Troy Polamalu

Jan27

Polamalu Places at No. 2 on ESPN’s NFL Any Era List

(via ESPN.com)

ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine sought a list of the 20 current players who a 20-member Pro Football Hall of Fame panel and ESPN’s John Clayton believe could excel in any era of the NFL.
Or, to put a finer point on it — when Mike Ditka looks at today’s player, whom does he want lining up next to him … or across from him?

Which of today’s players did our group of Hall of Famers deem really old school?

The playing days for our 20-member Hall of Fame panel spanned the ’60s (Jim Brown) to the turn of the century (John Randle).

We presented four players a day, culminating with our top four Friday.

Use the #NFLAnyEra Twitter hashtag to get involved in the conversation or just follow along at @ESPN or on our Facebook page.

WHAT THE HALL OF FAMERS SAY ABOUT STEELERS S TROY POLAMALU

LYNN SWANN: Troy Polamalu is not afraid to take risks. I see him jumping over the offensive line and making a stop at the goal line. That takes timing, that’s Troy going with his gut and knowing what he’s studied and not being afraid to take risks. A lot of guys know tendencies but are too scared to take the risk or don’t know what to do with it. Troy will jump over the line, he’ll hit a guy behind the line of scrimmage, he’ll force a fumble flying through the air.

FLOYD LITTLE: He gets hurt all the time, he gets concussions, his shoulder gets bent out of shape, but you can’t keep him off the field. He’s not that big, not that fast, but he’s everywhere and everyone needs to know where he is when they line up.

JOHN RANDLE: If I was a receiver and I had to go against that guy, I’d definitely look out for him. He’s another guy who plays like he’s from that old Steelers era. In my second year, I remember guys telling me, “You have to know the difference between being injured and playing hurt. Sometimes you have to bear the pain and come out there because to be a legend in this game you have to play hurt.” Polamalu exemplifies what that means. If I was a safety, I’d want to be like Polamalu and definitely want to have that hair, too.

LARRY CSONKA: Troy Polamalu sticks his nose in there and knocks himself cold to make a play. The man is fun to watch. He is from the old school. He over-learns the tendencies of the offense and sets the QBs up with a false-looking drop and then makes a beeline for the point he knows the ball is going to be thrown to. And if doesn’t intercept it, he causes a disturbance.

WARREN MOON: Troy Polamalu is a throwback player. Tough, hard-nosed, does whatever is asked, throws his body around. He throws it around so much that he gets hurt and knocks himself out with concussions. But when he gets hurt, they have to hide his helmet to keep him off the field. He will give you everything he’s got. He is one of the nicest guys off the field and he turns into the Tasmanian Devil on it.

MARCUS ALLEN: Troy Polamalu has a unique tenacity that is timeless, that crosses football generations. He could play in a leather helmet.