The Pittsburgh Steelers had a truly special player in Troy Polamalu. Many fans, teammates, and opponents have previously said that there will never be another quite like him. While he had all kinds of talent, the thing that made him unique was his ability to analyze exactly what the offense would do on a consistent basis. His genius defensively is still unmatched, and there are many highlights of him going rogue because of what he saw, even if it still tortures a poor punter to this day.
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Steelers' Troy Polamalu (#43) jumps over the line of scrimmage against the Houston Texans.
Carey Davis, a former fullback and kick returner for the team, talked about everything he has seen and heard about Polamalu during his time in Pittsburgh. He did so while making an appearance on the ESPN Monday Morning show in St. Louis, Missouri. His first story came from Polamalu's partner in crime, Ryan Clark.
"Ryan Clark, my guy. He'd be like, 'He tells me in the game, RC, I see something, I'm going,' and it might be Cover 2 where they're both covering. 'Cover me.' 'Wait what? It's Cover 2 Troy, you got this half.' 'Cover me, I'm going,' and he would be right."
Polamalu acting on his instincts and going rogue was nothing out of the ordinary. He was almost always right whenever he did abandon his assignment to attack the offense. Sometimes, they led to him timing up the snap count perfectly, like in the 2008 AFC Championship game, when he stopped Joe Flacco on a crucial 4th and 1. Sometimes, they led to him jumping into the passing lane and intercepting a pass that he had no business being near.
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Steelers' Troy Polamalu makes a finger-tip interception against the Chargers in 2008.
Steelers Had A Catalyst For Polamalu's Genius
Part of the reason that Polamalu was a psychic on the field was how he watched film. Davis also broke down how Polamalu would watch tape, as well as what he would overhear from him and Dick LeBeau, the Steelers' legendary defensive coordinator.
"Troy was a player that studied more film than anybody I've ever seen... He's in the room with us, we're playing cards, but he's studying film. He could tell you down and distance what play was about to be called and what route was about to be run...Coach LeBeau, those two were so in sync with how they understood football."
Even with someone that would routinely do his own things like Polamalu would, a good coach is still needed to help guide that genius and show him the weaknesses that he could exploit. Davis praised LeBeau for how he allowed Polamalu to be Polamalu, even though that usually meant going against his own plans.
"Without Coach LeBeau, you might not have a great player like Troy Polamalu, who was able to do all of the things he was able to do. You might have a coach that says, 'You can't do that. That's not the defense. We don't do that here.'"
LeBeau was superior in his own right for his zone blitz schemes, so it would have made sense if he just demanded that his players do whatever he said without question. Instead, he was willing to make the decisions that were best for the team, and that's what made him a legend and a two-time Super Bowl Champion with the Steelers.
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Former Steelers safety Troy Polamalu was the catalyst of Dick LeBeau's elite defenses, as evidenced by his Hall of Fame induction in 2021.
Even though Davis played on offense and special teams, you could tell that there are plenty of lessons to be learned from the defensive wizard. He put everything he had into all aspects of football, and not just physically. While he did have great speed and strength, his football IQ is what made him the best safety in the NFL. It takes a big brain to play football, and Polamalu had the biggest one of them all.
What do you think about Davis' recollection of Polamalu being a psychic on the field, as well as how LeBeau would allow it to happen? Let us know in the comments.
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