The Atlantic - Latest Comments in Troy Polamalu is scaring me

Re: Troy Polamalu is scaring me

peter griffin — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 17:04:06 -0000

He's a dirty player the NFL needs to suspend him

Re: Troy Polamalu is scaring me

ironmom — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 22:11:23 -0000

I had the privelege of training at Marv Marinovich's facility in Cslifornia and had the opportunity to meet Troy. When I told Troy that I was 59, he said that he hoped he looked that good at 59. Then he said "I hope I make it to 59."

Re: Troy Polamalu is scaring me

scruncher — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:12:33 -0000

I love Polamalu, but he's got a baby on the way. Should be thinking about that.

Re: Troy Polamalu is scaring me

Watson — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 15:44:37 -0000

I’m from the era when today’s type of celebrating was considered unsportsmanlike, but I realize that life goes on and standards change.

Nonetheless, I think there’s still something to the criticism expressed by the phrase ‘act like you’ve done this before’. And as to the actual content of the celebrations, they tend to resemble the antics of little girls. It’s OK with me, but these are macho guys who are ultra-conscious of not being ‘unmanly’.

Re: Troy Polamalu is scaring me

like totally down — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 15:02:28 -0000

"We're not the team, we're the equipment."

--Nick Nolte in North Dallas Forty

"God help me, I love it so."

--George C. Scott as General George Patton talking about war.

The second quote describes how I feel about the NFL. I'm ashamed of myself for how much I enjoy watching a bunch of guys amped up on steroids and God knows what else crippling each other on a weekly basis.

Re: Troy Polamalu is scaring me

Stacy — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 14:38:44 -0000

"Indeed. And to bring this full circle, the likes of Peter King are just as guilty -- choosing this week, this hit, as the time to praise the consistently great blocker Hines Ward."

I went back and read MMQ. It seems to me that Peter King is really praising him because Hines Ward had been receiving so much flak for the hit.

As far as celebrating. I'm all for celebrating. I can't believe they banned team celebrations after the Falcons' 'Dirty Bird,' and my Rams' "Bob and Weave.' The team celebrations were the best.

Re: Troy Polamalu is scaring me

Justin — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 14:30:34 -0000

Okay, since we're standing corrected, I'll agree that dancing when the Steelers' med staff is on the field is bad (I still haven't found video of that part; if anyone can post it...)

I'm not one to poo-poo dancing or celebrating in general, though. The same way we fans don't have much room to pretend to care about players' health when we and the NFL obviously encourage the monster hits, I don't think we have much room to ask players to play at full speed in such a violent, aggressive sport, then expect them to be able to turn it off immediately and walk calmly back to the huddle after a huge play. The celebratory emotion comes from the same place as the playing intensity for many (though not all; I don't need the counterexamples) players, I think.

Re: Troy Polamalu is scaring me

sy — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 14:19:02 -0000

not for nothing, but sunday's game might be a particularly good one to sit out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JINAd2R1-To

Re: Troy Polamalu is scaring me

Pesto — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 14:08:11 -0000

The NFL will start to care about its players' well-being when not caring starts to cost them a lot of money.

That's the only reason they've changed the rules to protect QBs.

Re: Troy Polamalu is scaring me

DB Cooper — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 14:07:51 -0000

Indeed. And to bring this full circle, the likes of Peter King are just as guilty -- choosing this week, this hit, as the time to praise the consistently great blocker Hines Ward.

Re: Troy Polamalu is scaring me

Incertus — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 13:45:43 -0000

The NFL is more than a little disgusting in the way it treats concussions.

No kidding. They talk a good game about concern for the players and then sell dvds that feature those concussion-causing hits, and don't do much for players who've been permanently damaged by the mindset the NFL promotes.

Re: Troy Polamalu is scaring me

Just_Another_Greg — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 13:38:19 -0000

Actually Watson, that dovetails perfectly with Ta-Nehisi's point. Polamalu is the kind of player who in every respect has the "right" attitude when it comes to hitting, sacrificing his body, etc. And when he put out that quote last week it got a lot of the NFL punditry nodding their heads.

But it's exactly that kind of attitude that leads to horrible problems for so many of these players later in life.

Someone above mentioned Ted Johnson. There was an article in the Times (I think actually posted by somebody in this space before) that is very eye-opening in regards to the NFL and concussions.

Maybe the NFL's conception of the "right" attitude needs to be changed a bit. And maybe the decision on whether/not to play needs to be taken out of the player's hands a bit more.

Re: Troy Polamalu is scaring me

Joe Klein's conscience — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 13:12:39 -0000

According to ESPN.com, this is Troy Polamalu's sixth year in the league. Seven in six years? The guy needs to sit out the rest of the season. If he wants to have a life after football.

Re: Troy Polamalu is scaring me

Watson — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 13:06:38 -0000

When I saw your headline ‘Troy Polamalu is scaring me’, I thought that you were referring to Polamalu’s comment last week that the NFL ‘just loses so much of its essence when it becomes like a pansy game.’

Re: Troy Polamalu is scaring me

Stacy — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:33:53 -0000

No excuse for the dancing. Agreed. I don't even read Monday Morning Quarterback anymore. Peter King bothers me on a lot of levels. His baseball thoughts infuriate me, especially. Stick to football, Pete.

Re: Troy Polamalu is scaring me

DB Cooper — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:30:12 -0000

I also want to note the conversation I had on the way into the game, where my buddy and I discussed the large number of Steelers who we'd really like, if they were on some other team, but who are insufferable in black & gold: Polamalu, Ward, Holmes, Roethlisberger, and Tomlin all fit the bill.

Re: Troy Polamalu is scaring me

DB Cooper — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:24:53 -0000

I had not watched the replay other than on the video board at the stadium. I stand corrected in one way -- Rivers was going to shove the guy out of bounds. It also confirms what I thought - that the hit wasn't helmet to helmet.

The hit was legit, but unfortunate. But there's still no excuse for the dancing. The Steeler's training staff was on Rivers at the same time Ward was preening over him. Those dudes were on it quick, which usually tells you there's a pretty obvious injury. Plenty of guys might've done that - I just didn't think Ward was one. And I still don't get why King got a woody about it.

(I could give a litany of King's hysterical anti-Bengals statements, but I suspect most every non-Favre team has a similar list).

Re: Troy Polamalu is scaring me

keith — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:17:36 -0000

Yeah this is a scary aspect of the game of football. I hear the NFL is really ratcheting up its handling of concussion cases. Seems some athletes are taking matters in their own hand, or heads...all they have to do is die first:

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/sports/stories/2008/10/16/gameplan_brain16.ART_ART_10-16-08_C2_04BK7ST.html?sid=101

Re: Troy Polamalu is scaring me

Nicole — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:15:16 -0000

Troy is my guy. Love him. And every time he makes I hit, I think, please God, don't let him get hurt. That was a worrisome hit on Sunday.

I do think that he has become more cautious over the past few seasons- more likely to sit a game out, take a little longer to recover. Hopefully a sign of maturity and respect for his own body and career.

However, the Steelers do have a "Rub some dirt on it and get back in there" complex. Ben Rothelisburger, case in point. His body is going to fall apart before Troy's.

Re: Troy Polamalu is scaring me

asl — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:10:22 -0000

There are several reasons why I don't enjoy sports the way I did when I was a kid and this is high on the list. What really disturbs me about the NYT piece is that Water's condition purportedly could not be discerned if he were alive.

Re: Troy Polamalu is scaring me

kb — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:02:21 -0000

Wow, AFC North fan battles spilling over into comments on the Atlantic? We take our football seriously around these parts!

Troy's 7 concussions date back to high school. That being said, I agree with all of the commenters who are appalled.

The cumulative damage football causes the human body makes me almost ashamed to be a fan; we are cheering for people who are reducing their lifespans (and quality of life over that short span) for our entertainment. As a Steelers fan, I've seen way too many of the heroes of my youth die young.

Re: Troy Polamalu is scaring me

Matthew — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:01:52 -0000

Someone should introduce Troy to Ted Johnson, former LB of the Patriots.

See if that doesn't change his approach to playing this Sunday.

Re: Troy Polamalu is scaring me

Justin — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 11:59:53 -0000

Yeah, this is bad. As a Steelers fan, I hate thinking that our defense is good in part because a guy is playing who shouldn't be. Props to SeanH on mentioning TMQ and the anti-concussion helmets. It makes absolutely no sense that these aren't mandatory.

And, yeah, it's Polamalu's life, but don't we interfere with people's decisions all the time, in the name of personal safety? I mean, it's his life, but he's not allowed to wear a leather helmet, or drive after taking prescription painkillers. Polamalu will retire when he decides, but it seems reasonable for the NFL to mandate anti-concussion helmets and launch a study to determine more precisely at what point concussions become predictive of debilitating mental and physical disability later in life. Then, draw some lines. Maybe a concussion means a player sits for two games. Maybe 3 concussions means a player sits for a season. Maybe 5 means a player is finished. It sucks to mess with a guy's livelihood, but it sucks more to sit idly by while guys like Waters and Polamalu bruise their brains while their employers do essentially nothing to help.

As for DB Cooper, I'm with you, and I'm not. I don't think Ward's shot was cheap. I do think Rivers was in the play enough to justify hitting him, and I think that most guys stay down after a hit like that whether they're injured or not. When Ward pranced, I don't think he could've known for sure that he just ended dude's season. He's hit a lot of guys that hard who were back on the field two plays later.

But you're absolutely right about how unsettling the unqualified praise has been, especially from, say, Peter King. Ward has enough downfield blocks that don't result in a season-ending injury to praise him to the high heavens nearly every other week. How about just focus on the fact that Rivers's season came to a sad end?

Re: Troy Polamalu is scaring me

Stacy — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 11:56:25 -0000

Timeout, DB. Your love of the Bengals is obviously getting in the way of your judgment. Is it a cheap shot anytime you block a guy that isn't looking? That's bullshit. It happens on punt returns constantly. The only reason anyone cares is because the guy got his jaw broken. That sucks, but there was nothing dirty or cheap about the play. How often do linebackers tee up a WR coming across the middle on a short crossing route? A WR SHOULD cheer when they are to get a lick like that on a defensive player. And are you really saying Keith Rivers wasn't in position to make that play?

Judge for yourselves...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXxc9OxIJyc

Re: Troy Polamalu is scaring me

DB Cooper — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 11:43:48 -0000

I was at the Bengals-Steelers game Sunday. (Bengals fan)

After Ward's probably-legal-but-still-cheap shot on Keith Rivers, and especially after he danced over Rivers' prone body, I was just fine with seeing Ced Benson lower his shoulder on Polamalu -- an unquestionably clean play. I wish someone had cleaned Ward's clock, though.

I really don't understand why the likes of Peter King (and Stacy) are seeing little starburts over a cheap shot that ended a guy's season. Yeah, Ward plays hard - I get it. Great. I don't know why he gets singled out for praise because he broke a guy's jaw.

Maybe save the kudos for sometime time he blocks someone who, you know, was actually in position to touch the ballcarrier.