Houston Chronicle
http://www.chron.com/sports/
Jan. 27, 2009, 10:43PM
TAMPA, Fla. — Troy Polamalu speaks so softly that he barely can be heard. He’s unfailingly polite and most passionate on topics like faith and trust and teamwork.He’s a man of humility and service, says fatherhood has changed him more than fame and fortune ever could. His locker could pass for a religious shrine.
If you listen to him long enough, if you get close and really listen, you could convince yourself that this Troy Polamalu, so gentle and thoughtful, can’t be that other Troy Polamalu.
That other one might be the NFL’s most violent player. He punishes wide receivers, nails ball carriers, throws his body through the air.
He’s a YouTube star with his flying hair and diving interceptions and exciting runbacks. Most of all, there are the hits. Spectacular hits. Heart-stopping hits.
“He’s arguably the best safety in the business,” Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald said. “He’s all over the field. You have to know where he’s at, and then right when you think he’s over here, he’s in your backfield or he’s picking off a play on the backside.”
Polamalu is one of the reasons the Pittsburgh Steelers have football’s best defense and why they are favored to win Super Bowl XLIII on Sunday. Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner will find him before each and every snap. When Cardinals wide receivers go across the middle, they will know they’re vulnerable.
Polamalu doesn’t just hit hard. He punishes people and doesn’t care if they’re a 250-pound running back or a 200-pound wide receiver.
“Yeah, it’s very dangerous,” he said. “This is a dangerous sport. Guys get beaned with balls in baseball, but that’s all part of the danger in the sport. You’re not going to take that away. You’re not going to take a pitcher out for hitting somebody. Hits have always been a part of this game, from the very beginning of football and, quite honestly, it’s what has driven this game. It’s what fans are attracted to.”
Freedom to make plays
He’s the right player in the right place at the right time. The Steelers are so good in so many other areas that Polamalu has the freedom to move around the field to create havoc, bust up plays.
In the end, though, there’s this disconnect between one Troy Polamalu and the other Troy Polamalu.
“I play the game the way it’s supposed to be played,” he said. “I’m very passionate about it.”
He and Baltimore’s Ed Reed are part of a new generation of safeties, players who are gifted and have the advantage of playing for defensive coordinators who give them the freedom to make plays.
“Anyone can do it as long as they’re willing to sacrifice their life and consciousness,” Polamalu said. “You can tell a bunch of guys to run into a brick wall. They might all do it, but some are going to do it at different speeds.’’
Steelers safety Troy Polamalu and teammate Bryant McFadden tackle Houston Texans receiver Andre Johnson in the fourth quarter of NFL football action in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008. The Steelers won 38-17.(AP)
Polamalu, 27, does it full speed, every time. He has great people in front of him, especially outside linebackers LaMarr Woodley and James Harrison, and they have one of the NFL’s best defensive coordinators in Dick LeBeau.
Safeties traditionally have been a low priority for teams that have built from the inside out. This generation of safeties may be reminding general managers of how important a really good one can be.
Polamalu collects a highlight video of other NFL safeties and studies them after every season. That study always begins with Reed, but New England’s Rodney Harrison and Arizona’s Adrian Wilson have helped changed the position.
“I would say safeties all over the NFL are starting to get more noticed,” he said. “I think the way the offenses are really starting to evolve; maybe safeties are starting to evolve as well. You need a safety that’s able to play the run and pass equally well. Safeties have become a big focal point in every defense now, scheme-wise as well.”
'Hairstyle of the Year’
Now about that hair. Polamalu has always worn it long but kept it tied in a neat ponytail. He said an uncle suggested he allow it to wave from beneath his helmet.
Now it’s the hair that has helped him become unique. The hair and the hits. At Media Day, someone from one of the Hollywood gossip shows asked if he’ll ever cut his hair.
“The last Super Bowl, I won Hairstyle of the Year from you guys, but you guys probably gave it away earlier today, didn’t you?” Polamalu said. “I’m just making my campaign.”
Just then, Ross the Intern from The Tonight Show presents him with a gold hair ribbon and asks him to put it on.
Polamalu smiles. He’s so likable and open and friendly that it’s sometimes tough to remember he’s that other Troy Polamalu, too.
“I’ll do it for The Tonight Show,’’ he said.
richard.justice@chron.com
No comments:
Post a Comment