Life Without Troy Polamalu



Life Without Troy? Something the Steelers
Need to See Coming...

If you were able to watch the game on NBC on Sunday Night, you saw the statistic they showed regarding the win-loss totals with Troy Polamalu in the lineup, and then without him in the lineup since 2009.  The statistics are staggering.  So staggering that I'm sure all Steeler fans thought the same thing, "This is not a good thing to show when we are playing a must win game."  Nonetheless, the Steelers were obviously able to pull out the win in Cincinnati on Sunday night. 

If you watched closely, the defense looked different.  There weren't people flying all around before the snap.  There weren't the crazy pressure blitzes from corners and safeties.  You didn't see safeties crowding the line of scrimmage.  What you saw was a pretty standard defense.  I think Steeler fans need to prepare themselves for life without Troy for several reasons.  First, it doesn't look like Troy is going to be coming back to the lineup anytime soon.  If Troy plays in the first Steelers vs Ravens game in 4 weeks I would be SHOCKED.  His injury is one that is very easy to re-injure and could be a side effect of the achilles injury he suffered.  Second, lets be honest, Troy is the player on the Steelers roster that won't have a problem walking away from the game.  He plays with tenacity, but off the field he talks like he could walk away at any second and not think twice about it.  Troy's years in the black n' gold are numbered and the Steelers don't have a backup plan. 

Its time that the Steelers start to realistically look at a high class safety in the draft.  Assuming Troy can play another 3 years that would give the young / new safety time to learn from one of the all-time greats at the safety position.  I've said this before, but Steeler fans are spoiled in alot of different ways.  Alot (like my father) have seen 6 Superbowl championships out of 8 tries, not to mention how many Hall of Famers he has seen wear the black n' gold.  Since the early 2000s, the Steeler fans have had the pleasure of watching their long-haired safety fly around making plays.  Those days might be coming to an end in the near future and the Steelers need to realize that.  They don't need to draft a Troy, but they need to draft a smart and physical player to fill his position (not his shoes). 

In the meantime, can the Steelers win without the Tazmanian Devil??  They did Sunday for one big reason.  They didn't expect Ryan Mundy or Will Allen to be Troy Polamalu.  NFL / Steeler fans need to remember that not every team has a Troy Polamalu or Ed Reed.  They are one in a million.  The rest of the NFL teams have solid safeties that do nothing but DO THEIR JOB.  Thats exactly what the Steelers looked like vs the Bengals on Sunday.  They didn't have the explosive plays from the safety position, but the players that were on the field played their positions well and didn't make mistakes.  No mistakes + doing your job = a solid defensive effort by the secondary.  Am I saying I don't want Troy back in the lineup?  Hell no...but I am saying that its possible the Steelers can win without him in the short term.  Getting used to life without Troy isn't fun, but a realization the fans and organization need to realize is coming...and both better be prepared for it.