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Troy Polamalu’s retirement means the end of a storied career that will be considered part of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ pantheon of all-time greats.
Sure, he wasn’t quite the same player in his last season or two as the injuries piled up, and the Steelers may be relieved that they don’t have to make a tough roster decision this spring, but that doesn’t change the fact that for most of his career, Polamalu was not just one of the best safeties in the NFL, but a unique player who made reality-bending plays his trademark.
No one was better at timing a snap than Polamalu. Perhaps the type of play he’ll be remembered for most is the flying tackle through an offensive line that hadn’t even started moving.
Like this play from 2013, which surely contributed to Jake Locker’s decision to retire:
Maybe there was something about the Titans because Troy was punking Kerry Collins when Jake Locker was still in high school:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewSS9h3pEAU
Of course, Polamalu’s freakiness extended beyond snap count Jedi mind tricks. He also had some sticky hands:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doXNjFmQnqI
Yes, the long-haired one was an elite athlete, but he combined that athleticism with almost fanatical desire and willpower. That’s how he could make plays like the ones above, and this one:
a play that not a single human could make. not a single OTHER human, i mean. pic.twitter.com/Wnzndtk4PL
— nicholas. (@psamp) April 10, 2015
That will never lead his career highlight reel because it was just a tackle, but that’s mind-boggling. You know what might lead his career highlight reel, though? His game-sealing pick-six of Joe Flacco in the 2008 AFC Championship Game, which took the Steelers to the Super Bowl:
Oh yeah, return skills. Troy Polamalu’s got those. Ask Carson Palmer if Troy knows his way around a corner pylon. He might say no, but he’d be lying:
Of course, why beat just one measly quarterback to the pylon when you can do it to every single Miami Dolphin at once?
That one needs another angle, so you can truly understand how nasty it was:
With Troy Polamalu gone, the NFL will be one shy of its best sources of jaw-dropping plays, not to mention its single best source of long, luxurious hair. Thanks for the memories, Troy.
