here is the article for those who have links blocked
http://cbs.sportsline.com/nfl/story/9447715
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Byron Leftwich had an on-field barbecue for his teammates after the final practice of their minicamp last Sunday, a nice gesture meant for team bonding.
One of the players who ventured over to see what was cooking was running back Fred Taylor, who went more for the team camaraderie than a plate full of barbecue.
In the past, Taylor might have loaded up the plate and devoured all of it, but that was the old Fred Taylor. The new, sleeker version is a walking dietician, a guy who watches every single thing he puts into his body and counts calories like Kirstie Alley.
Father Time has done that to him.
"At 30, you have to do things that you didn't do when you were younger," Taylor said as he walked from the team's practice fields into Alltel Stadium. "That's all I'm doing."
The results are eye-opening. Taylor looks years younger, his face noticeably thinner and his body weight down to 222 pounds, less than he weighed at the University of Florida.
More impressive, though, is how he looked on the field during the team's three-day camp. He looked like the Fred Taylor of his first few years in the league, an explosive runner who could turn a handoff into a 70-yard run.
Was this the same player who many in Jacksonville thought was on his way out, maybe even this year?
The Jaguars have drafted a running back in the first four rounds of each of the past three drafts, including second-round pick Maurice Drew this year, leading to speculation Taylor would be let go.
This coaching staff, led by Jack Del Rio, has never really warmed to Taylor, inherited from Tom Coughlin. The talk is this staff doesn't think he's tough enough. Del Rio, a proponent of the big back, likes fullback Greg Jones, who played well as a feature back when Taylor was hurt last year.
Even Taylor admitted this week that he thought for a moment he might be playing elsewhere in 2006.
As it is, the Jaguars would be foolish to let him go. They can't win a division without him.
It's that simple. Nobody else on the roster brings his scare-a-defense style.
Yet Taylor remains a lightning rod in Jacksonville. Fans blister him because he can't stay on the field. Fragile Fred, a name that haunted him early in his career, is coming back to the surface.
Taylor missed five games with an ankle injury last season, ending a streak of 1,000-yard seasons at three. That came after he ended the 2004 season on the sidelines with a knee injury that was far more serious than the team let on at the time.
At this time in 2005, Taylor watched the team's workouts from the sidelines. There were even doubts as to whether he would play in 2005, although those doubts proved to be way overblown. Taylor made it back, but he didn't have the type of season many expected, running for 787 yards.
The line didn't play well and Taylor had just one run of 20 yards or more after having 19 combined in the two previous seasons.
But the one long run shows Taylor can still get it done. He went 71 yards for a touchdown against the Rams in October and finished with 165 yards on 22 carries. He missed four of the next five games with the ankle injury, but there was more to that.
Taylor admitted this week that he was a healthy scratch in two of those games, saying he could have played but didn't suit up because the coaches made that choice. That decision cost him $80,000 in incentive money, yet he never made an issue out of it.
Some inside the organization wondered if Taylor's silence showed he simply didn't care. Taylor said that wasn't the case -- he just didn't want to rock the boat.
He did play in the playoff loss to the Patriots, rushing for 24 yards on eight carries as the Jaguars running game was stifled. It was after that game that Taylor decided to fight the aging process.
Spending the offseason in South Florida working out, he retooled his body through hard work and diet.
Once a guy who loved junk food, he now monitors everything he eats. He has a breakfast shake in the morning, followed by two low-calorie meals and a low-calorie snack or two. He limits his carb intake, and he doesn't eat after 8 p.m.
"That's the real key," Taylor said. "That takes getting used to, but you go to bed at 10:30 and it's not that hard."
He is so obsessive about his sugar intake that he no longer rehydrates with Gatorade, instead using PediaSure, a drink made for rehydrating children because it has a lot less sugar in it.
Taylor is not working out with the Jaguars this spring, instead opting to stay in South Florida, although he will be back for the team's OTA days. Del Rio said that was fine with him, and after seeing him last weekend, he again reiterated that position.
"He looks good," Del Rio said. "I'm fine with what he's doing."
As some of his teammates struggled in the Florida sun, Taylor wasn't fazed by it.
"I could have done more," Taylor said. "I felt great."
A healthy Taylor gives the Jaguars a weapon not many teams have, a big-play runner who can go the distance, his speed still enabling him to run away from defensive backs.
But the best running Taylor is doing now is away from Father Time, which ultimately catches up to all backs.
The new, sleeker Taylor is doing his best to make sure that doesn't happen in 2006. At 30, you have to change. That's what he's doing, and that's why Fred Taylor might be ready for another big season.
Fred Taylor getting into game shape.
Fred Taylor getting into game shape.
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