Are the Steelers better without Troy Polamalu?

[Gooch1034]

Good or not for the team, it sucks the time finally arrived. His body couldn't keep up with his mind and you could see it on the field. By far my favorite player to watch over the years.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

I have really enjoyed watching this guy in the prime of his career.

Remember this commercial? One of my favorites ever.

Love that commercial...

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

I don't think so, you're talking about one of the top 2 safeties of this era....He and Ed were 1a and 1b depending on who you asked.... His knowledge compensates for his lost step to the degree that he is still a top tier safety in this league....You can teach and coach only so much and then they have to have the it factor to get to and maintain that level....And gamble is what great players do, that's what makes them greater than the others.....He and Ed were a special breed, and as we learned by letting Ed leave for the same reasons, that we should have kept him in a lesser role but to teach, motivate and illustrate what a true champion is to the youngens.....
Pitts would be better to keep him for those reasons alone IMO....

Yea but... Troy >>> Ed

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Troy's last good/great season was 2013. He proved all the doubters wrong when he had his first full 16-game season that year in 4-5 seasons. He has nothing left to prove, and should retire on top. 2014 showed he was in full decline, whether the coaches/players want to admit it or not. I wouldn't mind him sticking around for another season, but not at his current cap hit of around $8mil. PIT has too many extensions to get done this offseason or the next with Roethlisberger, Heyward, DeCastro, Beachum and Foster all on the final year of their contracts. Not to mention they will likely want to extend Le'Veon Bell & Antonio Brown's contracts before they reach their final year of contract. So freeing up cap space is a huge priority right now. Hence the reason they have already restructured (or at least in the process of finalizing) 3 contracts (Pouncey, Mitchell, & Gilbert).

 

[Oldschool739]

Troy's last good/great season was 2013. He proved all the doubters wrong when he had his first full 16-game season that year in 4-5 seasons. He has nothing left to prove, and should retire on top. 2014 showed he was in full decline, whether the coaches/players want to admit it or not. I wouldn't mind him sticking around for another season, but not at his current cap hit of around $8mil. PIT has too many extensions to get done this offseason or the next with Roethlisberger, Heyward, DeCastro, Beachum and Foster all on the final year of their contracts. Not to mention they will likely want to extend Le'Veon Bell & Antonio Brown's contracts before they reach their final year of contract. So freeing up cap space is a huge priority right now. Hence the reason they have already restructured (or at least in the process of finalizing) 3 contracts (Pouncey, Mitchell, & Gilbert).

Understood, but I think Troy gets what the situation is and where he stands in it, so I would expect he would take a lesser deal to remain with the Steelers his whole career unless he plans on retiring now....
He's been fun to watch though,except against us !!

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

Yah time to let him go. I always like Troy for the Steelers, HOF IMO for sure. He is one of the great strong safeties to have played the game.

That said, at some point you're hanging on to the past and impeding younger players from learning the game. Yes you can't replace the mental presence of Troy, but eventually physical presence in a game getting more physical every year is where you need to turn. If you're not grooming other players among your vets you end up with two of the worst possibilities: 1) A team full of aging players that cannot keep up physically with the game (injuries, steam rolled by stronger players), 2) A team full of rookies/free agents who have zero continuity and ability to play the game together.

Ideally you know when to cut ties with players and plug in someone new among a cast of players who have been in the system that can bring that player along. You just keep plugging/replacing.

It's EXTREMELY rare to have teams like (ugh Homer alert but whatever) Seattle just hit on basically every draft prospect (Thomas, Okung, Wilson, Sherman, Chancellor, Unger, Wagner, Irvin, Wright) and free agent/trade (Avril, Bennett, Lynch) and get lucky to turn it into something.

 

[Cmart2004]

In terms of "better" on the field, then no not really. But it was the right move and will help the team's future.

 

[BeaverShaver]

I'm sure the locker room is betters off without all that hair,....sheesh

 

[GenJac]

The Steelers really, really hope Troy Polamalu retires.