By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/
Rebecca Droke/Post-GazetteTroy Polamalu accepts the Most Valuable Player award for the Steelers at a press conference on the South Side yesterday.
With all due respect to his fellow voters, Troy Polamalu wants nothing to do with the most valuable player award of the Steelers.
It's not that he does not appreciate the honor, bestowed by a vote of his teammates; he prefers there be no such thing as team MVP nor even the Steelers' Walter Payton Man of the Year award he also picked up Thursday.
"I would have to say that football is such a perfect team sport, and it's hard to make anybody -- especially our team and the way we play on defense -- a most valuable player," Polamalu said. "I've never been a fan of either award."
Polamalu, who was chosen for his sixth Pro Bowl in his eight seasons with the Steelers, became only the second safety chosen as Steelers MVP since the award began in 1969. The other safety to win it was Glen Edwards in '74.
Now all he wants to do is get back on the playing field. Coach Mike Tomlin said Polamalu, who missed the past two games with an Achilles tendon-related injury, will try to practice today.
"I am hoping to play this week, whatever is coach Tomlin's decision," Polamalu said.
His teammates would welcome the return as they play a vital game Sunday in Cleveland that will determine their playoff status. A victory will give them the No. 2 seed in the AFC and a bye in the first week of the playoffs with a home game in the second week. A loss combined with a Baltimore victory against Cincinnati, would drop the Steelers to the sixth seed as a wild-card team that would play all its games on the road, starting the following weekend.
"We need him," Hines Ward said. "You got plenty of time to rest. We win this game, you can rest all next week. He doesn't have to practice until the following Friday, for all we care.
"This is a big game and having him out there, I think he'll be rested up. We'll see. He's going to try to go, I think. Having him out there on the field makes our team, makes our defense better than what they are."
Polamalu is a big reason the Steelers are in position to win the AFC North Division and finish with a 12-4 record, which would match their record for the 2008 season, the previous time they won the Super Bowl. They held the No. 2 seed in the AFC that season as well.
"He's one of those players who is special, who makes the plays that no one else can make on the football field," defensive end Brett Keisel said. "We'll be happy to get him healthy and back out there with us."
PITTSBURGH - DECEMBER 12: Troy Polamalu intercepts a pass from Carson Palmer of the Cincinnati Bengals during the game on December 12, 2010 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)Polamalu delivered three game-turning plays this season on consecutive weeks. He intercepted a pass at the 2 late in the game that prevented Buffalo from winning Nov. 28. He caused a fumble when he sacked quarterback Joe Flacco in Baltimore Dec. 5 that set up the winning touchdown with 2:51 left. His interception for a touchdown in the second quarter Dec. 12 erased a 7-0 Cincinnati lead, and the Steelers went on to a 23-7 victory.
Typically, Polamalu downplayed his role in all of them.
"There are so many different parts that go into making plays. The Buffalo play was actually made by Willie Gay. He actually broke up the pass. The Baltimore play was a good call. Anybody could have made that play. Nobody tried to block me or anything like that. I am honestly not trying to be humble. This is just the truth. The Cincinnati play was made by [Bryant McFadden]."
His teammates and defensive coach weren't buying it.
"A lot of us in here think he should be the league defensive MVP," Keisel said. "It seems like when we need a big play or someone to step in and make something happen, Troy nine times out of 10 is that guy."
Defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau said that in his eighth season Polamalu is playing better than ever.
"He's a very special player. He can play at all levels of the defense -- he can blitz, he can play linebacker depth and he's a heck of an interceptor. We're always a lot better when he's in the game."
Polamalu leads the Steelers with six interceptions, ranks sixth with 81 tackles, has a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. But statistics don't tell the whole story how Polamalu impacts a game, including how he bounces around before the snap of the ball to confuse the offense.
"He means so much to our team," Ward said. "He's just the X-factor, he really makes a difference. With him on the field playing, I know he gives us that opportunity, something's going to happen. When we need something the most, 99.9 percent of the time he's come up big.
"I think it's actually his first time winning it. You would think a guy of his magnitude would win it every year."
Harrison fine reduced
The NFL has reduced the biggest fine it levied on James Harrison this season by a third.
Harrison's fine was reduced from $75,000 to $50,000 for his hit Oct. 17 on Cleveland wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi. Although Harrison lost his appeal, the NFL decided Thursday to reduce the fine by $25,000.
"We're very pleased with the reduction and it's good step in the right direction," said Harrison's agent, Bill Parise.
Harrison was fined four times this season for $125,000. Parise on Tuesday will appeal a $25,000 fine on Harrison for a hit Nov. 28 in Buffalo.
The league said in a statement that it reduced three fines after a review. The others were by Atlanta's Dunta Robinson, from $50,000 to $25,000, and one by New England's Brandon Meriwether from $50,000 to $40,000.
Appeals officer Ted Cottrell, according to the statement, "reduced the fines because the players said they understood the rules and have made efforts to adjust their techniques to play within the rules that protect player safety."
More for Pro Bowl?
The Steelers have only three players on the Pro Bowl roster but more could join them in the weeks ahead. A handful of Steelers were voted as alternates and the top one is defensive end Brett Keisel.
Keisel, a nine-year veteran who has never made a Pro Bowl, is a first alternate, which means if one of the three defensive ends cannot participate, he would be the next one up.
"I'm excited about it," Keisel said. "It's something you strive to be in this profession. It's tough to make it, especially when you play a 3-4 end in the scheme we play. It's an honor."
Other alternates, although none of them first alternates, include Mike Wallace, Casey Hampton, Ryan Clark, LaMarr Woodley, Heath Miller and Ben Roethlisberger.
Injury report
LaMarr Woodley (swollen knee) returned to a full practice and is ready to play Sunday in Cleveland. However, Mewelde Moore (sprained knee) missed another practice. If Moore cannot play, rookie Jonathan Dwyer could dress for his first game this season. James Harrison, ill on Wednesday, returned to practice.
For more on the Steelers, read the blog, Ed Bouchette on the Steelers at www.post-gazette.com/plus. Ed Bouchette: ebouchette@post-gazette.com.
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