troy

was watching the highlights of steelers mini camp and then after it the highlights of troy p. came on. wow i almost forgot how good he was. amazing. sure would like to have a guy like that again.

 

Generational.

 

I remember his first few years when a bunch of us watched all the games together and we all agreed he took to many chances and wouldn't last but 2-3 years at best.

 

Mentally, instinctively, a football genius. He was smarter than everyone on the field and probably on the sidelines as well.

 

Possibly even more rare....(and not being irreverent) - "Waiting for the second coming!" He was that exceptional and critical to the awesome Steeler D during his reign. Miss him and Big Snack the most.

 

Troy was not generational, he was the exception. There has never been a safety to ever play the way he did. He was the Barry Sanders of Safeties. No one before and likely no one after.

 

Bustamalu

 

He, Ed reed, and Ronnie lott.

 

Lott was the original. Reed was exceptional. Troy is, was, and will be, the best. When he retired he dropped the mic.

 

They weren't near the same type of players

 

I've seen Ed Reed and Ronnie Lott's. Guys who are ball hawks and ferocious hitters. I have never seen a player sack a QB on a QB sneak. TWICE. Or, threaten to blitz at the line and then break up a pass in the secondary all in 3 seconds.

 

Troy was a one of a kind. He had a burst of speed at the safety position like no one else I ever seen play. Like Barry Sanders was to RB's, we may never see another player at the safety position again like Troy.

Troy probably had a year or two left in him. Unfortunately, the Steelers seemed to believe that injuries impacted Troy to reduce his effectiveness or that he wasn't worth his salary. I believe Troy could had signed with another team. He decided he didn't want to play for another team. The tough business of football.

 

Ed Reed made interceptions. Troy changed games. No comparison.

 

I remember him Tackling a guy with His A$$.
He was backward 2 the guy , and tackle him. LoL.
I remember looking at my then old Lady and saying I have never seen that.
I think it was a Denver game, but not sure.

 

Troy had a real nice bubble for sure.

 

That is because Reed and Polamalu played different positions the same. Their impact was still immense overall. How they impacted the game though is what separates the two.

 

This.



Granted, QBs like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady did have major cause for concern in Ed. Bill Belichick informed Brady always to write "Find 20" when they played the Ravens. That said, while this much is true, I do not think that, even in the 100+ Year History of the NFL, fewer safeties have had the Playoff Impact that Troy did.



I also personally doubt I will ever see that again in my lifetime.

 

Troy Polamalu is only one of two Strong Safeties in NFL History to be voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame; Ken Houston being the other. That said, Troy Polamalu is the only full time Strong Safety ever to win the Defensive Player of the Year Award. Why am I saying this in particular?!



Ed Reed won DPOY as a Strong Safety back in 2004 but changed to Free Safety after suffering a neck injury in 2005. Even so, people remember him more as a Free Safety anyways. In addition, like @jeh1856 stated, Troy won the Steelers big time game while Ed came up with big time highlights.


Of the two, gimme me Troy in a clutch situation 9/10



*** UPDATE ***


Just found out that Kenney Easley played Strong Safety as well per Pro Football Reference. Thought he played Free Safety. My mistake!!

 

I agree, and I normally do not get into GOAT conversations simply because the game itself evolves so quickly, the equipment, conditioning, rules change constantly that help or inhibit, etc Different positions, both Reed and Troy were the best of their generations, Troy the one player opposing O's had to constantly be aware of as if he was playing 3 different positions, S, LB, CB. Lott was an All Pro multiple times, at 2 different positions.

 

Unfortunately he never retired but was rather forced out and both parties knew it was time. Troy was the best but the ending came too soon with an abrupt halt. Hated to see his career end.

 

Not in Playstyle no. They all played different. But they all were safties who literally could takeover games and impact it on the highest level.

 

Lott was all pro at 3. Corner, free, and strong.

 

Fair point. But with his reckless abandon, he was always one amazing play away from not being able to help us or limit his quality of life after football. The end came too soon for us, but at the right time for him. He could have played elsewhere. He retired.

 

I've watched a lot of football for my 35 years on earth. I've never seen a player single handily change the entire momentum of a game so quick like I did when watching Troy Polamalu. Regular season games, Playoff games, the list goes on and on. INT's, Sacks, Forced fumbles, tackles for loss.

Also so fun to watch his return INT's, he was no where near a Ed Reed type of straight line speed, you know Troy was gonna run 150 yards to run 50 yards for a chance to return a TD.

 

The whole "Troy vs Ed Reed" debates for me is an indirect continuation of what was the greatest debates that many Steelers Fans had that were of yesteryear but also what to look forward to in the future. During the 1970s, I would imagine that hearing the debates of Terry Bradshaw vs Rodger Staubach got annoying up until Super Bowl XIII where the debate could finally be settled.... or so some thought as said debate rages on still today. For that matter, add Mike Webster vs Jim Otto as well; a debate that still seemingly does not have a conclusive answer. In the 1980s, it was a showdown between Rod Woodson vs Deion Sandsers. Deion was no doubt the superior cover corner but Rod Woodson was the superior well rounded player.



In the 1990s?! After the departure of Rod, Pittsburgh really did not have a player that was comparable to him at the time. Fast forward to the 2000s and the big ones were Troy vs Ed. Nowadays, T.J. Watt vs Myles Garrett is the newest popular debate among the best EDGE Players in Football right now. There is likely another one brewing between Justin Jefferson vs Chase Claypool and I am assuming Najee Harris vs Travis Etienne but these are just mere speculation.




Among the debates that have happened since the 1970s however, the Troy vs Ed one gets brought up more often than any other. My biggest takeaway as to why that is resides in the fact that the games two best players at their respective positions played in the games toughest division for a decade. In addition, the consistency of intensity and greatness that were on display each time Troy and Ed played represented one of the best ideological clashes the game has ever seen; a Defense with an aggressive ball hawking mentality vs a Defense that caused havoc everywhere they went.Compared to the other matchups that were previously listed, realistically speaking, only the TJ Watt vs Myles Garrett debate is the closest comparison. Here is something else that encapsulates this rivalry so far;






Here is something else that is doable for both...








Now, why is this all being brought up in this thread?! The answer is due to the impact and legacy Troy had for the position. Assuming he can indeed win the Defensive Player of the Year Award this season; T.J. Watt has a chance to join Troy as well.