Akin Ayodele faces his old friends

by Dave Halprin on Sep 6, 2006 8:39 PM CDT in Dallas Cowboys News

Akin Ayodele is heading back to where his career began, in Jacksonville. Ayodele is a Dallas native, so leaving the Jaguars to come to the Cowboys was a bit of a homecoming in itself. Now his first game is back at the place that was his home for four years. Talk about some interesting emotions for the linebacker. While he still has friends on the Jaguars, he says on Sunday it will be all business, all about taking the first step to the playoffs.

He also says don't sleep on Jags RB Fred Taylor, who appears to be healthy entering the season.

And having faced the Jaguars' offense in practice for the last four seasons, Ayodele knows the Cowboys will need everyone in the lineup deal with Jacksonville running back Fred Taylor, who has battled injuries in his career, but appears to be 100 percent heading into the regular season.

"I feel our biggest threat will be Fred Taylor," Ayodele said. "To me, I think he's one of the most underrated backs in the league. He can catch the ball out of the backfield and he can bounce it from anywhere and can outrun probably anyone on the field.

"When he's 100 percent, Fred is one of those guys that is about 240 and runs a 4.3. He can hit the hole and he's super fast. For us, we have to be disciplined in our gaps and even on the outside, because he can bounce it and outrun guys to the edge."

Fred Taylor may be healthy, but is DT Marcus Stroud? From KFFL:

Jaguars | Stroud injured

Jacksonville Jaguars DT Marcus Stroud (ankle) rolled his ankle near the end of practice Wednesday, Sept. 6. He will have his condition updated Thursday, Sept. 7.