There are a plethora of incredible defenders in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ history. But perhaps none made as many unbelievable plays as Troy Polamalu. He accomplished plenty over his 12-year career, including earning the 2010 Defensive Player of the Year award. Polamalu’s unique ability to appear in the right place at the right time earned him high praise from analyst Steve Palazzolo.
“Troy Polamalu was incredible,” Palazzolo said Monday on his Check the Mic podcast. “Incredible to watch. And it was another one of those, like, the first question that would be brought up, you don’t know the assignment. But it doesn’t matter. Are you making the play? Are you not? Polamalu would be out of position at times, but more often than not, he made the play.”
Polamalu’s former teammates and coaches often discuss how the safety seemed to develop a sixth sense when playing. He’d often move out of position, which caused a bit of panic. But as Palazzolo says, Polamalu was right more often than not. It was like he knew what the opposing offense was going to do before they did it.
Polamalu ended his career with 32 interceptions and 14 forced fumbles. But those numbers don’t tell the whole story about his playmaking ability. Take Polamalu’s ability to stop quarterback sneaks, for example. He frequently timed the snap perfectly and stopped the offense.
Give credit to the Steelers for trusting Polamalu, too. A different environment may have stifled the safety’s ability to predict plays. Pittsburgh was the perfect home for Polamalu.
His efforts were enough to land him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Polamalu is immortalized in Canton, Ohio, cementing him as one of the NFL’s best players ever. Although pass-catchers sometimes beat him, he made enough plays to cancel out his mistakes. The Steelers have a long list of incredible defenders, and Polamalu is among the best.
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