Polamalu missing ingredient

[fordfixer]

Polamalu missing ingredient

By: Mike Bires
Beaver County Times
[url="http://www.timesonline.com/sports/sports_details/article/1424/2009/december/09/polamalu-missing-ingredient.html"]http://www.timesonline.com/sports/sport ... dient.html[/url]
Wednesday December 9, 2009 12:18 AM



PITTSBURGH — As the Steelers practiced under gray skies on a cold December day, all Troy Polamalu could do was stand there in his sweat suit, watching helplessly and wondering when he’ll be able to join them.
The inactivity caused by two separate knee injuries gnaws at him.
He’s so frustrated that he can’t be out there doing what he does best, and that’s playing strong safety for the Steelers.
He’s so discouraged that his second sprained knee injury of the season is taking so long to heal.
It’s been 24 days since he’s last wore his shoulder pads and helmet. By all indications, it will be at least five more days before he even practices again.
Polamalu definitely won’t play Thursday night when the slumping Steelers (6-6) trying to snap their four-game losing streak in Cleveland against the Browns (1-11)
“It’s been tough not being able to be out there,” Polamalu said before Tuesday’s practice.
It’s been especially tough on Polamalu because the Steelers are self-destructing without him.
The company line is that the standard doesn’t change when a sub replaces a starter. So often in recent years, that’s been the case. But without Polamalu, the once-great Steelers’ defense is clearly out of sync.
There has been a rash of fourth-quarter breakdowns. There has been a rash of big pass plays allowed by a secondary which seldom has allowed such plays in the past. There were even crucial miscommunication breakdowns among defensive backs in stunning losses to Kansas City and Oakland.
“I’m not going to make excuses for my level of expectation. We’re capable of playing winning football with or without Troy,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “Are we different? Yes, because Troy’s a unique individual. He brings a unique skill set.
“Maybe the ceiling is different. But the floor, the standard of expectation, is the same, that we’re capable of playing winning football.”
Polamalu, who missed Games 2 through 5 with a sprained medial collateral ligament and will now miss his four straight game with a posterior cruciate ligament sprain, repeatedly says his absence is grossly over-played. He keeps saying that Tyrone Carter is a capable replacement.
“No, I don’t think any one player can make a difference with what this team is going through right now,” he said.
Twice Tuesday, a reporter told Polamalu: “Troy, you keep saying that you don’t make a difference. But the Steelers are 4-1 in games you’ve started and 2-5 in games you didn’t start. Those are the facts.”
And even though he’s missed seven games and parts of two others, Polamalu still leads the team with three interceptions.
“Honestly, it’s irrelevant whether I’m in there or not,” he said. “They’ve won a lot of games in the past without me.”
To a degree, Polamalu is right. He missed three games in 2006, and the Steelers won all three of them. In ’07, Polamalu missed five games, and the Steelers won three of them.
But this year, the Steelers’ defense isn’t clicking in his absence.
It can be argued that the Steelers are actually missing four starters from last year’s Super Bowl defense.
Defensive end Aaron Smith hasn’t played since suffering a season-ending injury in Game 5 earlier this year.
Inside linebacker Larry Foote asked for and was given his release during the off-season because the Steelers planned on starting Lawrence Timmons.
Cornerback Bryant McFadden signed a free-agent deal with the Arizona Cardinals.
Still, the fact remains that the Steelers are 4-1 with Polamalu this year and 2-5 without him.
It’s like St. Louis coach Mike Martz said Monday on the NFL Network: “(The Steelers) have got guys standing back there in a position to make a play and they just can’t pull the trigger. The secondary, particularly without Polamalu, has held this team hostage.”
After further prodding Tuesday, Polamalu finally admitted that the secondary — especially the safety tandem of Ryan Clark and Carter — does miss having him on the field.
“When you have guys out there playing with somebody with not my mentality, it can shake things up a little bit,” Polamalu said.
On a positive note, there is hope that Polamalu will resume practicing next week.
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[JUST-PLAIN-NASTY]

I understand what Troy says when asked about if he could have helped this team through their struggles. He says the right things. The fact is he changes things on the field. As much as he changes things during the play, he is more disruptive to the offense even before the ball is snapped. QBs get their presnap reads from the Ss and from motion. Troy being down in the box bouncing around presnap really makes the QB start from scratch when the ball is snapped. That is the biggest thing Troy brings. Just because he is lined up 3 yards from the LOS doesn't mean he won't be 20 yards down field on a route when your back foot hits. The QBs now can put their progression together pre-snap as they look at the defense. That's the difference in the QB holding the ball an extra second or the ball coming out on the WRs break. This team has some other problems but I am confident in saying that Troy in there all year would be the difference between the Steelers fighting for the division versus the Steelers fighting for their playoff lives!

[NWNewell]

I understand what Troy says when asked about if he could have helped this team through their struggles. He says the right things. The fact is he changes things on the field. As much as he changes things during the play, he is more disruptive to the offense even before the ball is snapped. QBs get their presnap reads from the Ss and from motion. Troy being down in the box bouncing around presnap really makes the QB start from scratch when the ball is snapped. That is the biggest thing Troy brings. Just because he is lined up 3 yards from the LOS doesn't mean he won't be 20 yards down field on a route when your back foot hits. The QBs now can put their progression together pre-snap as they look at the defense. That's the difference in the QB holding the ball an extra second or the ball coming out on the WRs break. This team has some other problems but I am confident in saying that Troy in there all year would be the difference between the Steelers fighting for the division versus the Steelers fighting for their playoff lives!

QFT

Troy and Arron won't make us light the field on fire. But we've lost so many close games in the 4th quarter by 3 points or less... in large part due to the seconday. I can't see how they (especially Troy), wouldn't contribute a few more plays and let us hang on to a couple more wins. I can easily see us at 8-4 with them in the line-up.

[Oviedo]

If we have a defense designed with a single point of failure then we have a problem. Nothing in football should rely on one player and essentially collapse without that player. That is just a bad scheme/design.

[NWNewell]

If we have a defense designed with a single point of failure then we have a problem. Nothing in football should rely on one player and essentially collapse without that player. That is just a bad scheme/design.

If you really believe that, you are living in a fantasy world.

Almost every great team is made great by just a couple of players. Without them, they likely suffer a few more loses. Take a look around the league at the great teams and take away their top two players... what will happen? They would be so great anymore. Guaranteed.

Often times it revolves around the QB (Brady, P Manning, Breeze), but sometimes it is a defensive player (Ray Lewis, several years go). A great many knowledgeable football folks will say that Troy is arguably the best defensive player in the game. You can't loose a player like that and not expect it to make a difference.

If we were blown out in our losses, I'd say you are correct. I'm not saying we would be tearing it up or that the games would be much prettier, or that he would return us to the performance we had last year. There are other issues. But because our margin of victory, or loss, as been so small. I think having him would make the difference in many of those games. But I can easily see him getting us 2 more wins out of those close 4th quarter losses.

Look at the Oakland game... 3 consecutive TD drives to end the game with mistakes all over the secondary. You don't think Troy might have been able to make a play somewhere and stop at least one of them. Or with the way he runs around presnap, caused the QB to be a little more hesitant and maybe make a bad throw or cause a sack? I think so.

I'm sure he would have come up with one or two more plays than Carter to help us find another win some where in the four other 4th quarter losses by less than 3 points.

[ikestops85]

If we have a defense designed with a single point of failure then we have a problem. Nothing in football should rely on one player and essentially collapse without that player. That is just a bad scheme/design.

If you really believe that, you are living in a fantasy world.

Almost every great team is made great by just a couple of players. Without them, they likely suffer a few more loses. Take a look around the league at the great teams and take away their top two players... what will happen? They would be so great anymore. Guaranteed.

Often times it revolves around the QB (Brady, P Manning, Breeze), but sometimes it is a defensive player (Ray Lewis, several years go). A great many knowledgeable football folks will say that Troy is arguably the best defensive player in the game. You can't loose a player like that and not expect it to make a difference.

If we were blown out in our losses, I'd say you are correct. I'm not saying we would be tearing it up or that the games would be much prettier, or that he would return us to the performance we had last year. There are other issues. But because our margin of victory, or loss, as been so small. I think having him would make the difference in many of those games. But I can easily see him getting us 2 more wins out of those close 4th quarter losses.

Look at the Oakland game... 3 consecutive TD drives to end the game with mistakes all over the secondary. You don't think Troy might have been able to make a play somewhere and stop at least one of them. Or with the way he runs around presnap, caused the QB to be a little more hesitant and maybe make a bad throw or cause a sack? I think so.

I'm sure he would have come up with one or two more plays than Carter to help us find another win some where in the four other 4th quarter losses by less than 3 points.

1000%

[JUST-PLAIN-NASTY]

If we have a defense designed with a single point of failure then we have a problem. Nothing in football should rely on one player and essentially collapse without that player. That is just a bad scheme/design.

I'm sure this defense isn't designed around Troy...And I agree no system should be designed to 1 person. Coaches on this level would eat up that predictability and it would make the scheme 1 injury away from a collapse. But the fine line...There are many designed to the strength of an individual player in mind. It isn't so much the system was designed around Troy as much as how well the system works when Troy is on the field. DL schemes are based upon confusion and making QBs & OC indecisive. Troy compounds that when he is on the field. Best way to describe it....
The Steelers defense without Troy is like you trying to play dodgeball against 2 people. When Troy is on the field...It is like you against 3 people & a pitching machine...And they are using real baseballs!!! Yeah...That about sums it up!

[Mister Pittsburgh]

Our secondary blows.