Atlanta Dan
11-01-2010, 07:03 PM
ESPN AFC North columnist James Walker writes what I also saw last night (as opposed to Collinsworth's spin that every missed tackle by Troy was a great play by someone for the Saints)
The Pittsburgh Steelers' do-it-all safety had his worst game in years during Sunday's 20-10 loss to the New Orleans Saints. Polamalu and Saints Pro Bowl quarterback Drew Brees were involved in a chess match, and Brees won most of those matchups by catching Polamalu out of position several times for big gains. Polamalu struggled to get a read on Brees and was a step or two late on big plays. Polamalu also missed tackles he usually makes in what was a rare, subpar performance by his standards.
http://espn.go.com/blog/afcnorth/post/_/id/19739/seven-step-drop-troy-polamalu-struggles
No questions the bursts of sheer brilliance are still there (the pick on Matt Ryan/the goal line tackle of Collins in Tennessee) and #43 is my favorite Steeler from this era of success.
This is not a hangover induced sky is falling post the day after a disappointing but certainly not season-defining loss, but something just seems off with #43, who perhaps recognizes his football career has more yesterdays than tomorrows:
"It's such a tough game on your body," he said. "But you can't really think about that. I just keep going out there because my passion to play for my teammates and sacrifice for them outweighs my fear of getting injured."
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10304/1099229-87.stm
The Pittsburgh Steelers' do-it-all safety had his worst game in years during Sunday's 20-10 loss to the New Orleans Saints. Polamalu and Saints Pro Bowl quarterback Drew Brees were involved in a chess match, and Brees won most of those matchups by catching Polamalu out of position several times for big gains. Polamalu struggled to get a read on Brees and was a step or two late on big plays. Polamalu also missed tackles he usually makes in what was a rare, subpar performance by his standards.
http://espn.go.com/blog/afcnorth/post/_/id/19739/seven-step-drop-troy-polamalu-struggles
No questions the bursts of sheer brilliance are still there (the pick on Matt Ryan/the goal line tackle of Collins in Tennessee) and #43 is my favorite Steeler from this era of success.
This is not a hangover induced sky is falling post the day after a disappointing but certainly not season-defining loss, but something just seems off with #43, who perhaps recognizes his football career has more yesterdays than tomorrows:
"It's such a tough game on your body," he said. "But you can't really think about that. I just keep going out there because my passion to play for my teammates and sacrifice for them outweighs my fear of getting injured."
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10304/1099229-87.stm