Steelers' Troy Polamalu achieved greatness by learning from many

By Carlos Mendez
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram
http://www.star-telegram.com/superbowl/
February 5, 2011

He is supposed to be the only safety of his kind in the NFL -- a mix of speed, unpredictability, fierceness and intimidation never before seen in pro football.

But Troy Polamalu of the Pittsburgh Steelers said he's just trying to be like a lot of other safeties.

"I've broken down a lot of film of Ed Reed, of Rodney Harrison, of Brian Dawkins, of Sean Taylor, Bob Sanders, Adrian Wilson," he said. "I've watched almost every play of their careers. I try to incorporate their style of what they do well into my game. And some of it I'm not capable of doing because they're more athletic. Some of it I was able to do, and then you can form that into your own game."

Polamalu's own game is impressive.

His speed allows him to cover vast amounts of ground between the sidelines. He can put on a hit to rival teammate James Harrison. He forces turnovers because he does the unexpected. He intimidates, and his distinctive, flowing hair makes it look as though he's in more than one place at the same time.

"That's my guy," safety Ryan Clark said. "Playing with Troy, it's like having a front-row seat to the circus every week. It is amazing, each and every week to watch him go out there and do his job in a way that I don't think anybody else could do it."

When he missed most of last season with an injury, the Steelers cratered without him. They didn't even make the playoffs.

Is it any coincidence that with health this season, he was selected the NFL Defensive Player of the Year, the Steelers are the top scoring defense, and they reached another Super Bowl?

Not to Steelers secondary coach Ray Horton. He called Polamalu the greatest safety to ever play the game.

"I definitely don't agree with it, but I respect coach Horton's opinions," Polamalu said. "He's been around the game a lot, and he's won a Super Bowl as a coach and as a player. He's had so much to do with the success that we've had as a secondary -- my own, personally, as well as the guy on the other side of the ball who's coaching the safeties for the Green Bay Packers. He was here my rookie and second year and had so much to do with helping me understand the game."

Polamalu referred to Darren Perry, the Packers secondary coach, who was an assistant at Pittsburgh when Polamalu was drafted out of Southern Cal.

"He taught me so much," Polamalu said. "We've been through a lot together, because my rookie year wasn't very good, so I had to lean on him a lot emotionally as well as, obviously, learning the defense."

Polamalu does not stop giving credit.

"There are a lot of great safeties that have played behind me that I've learned more from," he said. "I've learned a lot from rookies, from a safety on [the Packers], Anthony Smith, who's on IR. From Tyrone Carter, who plays for the San Diego Chargers now. Chris Hope, who plays for the Tennessee Titans and the stuff he brought. I've learned a lot from all of these other guys."

Has he reshaped the safety position?

"I would say Ed Reed was kind of the guy who broke down the barriers of taking the top off defenses, and Rodney Harrison being able to be the most universal safety in the sense of being able to play man-to-man in the slot when he was in New England, or playing the deep halves, with freeing up and playing the run as well," he said. "If there is any safety that I really admired the most, it would have probably been Rodney Harrison."

Carlos Mendez, 817-390-7407
cmendez@star-telegram.com


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