Troy Polamalu is the greatest Defensive Player in the history of the NFL

[jmt225]

I said it.

And you know what’s funny? It took him NOT playing for me to realize it.

Seriously, on defense, has there ever been a more impactful player on their team? Lawrence Taylor? Reggie White? Deion Sanders? Ronnie Lott?

I mean, when you think about it, all those guys were GREAT defensive players, but if you remove them from their best teams…. those teams still do well. However, you take Troy Polamalu away from the Pittsburgh Steelers, and what you think is a great team without him… turns out not to be so great. And this season has proven that to be a fact.

You take Reggie White away from the 1996/1997 Green Bay Packers, I'm positive that team still does extremely well. You take Lawrence Taylor away from his Super Bowl winning teams, and I'm sure those teams still do really well without him. However, you take Troy Polamalu away from the Steelers, it's a GUARANTEE they don't win 2 Super Bowls this decade.

Troy Polamalu, a DEFENSIVE player, made his ENTIRE team great. Can anyone throughout the history of football claim to have that kind of impact on defense? I can’t think of one, and that’s why, in my opinion, Troy Polamalu is the greatest defensive player of all time. Fuck stats and physical attributes and all that hoopla; no defensive player has ever meant more to their team than Troy Polamalu has meant to the Pittsburgh Steelers, a Pittsburgh Steelers team with 2 Super Bowl rings since they acquired him, I'd like to add once more.

The guy is simply phenomenal, and I'm now convinced, after watching the Steelers just fall apart without him, that he's the greatest player to ever step on a football field on the defensive side of the ball.

What do you guys think? Am I insane, or do I have a valid point?

 

[NSL]

I said it.

And you know what’s funny? It took him NOT playing for me to realize it.

Seriously, on defense, has there ever been a more impactful player on their team? Lawrence Taylor? Reggie White? Deion Sanders? Ronnie Lott?

I mean, when you think about it, all those guys were GREAT defensive players, but if you remove them from their best teams…. those teams still do well.

You're fucking nuts. I said it.

Lawrence Taylor is the single greatest defensive player in history. He revolutionized not only his position, but the way teams play defense, and teams play offense. Take him off the team, and the defense falls apart. Look at the few season after he retired. It didn't take long for them to sink down to 5-11 and 4-12.

Because he was so great, Carl Banks, Pepper Johnson, Leonard Marshall, and others, excelled. They had huge gaps to play through, and didn't have to ever worry about double teams.

I'd put Polamalu up as one of the greatest safeties ever, but I would not says he's the single greatest ever...

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

Even though I'm a huge Steelers fan, I will have to disagree. Sure they haven't done great without him but it's only been five or six games that he hasn't played so I'm not going to say he's the greatest based off that small of a sample set. Lawrence Taylor changed the way teams had to defend linebackers who rush the passer instead of drop back into coverage. The same thing happened with Bob Sanders a couple of years ago. When he was out, the Colts had the worst rushing defense. When he came back, the defense was amazing and carried an less than spectacular Peyton Manning to a Super Bowl. When Polamalu and Sanders are healthy, I would pick Sanders slightly and that is no slight to Troy. The past few years, Charles Woodson has been the defensive player in my opinion.

 

[jmt225]

Lawrence Taylor is the single greatest defensive player in history.

You're a Giants fan, so your opinion is biased on this matter, since you want to harp Lawrence Taylor. I don't give two fucks about the Steelers, but I know watching them as of late that they can' accomplish shit without Polamalu, and that speaks volumes just how good Polamalu is and how much he means to that team's success.

He revolutionized not only his position, but the way teams play defense, and teams play offense.

You don't think Polamalu is doing that right now with the way he plays? Seriously, has any Safety ever played with as much intensity and activity as Troy Polamalu? On EVERY single defensive play you see that ridiculous hair of his flopping around somewhere around the ball. This guy attacks the ball at every chance, yet still doesn't give up the big plays. People today and years from now will watch tapes of this guy and learn just how he was able to pull it all off.

Take him off the team, and the defense falls apart. Look at the few season after he retired. It didn't take long for them to sink down to 5-11 and 4-12.

Don't bullshit me, NSL. The Giants declined because of Phil Simms leaving more so than Taylor.

Because he was so great, Carl Banks, Pepper Johnson, Leonard Marshall, and others, excelled. They had huge gaps to play through, and didn't have to ever worry about double teams.

The same could be said for Polamalu with pretty much EVERYONE on his defense, lol. Hell, he makes the Steelers offense better with his plays on defense. That's how good this motherfucker is.

I'd put Polamalu up as one of the greatest safeties ever, but I would not says he's the single greatest ever...

Yeah, instead you act like a homer and put a New York Giant in that spot, huh?

 

[NSL]

You're a Giants fan, so your opinion is biased on this matter, since you want to harp Lawrence Taylor. I don't give two fucks about the Steelers, but I know watching them as of late that they can' accomplish shit without Polamalu, and that speaks volumes just how good Polamalu is and how much he means to that team's success.

I'm not denying Polamalu's greatness, and I hate the Steelers maybe more than you do. He's a tremendous player, but I won't ever rank him as the greatest ever.

Lawrence Taylor is loved by more than Giants fans, so I wouldn't say it's biased here. Ask most people, and the response you'll get for "greatest ever" is either Butkus or Taylor. The linebackers are essentially the quarterback of the defense, and being the best there, makes you the best period.

You don't think Polamalu is doing that right now with the way he plays? Seriously, has any Safety ever played with as much intensity and activity as Troy Polamalu? On EVERY single defensive play you see that ridiculous hair of his flopping around somewhere around the ball. This guy attacks the ball at every chance, yet still doesn't give up the big plays. People today and years from now will watch tapes of this guy and learn just how he was able to pull it all off.

Night Train Lane. There's really no other response to any of this.

Don't bullshit me, NSL. The Giants declined because of Phil Simms leaving more so than Taylor.

Simms was never a game-changing QB. He was great as a game manager. Had he been the guy putting up 300 yards, and getting 40 TDs a season, I'd agree. The defense was the reason that team was so great for so long.

The same could be said for Polamalu with pretty much EVERYONE on his defense, lol. Hell, he makes the Steelers offense better with his plays on defense. That's how good this motherfucker is.

Or, you could look at it as, that's how bad the rest of the team is. The Steelers have a decent set of LBs, but their entire defense has been slowing down for a few years. They're not nearly the Steel Curtain they think they are anymore.

Yeah, instead you act like a homer and put a New York Giant in that spot, huh?

You could have listed Sharper, and gotten less of a reaction

 

[Big Sexy]

This thread is just wrong on so many levels. Polamalu is a great defensive player, but to say he is the best EVER is a ludicrous statement.

There are a lot more things wrong with the Steelers then just Polamalu being hurt. The defense as a whole is old. 9 of the 11 starters are 29 or older. They lost Larry Foote in free agency and that has hurt their linebacker depth. Their best defensive lineman Aaron Smith is out for the season and has been since week 5. Not having Polamalu has hurt them, but him being injured is just one of the reasons they are struggling.

The major hole in your argument is saying that the Steelers have sucked without Polamalu in the lineup. While that may be true THIS year, Polamalu has missed time in the past and it has not affected the Steelers defensive play. in 2006 Polamalu missed 3 games. In those games the Steelers went 3-0 and gave up a total of just 13 points. In 2007 he missed 5 games. The first 3 games he missed the Steelers again went 3-0 with 2 shutouts and gave up only 10 points in the third game. The last 2 games he missed that season they did give up a lot of points, however, one of those games was against Brady and 16-0 super Patriots and the other was the last game of the season where the Steelers were resting all of their starters.

Let's talk about Ray Lewis. This is just one example of a guy being out that has hurt a team a lot more. There have been 2 seasons where he has missed a significant number of games. In 2002 he played in only 5 games. The Ravens defense ended up 19th in the league in points per game allowed and they finished with a 7-9 record. In 2005 Ray Lewis played in just 6 games. The Ravens finished 10th in the league in points per game allowed which is good for most teams, but not for the Ravens. Especially considering the previous year they were 6th in the league and the next year they were 1st in the league They finished that 2005 season 6-10.

Guys like Ray Lewis, Lawrence Taylor, Reggie White, Deacon Jones, Dick Butkus, and many more are all better. Polamalu might not even be the best defensive player in the league right now. Hell, he might not even be the best safety. So although Polamalu is a great player and one of the best in the league right now, you need to slow your role and look back at some of the greats of all time before you even put him in the same class as those guys.