You pick up a ss like that that can start a play and start breaking it down and working out what’s coming next and you’d let him sit down indian style at the start if he wanted
I was just watching a video about that. Apparently Mike T and the other players just trusted he was especially gifted and intuitive. They thought he talked to God. LOL, I think maybe his faith and culture made him a bit more intuitive at picking up other’s emotions and what they were going to do. He was as gifted on offense as defense when he was in hs! So, I think that helped him read the offense aa well!
They watch alot of film, wen ur watching film ur not only breaking down opponents plays and players, ur also look for "tells" that give away wat they are doing...
@@shockadelica8661 that might be true, I haven't really looked up anything on hum beyond college and nfl. It wouldn't surprise me though. In high school I had to play 2 defensive positions and 1 offensive position not to mention a special teams upback.
He means he got the qualities of a corner ss and linebacker and probably did line up as all three during a game obviously not all at one time c'mon man hating for no reason
As a lifelong diehard Steelers fan I gotta say we just took Troy for granted. He was just so automatic when we needed a big play. Watching it in rerun is the only way to truly appreciate him. I get choked up watching the highlights. Absolute legend.
dude ... I cried when he announced retirenment, and im not a steelers fan lol . Troy is the legend. one of the main reasons for me to start playing. he was the magic johnson of the NFL.
same!! I am a Seahawk fan -- I hate the steelers only a little less than I hate the patriots and I cried when he retired - thought he had at least 3 to5 more years of good football left.
Steelers fan for almost 50 years now. Troy was not only a playmaker, a leader, and an incredible athlete he was also a player that a father would want his child to emulate. An amazing person who operated at the highest level of his profession with humility. A true Steeler legend.
I live in Pittsburgh--we were BLESSED. He is truly humble. He frequents a local restaurant and will stop and have conversations with you, take pix, etc.
The bad part is that he was forced out bc of his age he wanted to keep playing but the steelers thought that he was getting to old so they told him if you keep playing you will have to go to another team but he was a steeler from the start and he wanted to finish a steeler so he called it quits bc he didnt want another team and he is up for going into the hall of fame in 2020
This is exactly what I’ve been telling everyone they could’ve at least restructure his contract and keep him around the young defensive players for mentoring. I’m sure they also paid him a decent amount of money to go the retirement route because they didn’t want him to go to another team. He retired too early.
Oh they force him out because of age but keep cry baby Brady on the roster huh? Smh. Age doesn't matter, what matters is how well your body takes punishment.
@@markm4033 i would say age don't matter its If You still want to do the job. Brady on roster yea he what 42 or something? Calvin Johnson quit, salute to him. Thats my team him and Barry i blame not a bit. If you on a largely losing team you you might want out too hahaha.
I love the fact that you seem to appreciate how good he was, he is, was, and always will be a legend in Pittsburgh. Just a FYI, its called the terrible towel because it was created by an announcer back in the 70's named Myron Cope.
He was the greatest safety of all time. It was my honor to have watched him play. THe steelers were sooo close to 5 or 6 super bowls during his time. We went to 3 and won 2...still pretty good. A great and humble guy...one of the best overall humans to ever play as well.
I got to see Troy play, in Pittsburgh, once against the Cowboys. He was amazing. I swear that almost every play, "in on the play, #43 Troy Polamalu" came over the loud speaker. He was everywhere.
I'm not even a Steelers fan, but I would watch them play when Polamalu was on the team just to see him play. The tenacity, raw talent, and passion for the game was truly admirable. Definitely a legend, someone no NFL fan will forget.
Troy had such versatility and awareness it was freaky. He didn't even have assignments, coaches let him decide during the presnap. There is nothing he couldn't do and all the while remain humble and professional, class act.
I know I’m late to the vid. But I met Troy back in 2002 while I was at the L.A. Coliseum because my high school was across the street. One of the most nicest dudes you will ever meet. Fight on ✌🏼For ol S.C.
Fun fact (sorry if it's been covered already): When other teams would scout and practice during the week before playing the Steelers, they would put 3 or 4 players on the practice defensive team with different color jerseys on, because the coaches couldn't decide where Polomalu was going to be, or how to plan for him. They needed to anticipate him being everywhere on the field at once, so they designated 3 or 4 people all over the defensive side of the ball to represent him on the field. THAT is a sign of how good he was and how much opponents had to respect him. I live in Pittsburgh and had the pleasure of seeing him play many times before he retired. I'm just discovering your channel, but I really enjoy getting a Kiwi's reaction to different sports and players, very cool. Keep it up!
Polamalu, my love in NFL!!! Yay!! Saw you were viewing him and got excited. He will always be my fav player. Days before he retired, I flew to Pittsburgh from Cali and bought his bumblebee Jersey(collectors item) and he signed it!! Never going to wear it, I miss him playing. His humbleness, is what attracted me to him, then saw his style and I was done. His hair became a thing at games, wigs wigs everywhere!!! Loved it!! 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍 Thank you for doing this.🥰
Troy was not only a great athlete, but he IS an AMAZING human being. I've had the pleasure of meeting him and he is so humble and warm and just effing spectacular! There aren't many people on this planet that compare, truly!
There are roughly 300000 males of Samoan descent. 191 Samoans play in the nfl 300000/191 is roughly 1570. Meaning one out of every 1570 Samoans plays american national football. That is an insane number and a testament to their genetic gifts.
There are 180,000 people that claim Samoan descent in the U.S. alone. Most other places in the world don't even do population surveys by ethnicity. There has to be millions of people with Samoan DNA. I'm somehow 6% Maori in my DNA... and I've never even met someone from New Zealand.
Ryan Woodward it’s a testament to the hard work they put in there, they don’t have anything but a football field, this isn’t genetics, it’s playing football from when you can walk and living that cuz that’s all they have to do
Polamalu plays the game like a lover of the game and the way it should be played..100% on each and every play!...he deserves all the accolades bestowed on him and has garnered the respect of anyone who watched him or played with/against him!!
I’m from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and i bleed 🩸 black and gold. Troy is a demon 😈 on the field and we miss him so much. He is the nicest person you could ever meet. Didn’t smoke or drink nor did any drugs. He is a warrior and a hero here in Pixburgh. Here we go Steelers here we go😍😎🤩
I’m convinced Troy’s devout faith gave him some type of divine foresight. Never seen anything like it before or since. The epitome of a football player. So thankful he was a Steeler.
You are half right.. it is legal to tackle someone by their hair because hair is considered a body part. It is just as legal as dragging someone to the ground by their arm.
Troy polamalu was one of those once in a lifetime players. His passion for the game can be matched by no other. In my opinion he was the greatest defense of player to have ever put on STEELERS Jersey. That is saying a lot .
Pro Bowler and All-Pro are close to the same. You are correct in that the Pro Bowl is the all star game at the end of the season with all the other best players from around the NFL. They have changed how pro bowl players are selected over the years and it’s a little bit looser but generally the order of their selection isn’t necessarily recorded. So the difference is that All Pro and specifically 1st team All Pro is that a committee selects the #1 best players from each position and and awards them the title of 1st team All Pro. So basically they put together a hypothetical team of all the best players and the #1 best overall players at each position are awarded 1st team and they continue to select more players after that for a hypothetical 2nd team of all the second best players. Some positions have multiple spots like Wide Recievers, Cornerbacks, and Running Backs so you can have multiple people awarded 1st team But Strong Safety is just 1 player so he was awarded #1 best Strong Safety 4 different seasons
I believe another difference is that Pro Bowl teams are selected by conference (or whatever they use to divide the teams these days), whereas All Pro selections are taken from the entire league.
Have already seen half-a-dozen commenters defining Strong Safety as something to do with their size or strength or hitting power. This kind of football ignorance makes me both mad and sad that the Kiwi is getting so much Bad information :( *Strong (side) Safety* : There are 5 dedicated Offensive linemen: The Center, two Guards, and two Tackles. A 6th man is permitted to line up on the offensive line as well and that player is usually the Tight End. That player can line up on any side he likes, and he can shift from one side to the other before the ball is snapped. Whatever side has the most offensive players counting from the Center... is referred to as the offensive *strong* side - and that's why you have a Strong Safety. In general (not always) the Strong Safety will stay on the side of the Tight End and follow him if he shifts sides, to either cover that man if he goes out for a pass, or to be the extra defensive lineman needed in run support (because runs typically go strong side because that's where most of your blockers are) *Strong* is referring to being the 6th man on the line, not about how much you can bench press.
Troy and Ed Reed gave us the greatest era of safeties. Being a Ravens fan, Ed and Ray got me into the game of Football. But as a Hawaiian, Troy is quite literally superman haha
Smartest defensive player I’ve ever seen play the game. He just seemed to be allowed to roam wherever he thought he needed to be. My favorite all time player.
First team all-pro would basically be the best at their position regardless of conference. Pro-Bowl rosters fill a team from each conference's best players.
These are generalities, but a strong safety is typically expected to help out more with run stopping and guarding tight ends or backs running routes, and they will probably blitz a bit more than free safeties. I think the term refers to the strong side of the offense's formation, where the tight end is (the side of the offensive line that has one more blocker), or if both sides of the qb are even, then the right side by default (usually known a bit more for run blocking vs the left side, whose top priority is to protect the blindside of the qb in pass blocking). So they'll typically be a bit bigger but maybe not as fast as free safeties. Free safeties are usually responsible for more of the field farther back from the line of scrimmage and are more focused on guarding or helping out with receivers or anyone going deep. They roam around in the secondary more than strong safeties, who tend to have more responsibilities closer to the line of scrimmage. As an example, Ed Reed played twice as much free safety as strong, and played the same number of years as Polamalu (12) although Reed played in 16 more games (not injured as much), but Reed had double the number of career interceptions, yet half the number of sacks and fewer tackles and forced fumbles than did Polamalu. Reed was known as more of a ball hawk and Polamalu was considered the harder hitter (although each did both of those things well). They are two of the best safeties ever, but they played somewhat different roles on their teams. 1st team All-Pro is more prestigious because it is the top player at each position as voted on by the media. There are several different versions of All-Pro teams depending on the publication, but the most well-regarded is from the AP. They also put out a 2nd team All-Pro, and maybe a 3rd, not sure - but these get little fanfare. The players that make the Pro-Bowl are basically 1st, 2nd, and 3rd team players per conference (AFC & NFC), as voted on by a combo of coaches, players, and fans. This means there's usually 6 Pro Bowl qbs but only 1 All-Pro qb. But as another commenter has said, if players opt out of going for whatever reason, then alternates get to go, so that's potentially a lot of players. Everyone who goes can mark the Pro Bowl on their resumes and there's no designations on resumes about who was an alternate or who got the most votes. Also, Pro Bowlers tend to get voted on as much for past reputation and current popularity as they do on merit (edited for grammar).
Wow this was basically all the information I needed in one comment! I think I'm ready to start the regular season now which is only 7 days away!!! So excited! I'm seriously considering asking my local team if they need a safety. Kicker on offense and Safety on defence.
You should go for it, why not? Although kickers are considered "special teams", since they're only in there for a few plays a game. Safety's a great position, possibly my fave if I played. While Polamalu and Reed are two of the best ever, if you want to see who most consider to be the best safety of all time: Ronnie Lott.
That was his biggest strength he was versatile. Past enough to cover receivers and big enough to drop down and play linebacker and have it be disguised. They could move him around and you wouldn't know for sure what the actual defense was lol
Yeah polamalu was really special to the game. One of the last few big defensive personalities in the game before he retired. There are couple left nowadays but none are him.
His college coach was Pete Carroll (Seahawks) you can really see that Hawk tackling that Carrol came up (with rugby style shoulder tackling) with during his college years.
Watch James Harrison highlights sometime especially his interception and 100 yard touchdown run in the Super Bowl against the Rams, can't get more exciting than that.
The thing about him that was also so amazing was he was not very big at all, for a strong safety. only about 5'10 (177.8 cm) and not much more than 205 pounds (93 kg) He was usually the smallest guy on the field....but he had the biggest heart and the best mind. He was all speed, strength, brains and heart. He was my favorite player at USC where he went to University. You should check out Sean Taylor...badass safety from University of Miami.
@@Jr-sw8wj thanks...yeah i don't want to watch a sad one :( There are a couple out there of him at the U, without any of the sad/tragic aspect. Shows him on Defense, as well as special teams, he was a force.
But concerning Polamalu, you got to remember all these pleasure watching we're spread out through a long career of his. Not taken away from him because he was one of the most as I see important attributes anyway in a human, he was a good person a good man a good team member, he was humble all around Pleasant to be around
“What’s the difference between strong and free safety?? This is exactly what I want to do as a safety, I reckon I can just read the quarterback and be a ballhawk” 😂
I’m glad you got to watch Troy play. He is my favorite defensive player of all time. I’ve been watching American football for most of my life and have many favorites but Troy and Jr Seau really helped put Polynesians on the map. I’m from Hawai’i and have grown to enjoy Rugby and like you I’m learning the game like you’re learning Am. Football. I’ve been catching up with the World Cup in Japan when I was intrigued by one of your videos. Cheers mate!
@rich unggoy Ed Reed was significantly better than Troy. Reed had nearly double the amount of interceptions & actually stayed healthy throughout his career. Ed Reed is the best ball hawking safety ever and it's not even close.
I miss Troy so much. An absolute once in a lifetime athlete. He was literally a nonstop machine. In his prime, he was involved in just about every play.
Harrison aka the pitbull is a beast on and off the field. One of the greatest defensive players to ever play. Troy is my all time favorite Steeler for his passion and how humble he is. 43 forever!!! #steelernation
11:21 Steelers fan here. Not even we know the answer to that. I miss having Troy on this team so much. At least we might finally have a suitable "heir" to Polamalu in Sean Davis, but nobody will ever be able to replace him. My favorite player of all time. Also, the first (and only, to date) regular season game that I was able to attend was the one in the snow against the Dolphins at 11:59. 8 Dec 2013. The ending haunts me to this day. We tried to lateral the ball a bunch, then it got to Antonio Brown and he started running to the end zone. We all thought he scored to win the game for the Steelers. Of course, all TDs have to be reviewed. As it turned out, AB stepped out of bounds, and so, we lost.
well in that case watch this. His name is mike lee he plays for Kansas (college football) and he's a hard hitter probably the hardest hitter in college. ua-cam.com/video/WCD3_Xqe6fA/v-deo.html (freshman highlights ua-cam.com/video/fOFcFBoLnoA/v-deo.html sophomore highlights
What you're not seeing is that his plays came at the biggest time. Check out line backer James Harrison. He played at the same time. His nickname was Bad Man, mama there goes that man, debo, in the locker room. Hardest hitter ever. Some say dirty but the ones that made people mad his head was low then the receiver ducked down and well... good night.
I don't think James was a dirty player, he was just a very hard hitter in a game where they don't want you to hit that hard anymore. He would have been better off in an earlier era of football.
tattooedman42 a lot of his tackles weren’t dirty they just looked vicious and with the nfl becoming soft during that time they always fined Harrison with hits . A lot of those hits were clearly him lowering his shoulder but the fined him anyways. The nfl always tested him for sports enhancements drugs all the time more than any other player for some reason which is something Harrison complain about a lot and he always passed. Nfl didn’t like Harrison lol
This shit legit brought tears man we were so lucky to be able to watch polamalu he played with pure heart not much like him he was absolutely great first ballot HOF
The other great safety from this era is Ed Reed. If you want to see someone define how to play this position look him up. #RavensFlock Edit: Just saw that you've looked him up before
This man was the one that got me really into football. I watched football by I would always play with this guy alone on Madden 11 and I'm an Eagles fan.
What a joy it was growing up outside Pittsburgh and watching this guy every Sunday in his golden age. My favorite player of all time, with Barry Sanders 2nd.
Born and raised in Cincinnati been bengals fan for a long time. And this man was always trouble. Steelers are in bengals division so they played a lot. He was amazing. One of those players where it seemed like has was everywhere
Steelers fan for 50+ years, I've heard teammates talk about him "talking to God" on the field, they said God would tell Troy where to be at any given time, he spent 1.5-2 hours a day at the Church...
as a Steeler fan, you encapsulated what he was about (with your description). an absolute monster and just filthy with timing, athleticism and lightning fast reading ability. one of a kind talent, appreciate your videos! Definitely subbing to your channel cheers mate
I’m a Jets fan but I absolutely was in awe of Polamalu!!!! He’s from my era of football. I was actually hurt when he retired. He was the reason I watched all Pitt games. Btwn him and Revis Island (in his prime), they were (and still are) my fav defensive players. Can u do a video on Darrelle Revis? #24 Cornerback for the Jets
What baffles me about Troy is that most of his big plays came in the 4th quarter with the score close or tied. To me he is one of the most clutch defensive players in NFL history. He always stood up to the occasion during big drives toward the end of the game. His incredible game sense and reads paid off big in those moments.
To answer your question about safeties, a strong safety is the guy who lines up on the strong side - whichever side of the center has the most lineman on it (typically the tight end is the extra guy). If both sides have an equal amount of lineman (maybe a tight end on both sides of the line) the strong safety will typically line up across from whichever tight end they want to shut down in the passing game or whichever side they believe the run is going to go to. His focus is first on the running back as it'll be his job to shut the run game down. The free safety, normally, needs to be great at coverage and understanding the angles to get to the ball. He reads the field, locates the ball (or where it is going) and attacks. A free safety protects the middle, plays coverage and shuts down the pass game. He also has to keep eyes on the weak side in case of trick plays to hide from your strong safety.
I know I'm a little late but a strong safety is more of run stopper, blitzer, covers tight ends, man coverage type safety. Also will pick up the running back in man coverage a good chunk of the time. Free safeties are more zone coverage, field general type players
Strong safety lines up on the TE side and provides run support in addition to ca=overage responsibilities while the "free" safety is usually back from the line of scrimmage covering a receiver who may break deep on a route.
He never really seemed to play in an actual zone on the field. Polamalu was allowed to just roam the whole field, crazy instincts.
You pick up a ss like that that can start a play and start breaking it down and working out what’s coming next and you’d let him sit down indian style at the start if he wanted
DevinChi Code he would play the ball
I was just watching a video about that. Apparently Mike T and the other players just trusted he was especially gifted and intuitive. They thought he talked to God.
LOL, I think maybe his faith and culture made him a bit more intuitive at picking up other’s emotions and what they were going to do. He was as gifted on offense as defense when he was in hs! So, I think that helped him read the offense aa well!
They watch alot of film, wen ur watching film ur not only breaking down opponents plays and players, ur also look for "tells" that give away wat they are doing...
Fr no cap
"Hes like a corner, SS, and linebacker all at once." You really do understand football. Nice!
Wide receiver and running back are offensive
Gaige Gabbert I believe he used to be a running back in HS. He knew what to do when he got that ball!
@@shockadelica8661 that might be true, I haven't really looked up anything on hum beyond college and nfl. It wouldn't surprise me though. In high school I had to play 2 defensive positions and 1 offensive position not to mention a special teams upback.
He means he got the qualities of a corner ss and linebacker and probably did line up as all three during a game obviously not all at one time c'mon man hating for no reason
peni falepapalangi know ones hating you dick
The thing about Troy... You will never find anyone, teammates nor adversaries say anything but praise towards this man! He is a true LEGEND!
Except pat McAfee 😀
True...probably one of the only few athletes in any sport where i havent seen or heard any type of hate towards
Greatest to ever do it
I've been a Steelers fan my whole life but Aaron Lockett would probably beg to differ lmao
As a lifelong diehard Steelers fan I gotta say we just took Troy for granted. He was just so automatic when we needed a big play. Watching it in rerun is the only way to truly appreciate him. I get choked up watching the highlights. Absolute legend.
dude ... I cried when he announced retirenment, and im not a steelers fan lol . Troy is the legend. one of the main reasons for me to start playing. he was the magic johnson of the NFL.
Angel Mtz i have his jersey I'm going to find it
Well said. He is an inspiration, and I don't even play football.
same!! I am a Seahawk fan -- I hate the steelers only a little less than I hate the patriots and I cried when he retired - thought he had at least 3 to5 more years of good football left.
Steelers fan for almost 50 years now. Troy was not only a playmaker, a leader, and an incredible athlete he was also a player that a father would want his child to emulate. An amazing person who operated at the highest level of his profession with humility. A true Steeler legend.
I live in Pittsburgh--we were BLESSED. He is truly humble. He frequents a local restaurant and will stop and have conversations with you, take pix, etc.
The bad part is that he was forced out bc of his age he wanted to keep playing but the steelers thought that he was getting to old so they told him if you keep playing you will have to go to another team but he was a steeler from the start and he wanted to finish a steeler so he called it quits bc he didnt want another team and he is up for going into the hall of fame in 2020
This is exactly what I’ve been telling everyone they could’ve at least restructure his contract and keep him around the young defensive players for mentoring. I’m sure they also paid him a decent amount of money to go the retirement route because they didn’t want him to go to another team. He retired too early.
He's already in the HOF
They REALLY said you too old quit playing??? Woooow.
Oh they force him out because of age but keep cry baby Brady on the roster huh? Smh. Age doesn't matter, what matters is how well your body takes punishment.
@@markm4033 i would say age don't matter its If You still want to do the job. Brady on roster yea he what 42 or something? Calvin Johnson quit, salute to him. Thats my team him and Barry i blame not a bit. If you on a largely losing team you you might want out too hahaha.
I love the fact that you seem to appreciate how good he was, he is, was, and always will be a legend in Pittsburgh. Just a FYI, its called the terrible towel because it was created by an announcer back in the 70's named Myron Cope.
He was the greatest safety of all time. It was my honor to have watched him play. THe steelers were sooo close to 5 or 6 super bowls during his time. We went to 3 and won 2...still pretty good. A great and humble guy...one of the best overall humans to ever play as well.
Man I miss Seeing this guy play every Sunday. Never will there ever be a player like him. So humble and soft spoken by an absolute beast on the field
Agreed man Troy was and is the definition of a Class act.
Football ain't the same without em.
Jr. Seau was a beast too!
Very few soft spoken guys in the nfl only other one i could think of is Warrick Dunn it and humble just are not traits nfl athletes have.
@@ashantereliford9574 yupp he was. Troy and Seau two samoan warriors
I got to see Troy play, in Pittsburgh, once against the Cowboys. He was amazing. I swear that almost every play, "in on the play, #43 Troy Polamalu" came over the loud speaker. He was everywhere.
I'm 70 and in my lifetime I'll never see another player like my favorite Troy. #pittsburghstrong #strongerthanhate
I'm not even a Steelers fan, but I would watch them play when Polamalu was on the team just to see him play. The tenacity, raw talent, and passion for the game was truly admirable. Definitely a legend, someone no NFL fan will forget.
Browns fan here and I will confirm this man is the real deal and a true legend!
An absolute savage and gentleman at the same time. What a pleasure to be a Steelers fan and watch this man play.
Troy had such versatility and awareness it was freaky. He didn't even have assignments, coaches let him decide during the presnap. There is nothing he couldn't do and all the while remain humble and professional, class act.
I know I’m late to the vid. But I met Troy back in 2002 while I was at the L.A. Coliseum because my high school was across the street. One of the most nicest dudes you will ever meet. Fight on ✌🏼For ol S.C.
This legend made so many game changing plays in the 4th qtr
Fun fact (sorry if it's been covered already):
When other teams would scout and practice during the week before playing the Steelers, they would put 3 or 4 players on the practice defensive team with different color jerseys on, because the coaches couldn't decide where Polomalu was going to be, or how to plan for him. They needed to anticipate him being everywhere on the field at once, so they designated 3 or 4 people all over the defensive side of the ball to represent him on the field. THAT is a sign of how good he was and how much opponents had to respect him.
I live in Pittsburgh and had the pleasure of seeing him play many times before he retired. I'm just discovering your channel, but I really enjoy getting a Kiwi's reaction to different sports and players, very cool. Keep it up!
He lived in the town I grew up when he played in Pittsburgh. I would see him shopping at Lowe’s and grocery stores. Very quiet and unassuming athlete.
I've been in a big Polamalu mood recently. The algorithm sent this to me, it was a joy to watch.
Troy was great.
Polamalu, my love in NFL!!! Yay!! Saw you were viewing him and got excited. He will always be my fav player. Days before he retired, I flew to Pittsburgh from Cali and bought his bumblebee Jersey(collectors item) and he signed it!! Never going to wear it, I miss him playing. His humbleness, is what attracted me to him, then saw his style and I was done. His hair became a thing at games, wigs wigs everywhere!!! Loved it!! 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍 Thank you for doing this.🥰
Troy was not only a great athlete, but he IS an AMAZING human being. I've had the pleasure of meeting him and he is so humble and warm and just effing spectacular! There aren't many people on this planet that compare, truly!
There are roughly 300000 males of Samoan descent. 191 Samoans play in the nfl 300000/191 is roughly 1570. Meaning one out of every 1570 Samoans plays american national football. That is an insane number and a testament to their genetic gifts.
I concur!
You're an idiot it's more like 50
Still impressive
There are 180,000 people that claim Samoan descent in the U.S. alone. Most other places in the world don't even do population surveys by ethnicity. There has to be millions of people with Samoan DNA. I'm somehow 6% Maori in my DNA... and I've never even met someone from New Zealand.
Ryan Woodward it’s a testament to the hard work they put in there, they don’t have anything but a football field, this isn’t genetics, it’s playing football from when you can walk and living that cuz that’s all they have to do
Troy is my favorite! Glad you got to see him😁 Steeler Nation 🖤💛
Polamalu plays the game like a lover of the game and the way it should be played..100% on each and every play!...he deserves all the accolades bestowed on him and has garnered the respect of anyone who watched him or played with/against him!!
I’m from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and i bleed 🩸 black and gold. Troy is a demon 😈 on the field and we miss him so much. He is the nicest person you could ever meet. Didn’t smoke or drink nor did any drugs. He is a warrior and a hero here in Pixburgh. Here we go Steelers here we go😍😎🤩
I knew you needed to see him.
I definitely did! Thanks again for the request. Brian Dawkins is next!
I’m convinced Troy’s devout faith gave him some type of divine foresight. Never seen anything like it before or since. The epitome of a football player. So thankful he was a Steeler.
My favorite Polamalu moment was when he lined up in the C-gap.
Getting tackled by the hair is legal. it is considered part of the uniform.
Was coming just to say this. I figured someone surely beat me to it.
I remember that game too even though it was legal polamalu wanted to beat Larry Johnson’s ass after the tackle lol
Today, there are a lot more players with longer hair so it is now an un-written rule not to tackle by the hair.
isn't it considered a horse collar tackle now? pretty sure they made it that at some point.
You are half right.. it is legal to tackle someone by their hair because hair is considered a body part. It is just as legal as dragging someone to the ground by their arm.
Other team: ok let’s throw the ball
Troy: hold my beer
Dude, growing up as a Ravens fan with Ed Reed and Ray Lewis on the team, this guy was the defensive player I was most envious of. An absolute legend!
As a Steeler fan He’s my favorite Steeler player ever
Polamalu could do it all, and then some. One of the all-time greats for sure!
I'm a Bengals fan and HATE the Steelers but loved the man Polamalu...dude is pure class all the way. Rivalry be damned he was a great great player.
Troy polamalu was one of those once in a lifetime players. His passion for the game can be matched by no other. In my opinion he was the greatest defense of player to have ever put on STEELERS Jersey. That is saying a lot .
Pro Bowler and All-Pro are close to the same.
You are correct in that the Pro Bowl is the all star game at the end of the season with all the other best players from around the NFL.
They have changed how pro bowl players are selected over the years and it’s a little bit looser but generally the order of their selection isn’t necessarily recorded.
So the difference is that All Pro and specifically 1st team All Pro is that a committee selects the #1 best players from each position and and awards them the title of 1st team All Pro.
So basically they put together a hypothetical team of all the best players and the #1 best overall players at each position are awarded 1st team and they continue to select more players after that for a hypothetical 2nd team of all the second best players.
Some positions have multiple spots like Wide Recievers, Cornerbacks, and Running Backs so you can have multiple people awarded 1st team
But Strong Safety is just 1 player so he was awarded #1 best Strong Safety 4 different seasons
One of the best explanations out there. Nice!
I believe another difference is that Pro Bowl teams are selected by conference (or whatever they use to divide the teams these days), whereas All Pro selections are taken from the entire league.
Had the privilege to watch Troy and Ed Reed play each other twice sometimes 3 times a year. They were awesome
Said it perfectly. “What a legend”
Have already seen half-a-dozen commenters defining Strong Safety as something to do with their size or strength or hitting power. This kind of football ignorance makes me both mad and sad that the Kiwi is getting so much Bad information :(
*Strong (side) Safety* : There are 5 dedicated Offensive linemen: The Center, two Guards, and two Tackles. A 6th man is permitted to line up on the offensive line as well and that player is usually the Tight End. That player can line up on any side he likes, and he can shift from one side to the other before the ball is snapped. Whatever side has the most offensive players counting from the Center... is referred to as the offensive *strong* side - and that's why you have a Strong Safety. In general (not always) the Strong Safety will stay on the side of the Tight End and follow him if he shifts sides, to either cover that man if he goes out for a pass, or to be the extra defensive lineman needed in run support (because runs typically go strong side because that's where most of your blockers are) *Strong* is referring to being the 6th man on the line, not about how much you can bench press.
Exactly!!
Also, an easy way to identify SS from FS is that the SS is primarily covering Tight Ends and Running Backs, while FS covers Wide Receivers.
Troy and Ed Reed gave us the greatest era of safeties. Being a Ravens fan, Ed and Ray got me into the game of Football. But as a Hawaiian, Troy is quite literally superman haha
My absolute favorite player of all time. And i wear the wig every year for Halloween. GOAT
The guy just seems to be all over the field, comes out of no where!
Fantastic to watch such a man in action - Thank you ! He had an absolute sense for the ball.
Smartest defensive player I’ve ever seen play the game. He just seemed to be allowed to roam wherever he thought he needed to be. My favorite all time player.
First team all-pro would basically be the best at their position regardless of conference. Pro-Bowl rosters fill a team from each conference's best players.
JP1348 that is so awesome! I wish they had something like that in Rugby.
These are generalities, but a strong safety is typically expected to help out more with run stopping and guarding tight ends or backs running routes, and they will probably blitz a bit more than free safeties. I think the term refers to the strong side of the offense's formation, where the tight end is (the side of the offensive line that has one more blocker), or if both sides of the qb are even, then the right side by default (usually known a bit more for run blocking vs the left side, whose top priority is to protect the blindside of the qb in pass blocking). So they'll typically be a bit bigger but maybe not as fast as free safeties.
Free safeties are usually responsible for more of the field farther back from the line of scrimmage and are more focused on guarding or helping out with receivers or anyone going deep. They roam around in the secondary more than strong safeties, who tend to have more responsibilities closer to the line of scrimmage.
As an example, Ed Reed played twice as much free safety as strong, and played the same number of years as Polamalu (12) although Reed played in 16 more games (not injured as much), but Reed had double the number of career interceptions, yet half the number of sacks and fewer tackles and forced fumbles than did Polamalu. Reed was known as more of a ball hawk and Polamalu was considered the harder hitter (although each did both of those things well). They are two of the best safeties ever, but they played somewhat different roles on their teams.
1st team All-Pro is more prestigious because it is the top player at each position as voted on by the media. There are several different versions of All-Pro teams depending on the publication, but the most well-regarded is from the AP. They also put out a 2nd team All-Pro, and maybe a 3rd, not sure - but these get little fanfare.
The players that make the Pro-Bowl are basically 1st, 2nd, and 3rd team players per conference (AFC & NFC), as voted on by a combo of coaches, players, and fans. This means there's usually 6 Pro Bowl qbs but only 1 All-Pro qb. But as another commenter has said, if players opt out of going for whatever reason, then alternates get to go, so that's potentially a lot of players. Everyone who goes can mark the Pro Bowl on their resumes and there's no designations on resumes about who was an alternate or who got the most votes. Also, Pro Bowlers tend to get voted on as much for past reputation and current popularity as they do on merit (edited for grammar).
Wow this was basically all the information I needed in one comment! I think I'm ready to start the regular season now which is only 7 days away!!! So excited! I'm seriously considering asking my local team if they need a safety. Kicker on offense and Safety on defence.
You should go for it, why not? Although kickers are considered "special teams", since they're only in there for a few plays a game.
Safety's a great position, possibly my fave if I played. While Polamalu and Reed are two of the best ever, if you want to see who most consider to be the best safety of all time: Ronnie Lott.
I think someone else had asked me to check him out before but now he has been added to the list if he wasn't already!
@@kiwikicker9263 lott once also had part of his finger cut off so that he could play the rest of the season
The easiest way to explain it is that Kam Chancellor is a strong safety and Earl Thomas is a free safety :)
That was his biggest strength he was versatile. Past enough to cover receivers and big enough to drop down and play linebacker and have it be disguised. They could move him around and you wouldn't know for sure what the actual defense was lol
Brandon Hinrichs thats the sign of a truly special player.
The Steelers themselves didnt know what Polamalu was going to do...they just left Troy to do his thing.
Yeah polamalu was really special to the game. One of the last few big defensive personalities in the game before he retired. There are couple left nowadays but none are him.
My all time favorite NFL player of all time.
His college coach was Pete Carroll (Seahawks) you can really see that Hawk tackling that Carrol came up (with rugby style shoulder tackling) with during his college years.
Mae Stewart Thanks for explaining that! Now it makes sense, this guy was the swiss army knife of defenders!
Polamalu's game was well established by the time Carroll came to USC.
Man, I miss Troy. He was a class act and a brilliant player.
Watch James Harrison highlights sometime especially his interception and 100 yard touchdown run in the Super Bowl against the Rams, can't get more exciting than that.
I mentioned him also just now so we'll see if he does a video on him if he has not yet
Cardinals*
Absolute ball hawk and one hell of a role model. He epitomized the All-Blacks saying of “Sweeping the sheds”
The thing about him that was also so amazing was he was not very big at all, for a strong safety. only about 5'10 (177.8 cm) and not much more than 205 pounds (93 kg)
He was usually the smallest guy on the field....but he had the biggest heart and the best mind.
He was all speed, strength, brains and heart.
He was my favorite player at USC where he went to University.
You should check out Sean Taylor...badass safety from University of Miami.
He already has! I think if you search up Sean Taylor Rugby Reaction it’ll come up. It’s a sad one.
@@Jr-sw8wj
thanks...yeah i don't want to watch a sad one :(
There are a couple out there of him at the U, without any of the sad/tragic aspect.
Shows him on Defense, as well as special teams, he was a force.
@MetalCrow448
my mistake....i think in feet/inches and just did it quickly in my head...actually it's 177.8 cm ;)
fixed in the original
one of my favorite players to watch when he played
He was also drafted by MLB team but he told him his heart was in football
But concerning Polamalu, you got to remember all these pleasure watching we're spread out through a long career of his. Not taken away from him because he was one of the most as I see important attributes anyway in a human, he was a good person a good man a good team member, he was humble all around Pleasant to be around
“What’s the difference between strong and free safety??
This is exactly what I want to do as a safety, I reckon I can just read the quarterback and be a ballhawk” 😂
I’m glad you got to watch Troy play. He is my favorite defensive player of all time. I’ve been watching American football for most of my life and have many favorites but Troy and Jr Seau really helped put Polynesians on the map. I’m from Hawai’i and have grown to enjoy Rugby and like you I’m learning the game like you’re learning Am. Football. I’ve been catching up with the World Cup in Japan when I was intrigued by one of your videos. Cheers mate!
If you wanna watch another amazing safety you should watch Ed Reed, he's considered one of the best safeties of all time
I agree
Ed Reed? Hahaha not nearly as good as Troy
@rich unggoy Ed Reed was significantly better than Troy. Reed had nearly double the amount of interceptions & actually stayed healthy throughout his career. Ed Reed is the best ball hawking safety ever and it's not even close.
Joe J Nah, it’s pretty close. They’re both about even and great in their own ways.
I got to meet Troy when I was a kid back in 2007, he was the nicest guy I've ever met, so soft spoken and humble. Glad you got to experience him
Anyone remember this dude in madden legit made every tackle for the Steelers
This guy was on another level. Just amazing. Speed, instincts, and played with that gorgeous hair, ON FIRE. He was one of my favorite to watch, ever .
Your videos are infectious.
I browsed your uploads, and have a recommendation
Devin Hester (greatest return man in history)
I miss Troy so much. An absolute once in a lifetime athlete. He was literally a nonstop machine. In his prime, he was involved in just about every play.
Grew up a Steelers fan, if you wanna see hard hits James Harrison is another hell of a hard hitter
Harrison aka the pitbull is a beast on and off the field. One of the greatest defensive players to ever play. Troy is my all time favorite Steeler for his passion and how humble he is. 43 forever!!! #steelernation
11:21 Steelers fan here. Not even we know the answer to that. I miss having Troy on this team so much. At least we might finally have a suitable "heir" to Polamalu in Sean Davis, but nobody will ever be able to replace him. My favorite player of all time.
Also, the first (and only, to date) regular season game that I was able to attend was the one in the snow against the Dolphins at 11:59. 8 Dec 2013. The ending haunts me to this day. We tried to lateral the ball a bunch, then it got to Antonio Brown and he started running to the end zone. We all thought he scored to win the game for the Steelers. Of course, all TDs have to be reviewed. As it turned out, AB stepped out of bounds, and so, we lost.
you like safety's look up ed reed.
Already done my guy!
well in that case watch this. His name is mike lee he plays for Kansas (college football) and he's a hard hitter probably the hardest hitter in college. ua-cam.com/video/WCD3_Xqe6fA/v-deo.html (freshman highlights ua-cam.com/video/fOFcFBoLnoA/v-deo.html sophomore highlights
I would add Steve Atwater to the list of safeties.
Never have I clicked so fast! My favorite player of all time and I'm not even a Steelers fan!
What you're not seeing is that his plays came at the biggest time. Check out line backer James Harrison. He played at the same time. His nickname was Bad Man, mama there goes that man, debo, in the locker room. Hardest hitter ever. Some say dirty but the ones that made people mad his head was low then the receiver ducked down and well... good night.
I don't think James was a dirty player, he was just a very hard hitter in a game where they don't want you to hit that hard anymore. He would have been better off in an earlier era of football.
@@tattooedman42 I fully agree, those skirts were ducking bracing for impact and it just happened, wasn't on purpose. Hardest hitter ever
tattooedman42 a lot of his tackles weren’t dirty they just looked vicious and with the nfl becoming soft during that time they always fined Harrison with hits . A lot of those hits were clearly him lowering his shoulder but the fined him anyways. The nfl always tested him for sports enhancements drugs all the time more than any other player for some reason which is something Harrison complain about a lot and he always passed. Nfl didn’t like Harrison lol
@@94FADE yes, I think that is what it ultimately came down to. You can always see who the NFL likes and who they don't like.
James harrison and the steelers during that time were dirty AF. Troy was the exception. They still are a dirty defense.
This shit legit brought tears man we were so lucky to be able to watch polamalu he played with pure heart not much like him he was absolutely great first ballot HOF
The other great safety from this era is Ed Reed. If you want to see someone define how to play this position look him up. #RavensFlock
Edit: Just saw that you've looked him up before
Reed was Free Safety, Polamalu was Strong Safety
This man was the one that got me really into football. I watched football by I would always play with this guy alone on Madden 11 and I'm an Eagles fan.
Hardcore Christian aswell. Deep in the scriptures.
That's a great definition for Troy. "I've never seen someone who knows how to be in the right place at the right time more than him"
He's just what we call a football player. Not defined by position, just playing football.
What a joy it was growing up outside Pittsburgh and watching this guy every Sunday in his golden age. My favorite player of all time, with Barry Sanders 2nd.
Just started watching your vids. I'm not even a big sports nut but I do appreciate these athletes and love watching highlights. Keep'em coming.
BEST SS! AMAZING! your reaction does him justice my man
Born and raised in Cincinnati been bengals fan for a long time. And this man was always trouble. Steelers are in bengals division so they played a lot. He was amazing. One of those players where it seemed like has was everywhere
Steelers fan for 50+ years, I've heard teammates talk about him "talking to God" on the field, they said God would tell Troy where to be at any given time, he spent 1.5-2 hours a day at the Church...
as a Steeler fan, you encapsulated what he was about (with your description). an absolute monster and just filthy with timing, athleticism and lightning fast reading ability. one of a kind talent, appreciate your videos! Definitely subbing to your channel cheers mate
I’m a Jets fan but I absolutely was in awe of Polamalu!!!! He’s from my era of football. I was actually hurt when he retired. He was the reason I watched all Pitt games. Btwn him and Revis Island (in his prime), they were (and still are) my fav defensive players. Can u do a video on Darrelle Revis? #24 Cornerback for the Jets
I love Troy Polamalu! I’ve met him many times around Pittsburgh
*Phenomenal* is the word to describe Troy Polamalu.🙌🏾
What baffles me about Troy is that most of his big plays came in the 4th quarter with the score close or tied. To me he is one of the most clutch defensive players in NFL history. He always stood up to the occasion during big drives toward the end of the game. His incredible game sense and reads paid off big in those moments.
Troy was a bad ass on the football field. He did things few if any safeties could do. I loved watching him play. So good! Enjoy...
So glad to see the react video to Troy! Another safety whom widely is considered the hardest hitting was Ronnie Lott. Check it out.
To answer your question about safeties, a strong safety is the guy who lines up on the strong side - whichever side of the center has the most lineman on it (typically the tight end is the extra guy). If both sides have an equal amount of lineman (maybe a tight end on both sides of the line) the strong safety will typically line up across from whichever tight end they want to shut down in the passing game or whichever side they believe the run is going to go to. His focus is first on the running back as it'll be his job to shut the run game down.
The free safety, normally, needs to be great at coverage and understanding the angles to get to the ball. He reads the field, locates the ball (or where it is going) and attacks. A free safety protects the middle, plays coverage and shuts down the pass game. He also has to keep eyes on the weak side in case of trick plays to hide from your strong safety.
I miss him there will never be anyone like him he was one of a kind
one of the best things about him,if not the best thing is that he was so humble
Living in Pittsburgh during polamalu's career was so great to watch n cheer for. Great years
Noticed as soon as he crossed himself that he is Eastern Orthodox. Love it :)
Favorite player of all time. 💯
One of if not the greatest at his.position during his prime. I loved watching him play.
I know I'm a little late but a strong safety is more of run stopper, blitzer, covers tight ends, man coverage type safety. Also will pick up the running back in man coverage a good chunk of the time. Free safeties are more zone coverage, field general type players
Strong safety lines up on the TE side and provides run support in addition to ca=overage responsibilities while the "free" safety is usually back from the line of scrimmage covering a receiver who may break deep on a route.