Troy Polamalu retires

[bachslunch]

Several sources list Troy Polamalu will retire. Add him to Patrick Willis as a first-time HoF eligible in 2020

My guess is he gets elected after a bit of a wait (5/8/00s profile).

[Rupert Patrick]

I say 2-3 years and he goes in. He also had two SB rings, and at his peak (which was short) truly was a game changer. I can think of about a half dozen games where Polomalu sealed a victory with a late interception or turned a late pick six to turn a loss into a win. At his peak he was arguably the best in the league at his position, and he was one of the leaders of his team. He is not a first ballot kind of guy like Deion Sanders or Rod Woodson or Ronnie Lott; he is on the rung just below them.

[bachslunch]

Good thinking, Rupert.

Between Polamalu, Ed Reed, Brian Dawkins, and perhaps John Lynch, we may see a rare glut of safeties voted in. After the 80s-90s with only Ronnie Lott in (maybe Steve Atwater down the road), that would be a huge voting pattern change.

[NWebster]

I really feel like it's Troy, Ed Reed. Then a gap, then Brian Dawkins, then a gap, then your Lynch's. And I really feel that the HOF line is between Dawkins and Lynch. The latter being neither a game changer (as the first two were) or the defensive glue of a team (as Dawkins was).

As to the gap, I'd happily take Easley and Browne over Lynch for the Hall. And honestly I'm not sure I'd mind Atwater or Cherry over him either.

Troy for me is in that special category of players who was different, unique and special to watch. Like a Barry Sanders, a Dick Butkus, he just looked different on the field. Versus say Curtis Martin or or Aeneas Williams, great both, but in a more conventional fashion.

[bachslunch]

I really feel like it's Troy, Ed Reed. Then a gap, then Brian Dawkins, then a gap, then your Lynch's. And I really feel that the HOF line is between Dawkins and Lynch. The latter being neither a game changer (as the first two were) or the defensive glue of a team (as Dawkins was).

As to the gap, I'd happily take Easley and Browne over Lynch for the Hall. And honestly I'm not sure I'd mind Atwater or Cherry over him either.

Troy for me is in that special category of players who was different, unique and special to watch. Like a Barry Sanders, a Dick Butkus, he just looked different on the field. Versus say Curtis Martin or or Aeneas Williams, great both, but in a more conventional fashion.

Agreed with your general assessment of Reed, Polamalu, Dawkins, and Lynch. I'd still bet Lynch gets in, though. His being part of the Super Bowl winning Bucs team and having 9 pro bowls (profile is 3/9/none) will just be enough. He has been a finalist two years in a row, which suggest more staying power than, say, Roger Craig had. No doubt he waits a while.

[paulksandiego]

I say 2-3 years and he goes in. He also had two SB rings, and at his peak (which was short) truly was a game changer. I can think of about a half dozen games where Polomalu sealed a victory with a late interception or turned a late pick six to turn a loss into a win. At his peak he was arguably the best in the league at his position, and he was one of the leaders of his team. He is not a first ballot kind of guy like Deion Sanders or Rod Woodson or Ronnie Lott; he is on the rung just below them.

While I agree with your assessment of Polomalu's place among the greats, I don't think he'll need to wait for a second go-'round. He'll go first ballot.

[Bryan]

Troy for me is in that special category of players who was different, unique and special to watch. Like a Barry Sanders, a Dick Butkus, he just looked different on the field. Versus say Curtis Martin or or Aeneas Williams, great both, but in a more conventional fashion.

Polamalu is like the video game football player that unnaturally accelerates to latch on to the ballcarrier or bat the pass away. In an era of speed, Polamalu still appeared to be twice as fast as anyone else on the field. Junior Seau is the only other defensive player who compared to Polamalu in that respect.

Dawkins was really good, too. I didn't see him play all that often, but I think he is an equal with Polamalu/Reed and is clearly above Lynch. His forced fumbles total of 36 (if PFR is to be trusted) is eye-opening. Fast enough, smart and a big hitter. My favorite Dawkins play is when the Eagles played Mike Vick and the Falcons in a playoff game, and the Falcons couldn't do anything on offense. But one time Vick broke free from the pass rush and sprinted about 30 yards for a TD...but as Vick was running full speed Dawkins met him at the goal line and basically eliminated Vick from the TV picture frame. Vick scored, but he didn't run for the rest of the game, and the Eagles won easily.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uh7s1cRTMgA

[ChaseStuart]

Great stuff, guys. If you will allow me to jump in, I just completed a four-part series looking at who was the best safety in the NFL in every year since 1950. Part IV (which links to the others) is here: http://www.footballperspective.com/the- ... t-part-iv/

I've got Troy as the best safety in the NFL in '05, tied with Reed as the best in '08, and then the best again in '10 and '11. During that entire period, and even going back to '04 (meaning an 8-year stretch), Polamalu was a great safety, although he did miss most of the '09 season.

Like many, he skated by on reputation at the end, particularly in coverage. I thought Rodgers attacked him in the '10 Super Bowl, and his overaggressive style certainly led to him getting burned a bit.

I don't remember who it was, but maybe seven or eight years ago I read something about Troy that always stuck with me. The Steelers defense was like an assembly line of talent, and it was easy to almost forget who was playing outside linebacker: was it Greg Lloyd or Kevin Greene or Jason Gildon or Joey Porter or James Harrison or did it even matter? It seemed like the Steelers always had an edge rusher or two and a top 5 defense. But Polamalu was different, and he seemed to stand out despite being surrounded by super talented peers. That's more a stylistic comment than anything, but he was very much not a plug-and-play guy, like so many Steelers were. That comment always stuck with me.

Who knows what a first-ballot HOFer is anymore. The fact that he only started 142 games (just under 9 seasons worth) might be enough to keep him out for a ballot. But he's a guy that would take me about 10 seconds to decide that yeah, he's a HOFer.

[John Grasso]

Over the last few years during game telecasts wasn't he usually referred to
by announcers as a "future Hall of Famer". Shouldn't that be enough to get him in ?

[rhickok1109]

Over the last few years during game telecasts wasn't he usually referred to
by announcers as a "future Hall of Famer". Shouldn't that be enough to get him in ?

Only if that was said at least 80% of the times his name was mentioned