Cook: Steelers have to sign Polamalu to be fair to Tomlin

[83-Steelers-43]

Cook: Steelers have to sign Polamalu to be fair to Tomlin
Sunday, May 20, 2007

By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

What a sight Troy Polamalu must have been, relaxing in the hot tub on that cold January day.

Talk about a great place, a fabulous resort, to just get away to for a few days after the Steelers played their final game of the Bill Cowher era. A whole season of 8-8 frustration, not to mention an awful lot of aches and pains, were going up with the steam from the soothing water. Polamalu's wife, Theodora, was off being pampered, getting a massage. He had a few quiet moments to himself and was at peace. It's not hard to imagine him sitting back, closing his eyes, drifting away ...

"Then this old man comes walking up," Polamalu said.

The two chatted, as people tend to do at a hot tub.

"I asked him where he's from," Polamalu said. "He said he lives all over the world. I say, 'No, seriously. What do you do?' He says, 'I own this place.' "

Nemacolin Woodlands Resort and Spa.

It was Joe Hardy.

No, there was no sign of Hardy's 22-year-old bride-to-be.

Just in case you were wondering.

"Listen, they're having a surprise 84th birthday party for me today. How would you like to come?" Hardy asked.

So that's how the Polamalus ended up as special guests at Hardy's table, along with Robin Williams, Gov. Ed Rendell and Tom Ridge, listening to Bette Midler and Christina Aguilera sing and watching all the beautiful people at the party of all parties, even if it wasn't much of a surprise for the very wealthy man of the hour.

"A pretty amazing weekend," Polamalu recalled last week. "We didn't even have clothes with us. We had to buy everything there."

It was pricey, but Polamalu can afford it.

One day soon, presumably with the Steelers, he will sign an enormous contract. Maybe it won't pay him Hardy-like money, but it will make him the highest-paid player on the team.

Don't you wish, Alan Faneca?

The Steelers might be able to get by losing one All-Pro after the coming season. That would be the unhappy Faneca, who made such an ugly scene at minicamp last weekend when he went public with his contract conundrum. But the team can't afford to lose a second great player. It has to find a way to do a new deal with Polamalu, who also will be a free agent after the season if he isn't re-signed.

If it's an either/or situation, Faneca or Polamalu, the Steelers have to go with Polamalu, who's right behind Ben Roethlisberger at the top of their most-indispensable-players list.

"He's our playmaker, our star," Steelers linebacker Larry Foote said at minicamp. "We run a lot of stuff in our defense that's just for him. We can't let him go."

It's nice to think new coach Mike Tomlin has gone to the Rooneys with that same message.

Much has been said and written about the type of defense Tomlin will coach. Will he stick with the 3-4, zone-blitz scheme that Cowher preferred? Or will he slowly convert to a 4-3, cover-2 defense that he learned under Tony Dungy? It's a fascinating topic, but the bottom line never changes: Tomlin needs great players to make either defense work.

The Steelers need Polamalu to be a great defense.

"He's the best player I've ever seen at safety," Cleveland Browns tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. said last season. "He's phenomenal."

It was in the game at Cleveland last year that Polamalu left no doubt that he's one of the NFL's special players. On a three-play sequence in the fourth quarter, he used his incredible closing speed on first down to run down Browns quarterback Charlie Frye for a sack in front of the Steelers' bench; displayed his toughness on second down by slicing through a mass of humanity to tackle running back Jason Wright after a 2-yard gain; and showed his marvelous football instincts on third down by pulling up on a blitz and leaping to bat down Frye's pass intended for Winslow. The Browns punted, and the Steelers scored a late touchdown to win, 24-20.

That's why Foote said of Polamalu that day, "I've been playing a long time, and I've never seen anyone make plays like he makes."

And that's why Foote says now, "His presence alone out there makes you better. Playing next to him breeds confidence. Knowing he's next to you makes you stronger."

Polamalu is saying little about his contract situation. He says little about just about everything and says it very quietly. "I don't know what's going on. I'm just living. ... Only God knows what's going to happen." But Polamalu did add, "Definitely, I'd love to be here. This is home. I live here year-round. I don't think I have to make a case for that."

Surely, you like reading that more than Faneca's startling promise: "This will be my last year as a Pittsburgh Steeler." But the reality is, neither statement means much at this point of the negotiating game. To keep Polamalu, the Steelers are going to have to come up with a very big number on a contract. He might not be paying attention to the negotiations, but his agent certainly is.

Polamalu seemed more interested in what's happening with Faneca. "He's somebody everyone on this team looks up to." Like the Steelers' other veterans, he's wary that Cowher left, that linebacker Joey Porter was released, that Faneca appears all but gone. "I think everybody is a little unsure about the direction of the team."

Don't take that the wrong way, though.

In the next breath, Polamalu said, "I think it's good that things are shaken up a little. Everybody's got to work to establish themselves again. ... There's always apprehension when there's change. I went through it at USC when coach [Pete] Carroll came in. All of us were unsure about what was going to happen. That turned out pretty well."

Carroll won big and still is winning big because of great players.

Tomlin needs great players to be successful.

The Steelers want to give their new coach a fair shot?

They have to do a deal with Polamalu.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07140/787610-87.stm

[Atlanta Dan]

Cook continues to write as if Faneca can be signed. It would be nice if he did some reporting or at least analysis of recent signings to support that position, but it is easier to write columns like the one he wrote today where we get to read about Troy attending Joe Hardy's surprise party (and with regard to the attendees at that affair, what in the world do Tom Ridge and Ed Rendell have in common other than both presumably have been given $$$ by Hardy in the past?).

Anyone know who Troy's agent is and what his rep is for getting his clients signed with their current team?

[lamberts-lost-tooth]

Originally Posted by Atlanta Dan

Cook continues to write as if Faneca can be signed. It would be nice if he did some reporting or at least analysis of recent signings to support that position, but it is easier to write columns like the one he wrote today where we get to read about Troy attending Joe Hardy's surprise party (and with regard to the attendees at that affair, what in the world do Tom Ridge and Ed Rendell have in common other than both presumably have been given $$$ by Hardy in the past?).

Anyone know who Troy's agent is and what his rep is for getting his clients signed with their current team?

Troys agent is Marvin Demoff ...who is a rarity among agents....he advises his clients that financial security is set by their "budget and his financial investments" and has gone on record too say...."An A-plus contract and grade B money management will be totally outperformed by a grade B contract and grade A money management,"...He is the agent for players like Jonathon Ogden and Julius Peppers...and was the agent for Elway and Marino.

[stillers4me]

Originally Posted by lamberts-lost-tooth

Troys agent is Marvin Demoff ...who is a rarity among agents....he advises his clients that financial security is set by their "budget and his financial investments" and has gone on record too say...."An A-plus contract and grade B money management will be totally outperformed by a grade B contract and grade A money management,"...He is the agent for players like Jonathon Ogden and Julius Peppers...and was the agent for Elway and Marino.

Something tell me that Troy will go for the "grade B contract and grade A money management" concept......which would be good news for Steeler fans!! Faneca needs a good lecture on this novel idea......... but we will move on without him if need be.

[Atlanta Dan]

Originally Posted by lamberts-lost-tooth

Troys agent is Marvin Demoff ...who is a rarity among agents....he advises his clients that financial security is set by their "budget and his financial investments" and has gone on record too say...."An A-plus contract and grade B money management will be totally outperformed by a grade B contract and grade A money management,"...He is the agent for players like Jonathon Ogden and Julius Peppers...and was the agent for Elway and Marino.

Thanks - Troy's selection of an agent is yet further confirmation he has it together.

[lamberts-lost-tooth]

Originally Posted by stillers4me

Something tell me that Troy will go for the "grade B contract and grade A money management" concept......which would be good news for Steeler fans!! Faneca needs a good lecture on this novel idea......... but we will move on without him if need be.

Exactly..Demoff never paints a picture of sunshine and rainbows to his clients..he is usually pretty forthcoming to the realities of football...here is a quote from Troys agent regarding another player

“Right now he has a contract. He intends to honor it, and I'm sure between now and April 1, I'll have discussions with the appropriate people. Larry's been there the last two years and done everything asked of him. He's made the Pro Bowl. He's not been a bad player. If they want to sign someone else instead of Larry and release him, he'll end up playing somewhere else. Players have only so many options."

I love the sensibility of the last sentence.

[tony hipchest]

Originally Posted by lamberts-lost-tooth

Troys agent is Marvin Demoff ...who is a rarity among agents....he advises his clients that financial security is set by their "budget and his financial investments" and has gone on record too say...."An A-plus contract and grade B money management will be totally outperformed by a grade B contract and grade A money management,"...He is the agent for players like Jonathon Ogden and Julius Peppers...and was the agent for Elway and Marino.

i wonder if ogden was made the highest paid lt in his last contract or if he took less than his peers such as o. pace. j. peppers arguably should be the highest paid at his position (theyre currently hoping for an extension that will likely be based off the freeney deal). i think both marino and elway, received highest paid money but its just a guess with elway.

ultimately it will be easier to teach a guard to do what faneca does than to teach a safety to do what troy does. same goes with someone to replace porter. the steelers did a good job to ensure polamalu will be resigned and not put a strain on our future.

[lamberts-lost-tooth]

Originally Posted by tony hipchest

i wonder if ogden was made the highest paid lt in his last contract or if he took less than his peers such as o. pace. j. peppers arguably should be the highest paid at his position (theyre currently hoping for an extension that will likely be based off the freeney deal). i think both marino and elway, received highest paid money but its just a guess with elway.

ultimately it will be easier to teach a guard to do what faneca does than to teach a safety to do what troy does. same goes with someone to replace porter. the steelers did a good job to ensure polamalu will be resigned and not put a strain on our future.

As of the end of 2005
1) Ogden, Jonathan..Ravens....$ 7,862,009
2) Davis, Leonard...Cardinals.. $ 6,774,416
3) Gandy, Wayne....Saints ......$ 6,085,423
4) Glenn, Tarik....Colts............$ 6,050,666
5) Pace, Orlando Rams...........$ 6,000,000
6) Adams, Flozell Cowboys......$ 5,905,280
7) Runyan, Jon Eagles.............$ 5,701,210
8) Petitgout, Luke Giants.........$ 5,544,400
9) Gallery, Robert Raiders ......$ 5,464,496
10)Anderson, Willie Bengals.....$ 5,421,428

[fansince'76]

Originally Posted by lamberts-lost-tooth

As of the end of 2005

9) Gallery, Robert Raiders ......$ 5,464,496

Gee, I wonder why the Raiders finished 2-14 last season?

[Black@Gold Forever32]

Thats all nice and dandy that Troy has a good agent. But I think its going to take alot of coin to resign Troy. I used to buy into that Troy isn't concerned about how much money he makes or material things but he is still a Pro athlete who probably will want his fair market value.lol

Keeping fingers crossed, knocking on wood and praying to the Virgin Mary that Troy is resigned.lol