Mark Madden: "Pittsburgh doesn't deserve Polamalu"

[hawaiiansteel]

Mark Madden: "Pittsburgh doesn't deserve Polamalu"

Monday, January 5th 2015



This town doesn’t deserve Troy Polamalu.

If Twitter is any indication – I realize, it probably isn’t – the hoi polloi are blaming Polamalu and Ben Roethlisberger for the playoff loss to Baltimore.

Roethlisberger, I get. So does Ben. It wasn’t Roethlisberger’s best game and he owned the defeat after, like superstars do. Plenty of others were also responsible, but Roethlisberger plays the impact position and makes the most money.

Polamalu, I don’t get.

Polamalu isn’t as good as he was in, say, 2010, when he was NFL Defensive Player of the Year. But he led the Steelers in tackles Saturday. He made no glaring errors, and Yinzer Nation has nowhere near the football acumen necessary to judge how Polamalu played by just watching the game on TV.

If you want to play the blame game, consider: The Steelers have no good cornerbacks, and S Mike Mitchell makes Ryan Clark’s performance last year look like Ed Reed in his prime. The pass rush was invisible Saturday, as usual.

Consider, too, that Polamalu is that rarest of NFL players, a totally upstanding citizen. He’s never embarrassed himself, the Steelers, or the city.

James Harrison is a surly jerk. A domestic abuser. He had 5.5 sacks this year, and they all came in three games. Harrison was invisible in his other eight games, and invisible Saturday. Yet Pittsburgh blows his performance out of proportion. Harrison is idolized.

I can’t explain it. Perhaps it’s a reflection of Pittsburgh’s self-loathing.

Pittsburgh’s attitude toward Polamalu should make the decision easy: He should retire. Not because he can’t play anymore, though he can’t play like he used to or wants to. As he said on my show, Troy has no interest in playing a “safe” safety.

Polamalu should retire to escape a locker room full of immature punks, a head coach who is mostly a BS artist, and an idiotic vocal minority who think Will Allen offers the Steelers more as a strong safety.

Polamalu probably played his last game last night. The whole crummy town should have been genuflecting. “We’re not worthy!”

Instead, you ignored his pending exit and tweeted about Polamalu’s perceived shortcomings. Proving that, indeed, you are not worthy.

[URL]http://www.1059thex.com/onair/mark-m...#ixzz3NyoxJUVK[/URL]

[SteelerMaine83]

We all love Troy, he has meant a great deal to this organization and the city, and we all can remember at least a couple dozen plays that only Troy could make, but business is business. He has no interest in playing "safe" safety, but he can't play "playmaker" safety anymore. I hope he retires before it looks even worse.

So, one question, because I don't live in Pittsburgh--how long has Mark Madden been covering Pittsburgh's NBA team?

[feltdizz]

Mark Madden needs to retire

[Slapstick]

My God.

Mark Madden has a point.

Dogs and cats, living together! It's mass hysteria!!!

[Ghost]

Never understood why a guy would continue to live in a city that he hates with all his heart. Hey you fat piece of crap, move away and stop covering the team if it brings you so much personal angst. How this lump has a platform is mind boggling.

[SS Laser]

Never understood why a guy would continue to live in a city that he hates with all his heart. Hey you fat piece of crap, move away and stop covering the team if it brings you so much personal angst. How this lump has a platform is mind boggling.

The turd built a platform being wwf wrestling stick to radio. I listen some times because the x is my music station. Most times I would like to punch him in the face. But I have to agree here. If true that Troy does not want or can't just be a regular SS, then it is time for him to retire. I will mis taz very much!

[JoshBroski]

Troy played ok. Mitchell played horrible like he always does.

[SS Laser]

Troy played ok. Mitchell played horrible like he always does.

It is sad to me when there is no difference between W. Allen or Troy P. Is how I see it after that game.

[Ghost]

It's not that I totally disagree with his message about people tweeting garbage about one of the greatest Steelers of all time. He's right, it's ridiculous and Twitter gives a voice to the ignorant.

Its how how he does it. Calling it yinzer nation (not affectionately), a crummy town, referring to Harrison as a surely jerk, saying the locker room is filled with immature punks and the head coach is a BS artist.

He's too stupid to realize the irony of calling out fans as being unable to properly judge Troy but then turns around and judges Tomlin with the same lack of acumen to do so.

[Iron City Inc.]

Madden sucks at his profession.