Lawrence Julius Taylor (born February 4, 1959), nicknamed "L.T.", is an American former professional football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons with the New York Giants. He is widely regarded as the greatest defensive player of all time – and considered by some as the best football player ever.
After an All-American career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1978–1981), Taylor was selected by the Giants second overall in the 1981 NFL draft. Although controversy surrounded the selection due to Taylor's contract demands, the two sides quickly resolved the issue. Taylor was named both the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1981 and the only NFL player to win the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year award in his rookie season. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Taylor was a disruptive force at outside linebacker, and is credited with changing defensive game plans, defensive pass rushing schemes, offensive line blocking schemes, and offensive formations used in the NFL. Taylor produced double-digit sacks each season from 1984 through 1990, including a career-high of 20.5 in 1986. He also won a record three AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards (since tied by J. J. Watt and Aaron Donald), and was named the league's Most Valuable Player (MVP) for his performance during the 1986 season. He and Alan Page (1971) are the only defensive players in league history to earn the award. Taylor was named First-team All-Pro in eight of his first ten seasons, and Second-team All-Pro in the other two. Taylor was a key member of the Giants' defense, nicknamed the "Big Blue Wrecking Crew", that led New York to victories in Super Bowls XXI and XXV. During the 1980s Taylor, Carl Banks, Gary Reasons, Brad Van Pelt, Brian Kelley, Pepper Johnson, and Hall of Famer Harry Carson earned the Giants linebacking corps a reputation as one of the best in the NFL, along with the nickname "Crunch Bunch."
Taylor has lived a controversial lifestyle, during and after his playing career. He was known for his on-game persona and at one point inadvertently caused a compound fracture of the right leg of quarterback Joe Theismann. He admitted to using drugs such as cocaine as early as his second year in the NFL, and was suspended for 30 days in 1988 by the league for failing drug tests. His drug abuse escalated after his retirement, and he was jailed three times for attempted drug possession. From 1998 to 2009, Taylor claims to have lived a sober, drug-free life. He worked as a color commentator on sporting events after his retirement, and pursued a career as an actor. His personal life came under public scrutiny in 2010 when he was arrested for the statutory rape of a 16-year-old girl. After he pleaded guilty to sexual misconduct and patronizing a prostitute, Taylor was registered as a low-risk sex offender.
Early life
Taylor was the first of three sons born to Clarence and Iris Taylor in Williamsburg, Virginia. His father worked as a dispatcher at the Newport News shipyards, while his mother was a schoolteacher. Referred to as Lonnie by his family, Taylor concentrated on baseball as a youth, playing catcher, and only began playing football at the advanced age of fifteen. and was not heavily recruited coming out of high school.
College career
After graduating from Lafayette High School in 1977, Taylor attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he was a team captain, and wore No. 98. Originally recruited as a defensive lineman, he saw limited action at the position while mostly playing on special teams as a true freshman. During an injury-plagued sophomore season, he played primarily as a defensive lineman before switching to linebacker in 1979.
As a junior, Taylor recorded 95 tackles (80 solo), five sacks, seven forced fumbles, and an interception. In his senior season in 1980, Taylor set multiple team records, including a still-standing mark of 16 sacks, and finished with 22 tackles for loss. That same year, he was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American and the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year, one of four defensive players to ever win the award.
Professional career
1981 NFL draft and training camp
In the 1981 NFL draft, Taylor was selected by the New York Giants in the first round as the 2nd pick overall. In a poll of NFL general managers (GMs) taken before the draft 26 of the league's 28 GMs said if they had the first selection they would select Taylor. One of the two GMs who said they would not take Taylor was Bum Phillips, who had just been hired as coach and general manager by the New Orleans Saints. As fate would have it for Taylor, the Saints were also the team who had the first pick in the draft. Privately, Taylor was hesitant about playing for New York as he had hoped to be drafted by the Dallas Cowboys, and was unimpressed with a tour of Giants Stadium he was taken on, after the draft. Publicly, however, he expressed excitement about the opportunity to play in the city. Taylor changed his stance after he was drafted as Harry Carson made a point to reach out to him, and Taylor said he "talked to some players and coaches" and "got things straightened out." Taylor chose to wear number 56 because he was a fan of Cowboys linebacker Thomas Henderson. As it would turn out, Taylor would have a longer and more successful career than Rogers, who had several 1,000-yard rushing seasons and made two Pro Bowl teams but was injury-prone and forced to retire after just seven seasons in 1987.
Taylor's talent was evident from the start of training camp. Reports came out of the Giants training compound of the exploits of the new phenom. Taylor's teammates took to calling him Superman and joked that his locker should be replaced with a phone booth. Before the season word spread around the league about Taylor. Years after facing him in an exhibition game, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw recalled, "[h]e dang-near killed me, I just kept saying, 'Who is this guy?' He kept coming from my blind side and just ripped my ribs to pieces."
Taylor developed what has been described as a "love-hate relationship" with Bill Parcells, the Giants’ defensive coordinator when he was drafted and later their head coach. Parcells often rode players in the hopes of driving them to better performance. Taylor did not appreciate this approach, and early on told Parcells, "I've had enough. You either cut me or trade me but get the fuck off my back." Parcells kept on Taylor, but privately told some veterans, "I like that LT. That motherfucker's got a mean streak." He recorded 9.5 sacks in 1981, and his rookie season is considered one of the best in NFL history. He was named 1981's NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. Taylor's arrival helped the Giants defense reduce their points allowed from 425 points in 1980 to 257 in 1981. The San Francisco win was due partly to a new tactic 49ers coach Bill Walsh used to slow Taylor. Walsh assigned guard John Ayers, the team's best blocker, to block Taylor and, although Taylor still recorded a sack and three tackles, he was not as effective as normal. In contrast to his on-field success Taylor was already developing a reputation for recklessness off the field; after nearly getting killed during the season when his speeding resulted in a car crash, Young told the team's trainer he would be surprised if the linebacker lived past the age of 30, and the Giants insured Taylor's life for $2 million. This play was indicative of Taylor's unusual combination, even for a linebacker, of power with speed. He was again named Defensive Player of the Year.
After the 1982 season, Perkins became head coach of the University of Alabama and the Giants hired Parcells to replace him. In the coming years this change proved crucial to the Giants and Taylor. Leading up to the 1983 season, Taylor engaged in a training camp holdout that lasted three weeks and ended when he came back to the team under his old contract with three games left in the preseason.
thumb|233px|Taylor tackles [[Steve DeBerg on September 23, 1984]]
Although Taylor recorded nine sacks and made the All-Pro team for the third consecutive season in 1983, and Parcells received heavy criticism from fans and the media. Taylor was forced to play inside linebacker for part of the season, a position which allowed him fewer pass rushing opportunities, when Carson was injured. Despite this change, Taylor made the 1983 All-Pro Team at both outside linebacker and inside linebacker, becoming the first first-team All-Pro in NFL History selected for two positions in the same year. Frustrated by the losing, Taylor began acting out by arriving late for meetings, and not participating in conditioning drills in practice. After the season, Taylor was involved in a fight for his services between the Giants and the New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League. Taylor was given a $1 million interest-free, 25-year loan by Generals owner Donald Trump on December 14, 1983, with the provision that he begin playing in the USFL in 1988.
The Giants' record rebounded to 9–7 in 1984, and Taylor had his fourth All-Pro season.
In contrast to the previous season the Giants headed into the 1985 season with a sense of optimism after their successful 1984 campaign and a 5–0 pre-season record. The Giants went 10–6, and Taylor spearheaded a defense that led the NFL in sacks with 68. Taylor had 13. One of the more memorable plays of his career occurred during this season. On a Monday Night Football game against the Redskins, Taylor's sack of Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann inadvertently resulted in a compound fracture of Theismann's right leg. After the sack, a distraught Taylor screamed for paramedics to attend to Theismann. Although this sack ended Theismann's career, Theismann has never blamed Taylor for the injury. Taylor says he has never seen video of the play and never wants to. During the first round of the playoffs, the Giants defeated the defending champion 49ers 17–3, but lost to the eventual champion Chicago Bears in the second round 21–0.
Mid-career and championships: 1986–1990
In 1986, Taylor had one of the most successful seasons by a defensive player in the history of the NFL. He recorded a league-leading 20.5 sacks and became one of just two defensive players to win the NFL Most Valuable Player award and the only defensive player to be the unanimous selection for MVP. He also was named Defensive Player of the Year for the third time. The Giants finished the season 14–2 and outscored San Francisco and Washington by a combined score of 66–3 in the NFC playoffs. He appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated alone the week leading up to Super Bowl XXI with a warning from the magazine to the Denver Broncos regarding Taylor. The Giants overcame a slow start in Super Bowl XXI to defeat Denver 39–20.
The Giants appeared to have a bright future coming off their 1986 championship season as they were one of the younger teams in the league. They struggled the next season however, falling to 6–9 in the strike-shortened 1987 season. Taylor caused strife in the locker room when he broke the picket line after early struggles by the team. He explained his decision by saying "The Giants are losing. And I'm losing $60,000 a week." He finished the season as the team leader in sacks with 12 in 12 games played,
The Giants looked to rebound to their championship ways in 1988 but the start of the season was marred by controversy surrounding Taylor. He tested positive for cocaine and was suspended by the league for thirty days, as it was his second violation of the NFL's substance abuse policy. The first result in 1987 had been kept private and was not known to the public at the time. He was kept away from the press during this period and checked himself into rehab in early September. Taylor's over-the-edge lifestyle was becoming an increasing concern for fans and team officials. This was especially true given the eventual career paths of talented players like Hollywood Henderson and others whose drug problems derailed their careers. The Giants went 2–2 in the games Taylor missed. When Taylor returned he was his usual dominant self as he led the team in sacks again, with 15.5 in 12 games played. The season also contained some of the more memorable moments of Taylor's career. In a crucial late-season game with playoff implications against the New Orleans Saints, Taylor played through a torn pectoral muscle to record seven tackles, three sacks, and two forced fumbles. Taylor's presence in the lineup was important as the Giants' offense was having trouble mounting drives, and was dominated in time of possession. Television cameras repeatedly cut to the sidelines to show him in extreme physical pain as he was being attended to by the Giants staff. Taylor had already developed a reputation for playing through pain; in a 1983 game against the Eagles the team's training staff had to hide his helmet to prevent the injured Taylor from returning to the field. Taylor's shoulder was so injured that he had to wear a harness to keep it in its place. However, the Giants narrowly missed the playoffs in 1988 at 10–6 by losing tie-breakers with the Eagles in their division and the Rams for the Wild card. Despite his off-the-field problems, Taylor remained popular among his teammates and was voted defensive co-captain along with Carl Banks. The two filled the defensive captain's spot vacated by the retired Harry Carson. and advanced to the playoffs. In an exciting, down-to-the-wire game, the Rams eliminated the Giants 19–13 in the first round, despite Taylor's two sacks and one forced fumble.
Taylor held out of training camp before the 1990 season, demanding a new contract with a salary of $2 million per year. Talks dragged into September with neither side budging, and as the season approached Taylor received fines at the rate of $2,500 a day. He signed a three-year $5 million contract (making him the highest paid defensive player in the league) just four days before the season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles. Despite sitting out training camp and the preseason, Taylor recorded three sacks and a forced fumble against the Eagles. He finished with 10.5 sacks and earned his 10th Pro Bowl in as many years, although the season marked the first time in Taylor's career that he was not selected First-team All-Pro. and faced the rival 49ers in the NFC Championship Game. The Giants won 15–13,
Final years and decline: 1991–1993
Following the 1990 season, Parcells, with whom Taylor had become very close, retired, and the team was taken over by Ray Handley. 1991 marked a steep decline in Taylor's production. It became the first season in his career in which he failed to make the Pro Bowl squad, after setting a then record by making it in his first ten years in the league. Taylor finished with 7 sacks in 14 games However, a ruptured Achilles tendon suffered in a game on November 8, 1992, against Green Bay sidelined him for the final seven games, during which the team went 1–6. Before the injury Taylor had missed only four games due to injury in his 12-year career.
Taylor returned for the 1993 season enticed by the chance to play with a new coach (Dan Reeves), and determined not to end his career due to an injury. The Giants had a resurgent season in 1993. They finished 11–5, and competed for the top NFC playoff seed. and the Giants defense led the NFL in fewest points allowed. They defeated the Minnesota Vikings 17–10 in the opening round of the playoffs.
Taylor ended his career with 1,089 tackles, 132.5 sacks (plus 9.5 tallied as a rookie before the stat was officially recognized), nine interceptions, 134 return yards, two touchdowns, 33 forced fumbles (56 verified by video), 11 fumble recoveries, and 34 fumble return yards.|author=Paul Zimmerman (sportswriter)