From backup to superstar?Vikings want Taylor to emulate HolmesBY DON SEEHOLZERPioneer PressMANKATO, Minn. —What's in a name?Quite a bit, the Vikings hope. Say, 1,400-1,500 yards a year?Those are the kind of rushing numbers another Jamal Lewis backup put up in his first three seasons after leaving Baltimore. The Vikings think running back Chester Taylor can do the same for them.Fullback Tony Richardson, who played with Priest Holmes for five seasons in Kansas City, said he sees a lot of Holmes in Taylor.So does wide receiver Travis Taylor, Chester's teammate with the Ravens from 2002-04."There's definitely a lot of Priest Holmes in Chester," he said. "He's a guy who can catch balls out of the backfield, make guys miss, run guys over, make big plays. When we were in Baltimore, he always converted a lot of third downs for us out of the backfield. It could be third and 15 and he'd get 17 yards. That's what kind of a back he is."Chester Taylor, limited in recent practices by a mild groin strain, accepts the compliments with a knowing grin. For him, the Holmes comparisons are old news."They were saying that all through my time in Baltimore," he said. "Priest was at Baltimore his first four years, and that's all they were calling me, Little Priest."At 5 feet 11 and 213 pounds, Taylor is the same weight and two inches taller than the 32-year-old Holmes, not to mention six years younger.Holmes is a tough act to follow, especially for a back who never had more than 160 carries or 714 rushing yards in four seasons primarily as Lewis' backup.If Taylor gets the opportunity, Richardson said he's confident Taylor can put up Holmes-like numbers, though some of those yards figure to come on receptions in coach Brad Childress' version of the West Coast offense."This is definitely a different style of offense," Richardson said. "The offense in Kansas City was really built around the tailback, and he'd get a chance to carry the ball a lot. Here, he has to be able to do both: catch the football as well as run it. The guy who's really done it well at a high level in the West Coast offense is Brian Westbrook (in Philadelphia), where coach Childress came from. That's the kind of year, hopefully, we can get from Chester, where he can catch the ball well and put some yards up on the ground as well."Taylor, who signed a four-year, $14.1 million contract with the Vikings, is eager to start earning his paycheck.He won't put a number on his personal expectations for the season, but he's clearly excited about the prospect of running behind left guard Steve Hutchinson and the rest of the Vikings' improved offensive line, not to mention a Pro Bowl fullback in Richardson."Just watching Priest Holmes play and get all those yards, Tony Richardson led the way for him, basically," Taylor said. "I'm glad to have a guy like that on my side."There were whispers that the Vikings weren't entirely happy with Taylor's work during the offseason program, and Childress indicated he was one of the players who needed to improve their conditioning after the first minicamp.Taylor said that never was expressed to him."I'm a grown man," he said. "This is my job. I know what I have to do. I'm not going to let my team down. I'm going to come out here and work hard and do whatever I can to help my team win."Whatever the coaches might have thought in April and May, they've had nothing but good things to say about Taylor during training camp.This team hasn't had a 1,000-yard rusher since Michael Bennett put up 1,296 in 2002, but Taylor already has demonstrated to offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell that he has the skill to be a featured back."He's run the ball physically, which is an important part of that," Bevell said. "He does a nice job of protection and getting out in the routes."Asked what a typical game-day's work for Taylor might be, Bevell said: "You'd like to get him over 20 carries, and then have four or five balls through the air. Something like that. If we're getting him 20 carries, that means we're doing a great job in the run game."That has to be music to the ears of Richardson, who said Chiefs running back Larry Johnson presented him, the team's offensive linemen and tight ends with platinum watches in appreciation of his 1,750 rushing yards last season.Richardson plans to wait a while, though, before discussing any such arrangement with Taylor."We've got to get him over 1,500 yards first," Richardson said, "and then we'll see what happens."
Are you trying to save us all?
for once 
I agree with your post just disagree on the player. You also have to be fluid in your player evaluations (i.e. willing to alter your opinions based on new info and not dig into a stance regardless of what the new info points to).
I do remember him tearing up the Gophers while he was in collge, but that's not exactly a difficult thing to do.
