch was about the same.  Fred definitely deserved more goal line nods than he got, and even so, his touchdown total is respectable.

I don't need stats. I watched every game he played as a jag.

But if you want to use stats, Stacey Mack got a 1st down or TD on about 30% of his carries for his career. Fred taylor was under 24%. MJD was just under 27%. In 2002 Mack scored more TDs and only 9 less 1st downs on 1/3 of the carries that Taylor had.

Taylor had no torque. He didn't have power until he got his RPMs up. If Taylor got to the second level, he was the most dangerous runner in the game. He just wasn't very good at pushing his way through the line of scrimmage. If he were better at that, he would have had 2000 yrd seasons and be a first ballot HOF.

Give Taylor an opening, he would gash you. If there was no opening, he would usually go down at the LOS.

He just was never that guy who could put his head down and fall forward for a couple of yards very often. Fast twitch muscle guy .

He was better than 98% of backs at seeing/finding an opening -  which diminishes much of the critique above the bolded in that post.

---

In a fair world both Lynch and Taylor get in.

---

I agree completely.  Fred did his best with the opportunities that the game plans gave him.  The goal line substitutions were noted and complained about at the time because they really screwed with fantasy football.  
As for guys like Eddie George and Tomlinson getting Pro Bowl nods ahead of Fred, yes, the stats for those years say they deserved that.  Perhaps they should get inducted before Fred is.  But Fred should be inducted.

Taylor wasn't a very good short yardage runner. He was a boom or bust guy.

Fred would get stuffed at the line of scrimmage far to often to be relied on in short yardage situations.

Fred got his YPC by getting stuffed, stuffed, and then breaking one for 20 yards.

Taylor wasn't pulled in goal line situations because coaches wanted to ruin his stats. People like Stacey Mack and MJD were just better in short yardage situations. Fred took yardage in chunks. These guys were better at getting the tough yards.

Fred ran with more power than you're giving him credit for, and he was fantastic at finding creases few others would find.

---

Fred is everywhere now. He did an interview with Tomlin with Ryan Clark not too long ago. Hopefully all the media work will get him in the HOF.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

The podcast that he, Channing Tatum and Ryan Clark do together is called the pivot. 

It's one of the most well-produced podcasts out there and they do a great job of hosting it. The lists of guests they have had is REALLY impressive and they get them to open up with some great content. 

The stuff from that pod is getting Fred and Ryan into lots of other media outlets.

I too hope it helps his visibility and his HOF chances as a result.

---

I don't need stats. I watched every game he played as a jag.

But if you want to use stats, Stacey Mack got a 1st down or TD on about 30% of his carries for his career. Fred taylor was under 24%. MJD was just under 27%. In 2002 Mack scored more TDs and only 9 less 1st downs on 1/3 of the carries that Taylor had.

Taylor had no torque. He didn't have power until he got his RPMs up. If Taylor got to the second level, he was the most dangerous runner in the game. He just wasn't very good at pushing his way through the line of scrimmage. If he were better at that, he would have had 2000 yrd seasons and be a first ballot HOF.

Give Taylor an opening, he would gash you. If there was no opening, he would usually go down at the LOS.

He just was never that guy who could put his head down and fall forward for a couple of yards very often. Fast twitch muscle guy .

He was better than 98% of backs at seeing/finding an opening -  which diminishes much of the critique above the bolded in that post.

If he were he wouldn't keep get benched in short yardage situations.

He had a whopping 11 TDsi n the three seasons between Stacey Mack and MJD.

Sorry, but a guy that is better at finding holes than 98% of the backs in the league doesn't rush for only 11 TDs in 41 games.

We were near the bottom of the league in rushing TDs those seasons because Fred couldn't get it done near the goal line.

In 2004, Byron Leftwich had as many rushing TDs as Fred. In 2005, Fred out scored him by 1.

---

The podcast that he, Channing Tatum and Ryan Clark do together is called the pivot. 

It's one of the most well-produced podcasts out there and they do a great job of hosting it. The lists of guests they have had is REALLY impressive and they get them to open up with some great content. 

The stuff from that pod is getting Fred and Ryan into lots of other media outlets.

I too hope it helps his visibility and his HOF chances as a result.

---

He was better than 98% of backs at seeing/finding an opening -  which diminishes much of the critique above the bolded in that post.

If he were he wouldn't keep get benched in short yardage situations.

He had a whopping 11 TDsi n the three seasons between Stacey Mack and MJD.

We were near the bottom of the league in rushing TDs those seasons because Fred couldn't get it done near the goal line.

In 2004, Byron Leftwich had as many rushing TDs as Fred. In 2005, Fred out scored him by 1.

Oh, i see you're just blaming Coughlin's highly suspect red zone strategy on Fred Taylor. 

I strongly disagree that TC's strategy of pulling Fred in the red zone is any indicator of Taylor's ability

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If he were he wouldn't keep get benched in short yardage situations.

He had a whopping 11 TDsi n the three seasons between Stacey Mack and MJD.

We were near the bottom of the league in rushing TDs those seasons because Fred couldn't get it done near the goal line.

In 2004, Byron Leftwich had as many rushing TDs as Fred. In 2005, Fred out scored him by 1.

Oh, i see you're just blaming Coughlin's highly suspect red zone strategy on Fred Taylor. 

I strongly disagree that TC's strategy of pulling Fred in the red zone is any indicator of Taylor's ability

Sure, let's blame Fred Taylor's inability to score on a guy that wasn't even coaching the team those seasons.

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Oh, i see you're just blaming Coughlin's highly suspect red zone strategy on Fred Taylor. 

I strongly disagree that TC's strategy of pulling Fred in the red zone is any indicator of Taylor's ability

Sure, let's blame Fred Taylor's inability to score on a guy that wasn't even coaching the team those seasons.

Do you seriously think that MJD's unique skillset and Mack's heft mean that Taylor couldn't have scored prolifically from the redzone had he been given more opportunity?

(Regardless of the coach making the decision)

Additionally - if red zone scoring efficiency over a 3 to 5 year span of Fred's career is a good argument to keep him out of the hall, we probably need to boot some other backs out of the hall.

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Go back to the Minnesota game in 1998 which was week 15 or 16. Fred Taylor had more explosive plays than Randy Moss. Fred also had more TDs than Moss.  But we got smoked 50-10 because we had Jonathan Quinn at QB.

In 1998 Fred Taylor went over 100 yards rushing and receiving in 7 games. Randy Miss went over 100 yards in just 4 games. The NFL robbed Fred Taylor of rookie of the year in ‘98.

Fred Taylor also had a game winner against Tampa Bay which had Ronde Barber, Warren Sapp, John Lynch, Simeon Rice, and the Tampa 2 Defense with Tony Dungy. Fred went for 128 and 3 with 68 receiving against the best defense in the world at the time.

He got robbed. And that was his signature run and his signature game  Yeah one that no one who is not a Jagsfan remember at all in a meaningless game vs a team that didn't make the playoffs. Don’t even get me started on the 234 yards up in Pittsburgh.

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/y...98/opp.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_Tampa...ers_season There was no Simeon Rice

Jags didn't play vs Buccs 2002 Defense

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"Treyvon Wallet is elite run defender and better overall than Aidan Hutchinson" 11/11/23

I know it's been said, but:
Jags position groups are so different and running new schemes compared to last season, it makes it very hard to guess any of this.

IDL and OLB/EDGE - two new starters - multiple new rotational players
ILB - 3 new players, two of whom definitely start
Secondary - New NB and a 2nd year safety who only played ~4 games as a rookie - tons of new depth


OL - Likely 3 new starters at LG,RG, and RT - potential for a rookie to win the start at Center at some point this season making it 4 new starters
Receivers - Top three will likely include two new faces
RB - First looks at Etienne coming and a new mid round pick looking good in OTAs
TE - New primary receiving TE in the house plus a guy who saw limited action last year - new depth as well
QB - Second year #1 pick will be in a dramatically different situation moving from Urban Meyer's ineptitude to a former-QB-turned-SB-Winning-HC in Pederson.

How could we even remotely know how this stuff is going to shake out compared to another squad's position groups at this stage?
That is a TON of newness going on in Jax.

---

Sure, let's blame Fred Taylor's inability to score on a guy that wasn't even coaching the team those seasons.

Do you seriously think that MJD's unique skillset and Mack's heft mean that Taylor couldn't have scored prolifically from the redzone had he been given more opportunity?

(Regardless of the coach making the decision)

He had plenty of opportunities 2003-2005.

Do you seriously think there was some sort of conspiracy against him by two head coaches and multiple offensive coordinators to game plan to keep him out of the end zone? That's just asinine.

He just wasn't very good in goal line situations.

---

Do you seriously think that MJD's unique skillset and Mack's heft mean that Taylor couldn't have scored prolifically from the redzone had he been given more opportunity?

(Regardless of the coach making the decision)

He had plenty of opportunities 2003-2005.*

Do you seriously think there was some sort of conspiracy against him by two head coaches and multiple offensive coordinators to game plan to keep him out of the end zone? That's just asinine.

He just wasn't very good in goal line situations.

I think it was crystal clear that TC had an old school approach of taking his "half-back" out of the game in the red zone and using a power back of some sort. The philosophy was oft discussed and criticized at the time. It couldn't be further from "conspiracy." 

BTW - Stacey Mack played under Tom Coughlin in Jax. You seem to be implying otherwise. 

*Fred missed five games in 2005 due to injury

MJD and his red zone skill certainly hurt Fred's legacy numbers. I still don't think it is an indicator that Fred wasn't good in the red zone.

---

He had plenty of opportunities 2003-2005.*

Do you seriously think there was some sort of conspiracy against him by two head coaches and multiple offensive coordinators to game plan to keep him out of the end zone? That's just asinine.

He just wasn't very good in goal line situations.

I think it was crystal clear that TC had an old school approach of taking his "half-back" out of the game in the red zone and using a power back of some sort. The philosophy was oft discussed and criticized at the time. It couldn't be further from "conspiracy." 

BTW - Stacey Mack played under Tom Coughlin in Jax. You seem to be implying otherwise. 

*Fred missed five games in 2005 due to injury

MJD and his red zone skill certainly hurt Fred's legacy numbers. I still don't think it is an indicator that Fred wasn't good in the red zone.

I implied no such thing about Mack. I've been talking all along about the 3 seasons after Mack and Coughlin, where there wasn't anyone else with enough ability on the roster to make up for Taylor's inability to get in the end zone.

I don't know why your are fixated on Coughlin. Fred Taylor had his 4 most productive scoring seasons during his 5 seasons under Coughlin. Coughlin did everything he could to get Fred into the end zone, he just came to realize that there were players on the roster that were much better and much more consistent in short yardage situations than Fred.

He had 11 rushing TDs in 41 games he played in during the 3 seasons between Mack and MJD. That comes out to around 1 TD every 4 games. That stinks for a starting RB. Fred got the large majority of the carries during those three seasons when he played one of which he got the most in his career. He just struggled getting those one or two yards needed in crucial situations.

Fred was fine in the red zone. It was situations where it was goal to go and he would be facing a goal line defense that he bogged down. He couldn't get the penetration nor the push that Mack and MJD could, nor could he go over the top like James Stewart could.

These guys had the knack for it that Taylor didn't.

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