Rossi: It's time for Polamalu to walk away

[Lady Steel]

Like many Western Pennsylvania boys, I spent a lot of afternoons in my parents' front yard pretending I was a Steeler, catching the passes I threw to myself, recovering the fumbles I pretended to force.

This was the dream. We dreamed in Crafton, Aliquippa, Lower Burrell — pick a place.

John Frank dreamed in Mt. Lebanon. He lived the dream, albeit in San Francisco, where he snagged 73 passes, 12 touchdowns and two Super Bowl rings with the 49ers.

Five seasons into the dream, Frank woke up. He quit playing football.

Troy Polamalu should, too.

The greatest Steeler of my time should walk away from the game that loves no man, even the men who redefined a position.

Polamalu is like no strong safety pro football has known, a Tasmanian devil with a devil-may-care approach on the field. He leaped over linemen, launched into ball carriers and did a lot of other stuff words do no justice for.

And he might have a decent 13th NFL season in that 5-foot-10, 213-pound body.

But what if 12 already has been a couple of seasons too many?

Three years ago, he publicly acknowledged lying to doctors about concussion symptoms. He also copped to “probably eight or nine concussions.”

So, now that number is 10? A bakers' dozen?

He could not finish a game against New Orleans last season. Was he concussed? Nobody would say ... publicly.

Everybody heard the whispers. Polamalu had a concussion, and it was bad.

He played the next week.

Polamalu sat out two games last season because of an aching knee. Another blow to the brain, and it was business as usual.

That was stupidity from a smart man. That was selfishness from a family man.

Wake up, man.




http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/...#axzz3UBXr9rhl

[one side only]

All been said before. The Steelers kept him a year, maybe two years, too long as it is. If Troy says he want to continue to play, much of what he said before will be viewed as BS. Just cut him already.

[steelreserve]

My thoughts on concussions have changed a bunch of times over the years as more and more about them has come out. But basically, it's this: The risk of brain damage from concussions is like the risk of getting cancer. It's different for everyone. One guy might get knocked out cold 50 times and be no worse off for it. A different guy might get hit in the head a handful of times in his career and end up with the full effects. Just like some people smoke for 50 years and never get cancer, and the unlucky ones can quit in their 20s or 30s and get it anyway.

Obviously, the more concussions you rack up, the more you're playing with fire. But it's impossible to put a number on it: "X concussions and you're going to be brain damaged forever." 10 hits to the head for one guy could be like 2 hits to the head for somebody else. There's no way of telling.

What I do think is that at this point in Troy's career, having played 12 seasons in the NFL and 20-25 years of football overall, and with the way he plays - if it's going to happen, the damage is most likely already done. He is entirely in the hands of luck and fate right now. All you can do is hope he's one of the lucky ones, or if not, that the enjoyment and success were worth it. Retiring because of concussions right now would be as much of a crapshoot as anything else.

For the record, I do think it would be better off for everyone if he did call it quits. Not because of concussions, but because it's the right time to bow out gracefully while he still can.

[ALLD]

I noticed the title of the thread reads Polamalu should "walk" away. Others could interpret that since he can no longer run with any speed he can only walk away.

[katmandu]

My thoughts on concussions have changed a bunch of times over the years as more and more about them has come out. But basically, it's this: The risk of brain damage from concussions is like the risk of getting cancer. It's different for everyone. One guy might get knocked out cold 50 times and be no worse off for it. A different guy might get hit in the head a handful of times in his career and end up with the full effects. Just like some people smoke for 50 years and never get cancer, and the unlucky ones can quit in their 20s or 30s and get it anyway.

Obviously, the more concussions you rack up, the more you're playing with fire. But it's impossible to put a number on it: "X concussions and you're going to be brain damaged forever." 10 hits to the head for one guy could be like 2 hits to the head for somebody else. There's no way of telling.

Have you, yourself ever had a real concussion ? I have and it was a bad one.

Your analogy is partially correct. Each concussion is different to the degree AND the location of the brain that is effected. This is crucial. It's kind like when your PCs harddrive starts to go bad. It effects different programs and acts up in random ways.

As it pains me a great deal to see Troy's career come to an end, I hope he does so soon while he STILL has all his marbles. Troy is the epitome of what a real Warrior is and my gut says he's going to go away kicking and screaming (in his mind) and eventually let go by the Steelers.

[steelreserve]

Have you, yourself ever had a real concussion ? I have and it was a bad one.

Your analogy is partially correct. Each concussion is different to the degree AND the location of the brain that is effected. This is crucial. It's kind like when your PCs harddrive starts to go bad. It effects different programs and acts up in random ways.

As it pains me a great deal to see Troy's career come to an end, I hope he does so soon while he STILL has all his marbles. Troy is the epitome of what a real Warrior is and my gut says he's going to go away kicking and screaming (in his mind) and eventually let go by the Steelers.

Yes, three times to be exact. The first time, an anvil fell on my head and a big lump popped up about a foot and tipped the anvil off sideways, and my eyeballs spun around and came up "Jackpot - Jackpot" and coins started spilling out of my mouth.

Then a couple seconds after that, some rabbit hit me over the head with a giant mallet and gave me the second concussion, and everything was suddenly back to normal.

So naturally, I started chasing him, and he ran down to the beach and out to the ocean, and I was kind of running along the top of the water chasing him, but then a shark popped up out of the water and I got scared, so I jumped up and ran back over top of the water to the beach, and I was running so fast that I accidentally tunneled into the sand, but I was so scared I didn't even notice and just kept running, and eventually I crashed into the bottom of a palm tree and a coconut fell on my head, which gave me the third concussion. Although that might have been two separate concussions in a row, so maybe I've had four.

[Polamalu Princess]

No matter what - I love Troy and he did a heck of a lot for the Steelers.

[Steelman]

Yes, three times to be exact. The first time, an anvil fell on my head and a big lump popped up about a foot and tipped the anvil off sideways, and my eyeballs spun around and came up "Jackpot - Jackpot" and coins started spilling out of my mouth.

Then a couple seconds after that, some rabbit hit me over the head with a giant mallet and gave me the second concussion, and everything was suddenly back to normal.

So naturally, I started chasing him, and he ran down to the beach and out to the ocean, and I was kind of running along the top of the water chasing him, but then a shark popped up out of the water and I got scared, so I jumped up and ran back over top of the water to the beach, and I was running so fast that I accidentally tunneled into the sand, but I was so scared I didn't even notice and just kept running, and eventually I crashed into the bottom of a palm tree and a coconut fell on my head, which gave me the third concussion. Although that might have been two separate concussions in a row, so maybe I've had four.

On a serious note though, I've had four concussions. One in particular was a Grade 3 where I got blindside blocked running a quick slant from a Trips set. I still don't remember anything of that play, only waking up staring at the sky. The two concussions after that were technically lesser on the grade scale but had more impact as more accumulated over the years. In short, these things start piling up and Troy would be wise to quit while he's ahead, aside from even his physical ability to play safety anymore.

[CapLovesTroyP43]

Yeah? And Rossi should just STFU!!!!!

[Steelerette]

[Lady Steel]

Yeah? And Rossi should just STFU!!!!!

Why?

[Lady Steel]

So naturally, I started chasing him, and he ran down to the beach and out to the ocean, and I was kind of running along the top of the water chasing him, but then a shark popped up out of the water and I got scared, so I jumped up and ran back over top of the water to the beach, and I was running so fast that I accidentally tunneled into the sand, but I was so scared I didn't even notice and just kept running, and eventually I crashed into the bottom of a palm tree and a coconut fell on my head, which gave me the third concussion. Although that might have been two separate concussions in a row, so maybe I've had four.

[Mojouw]

http://www.steelersdepot.com/2015/03...lim-fa-market/

Interesting rationale on bringing Polamalu back on more year.

Has anyone heard actual football reasons being speculated on by the media that are driving his guaranteed release? Or has it all been folks doing math to maximize cap space?

Here is a thought, if it is solely the idea that Troy Polamalu < his cap hit at this point and Cap Space/FA Signing > than Troy Polamalu in value to the team -- then I have to agree with the author of the linked article.

Who would the Steelers turn that cap space into that they can't right now anyway that would help the team more than Polamalu in a sub-package role?

For instance:
Patrick Robinson
Another random DB
A DE
A DT (dreams of Wilfork on a one year deal...)

Can all likely be made to work w/out cutting Polamalu now that a big dollar deal for Worilds is off the table. So what does cutting Polamalu get you? Can his back-up roster spot (make Shamarko the starter) be filled by someone better at this point?

[SteelerFanInStl]

Troy is hurting the defense when he's on the field. You don't need anything more than that to release him. The defense played better without him last year.

[Mojouw]

Troy is hurting the defense when he's on the field. You don't need anything more than that to release him. The defense played better without him last year.

But does he hurt the defense as the 5th or 6th DB in those in between 3rd down distances? I don't know, but I know that he still has some value left playing around the line of scrimmage. Of course it isn't 8 million per year, but it may be more than his dead money cost.

[one side only]

The more time passes during which the Steelers don't make a decision, the more likely it is that Polamalu stays. As many have said, they don't need the cap space.

[steelreserve]

Who would the Steelers turn that cap space into that they can't right now anyway that would help the team more than Polamalu in a sub-package role?

For instance:
Patrick Robinson
Another random DB
A DE
A DT (dreams of Wilfork on a one year deal...)

Can all likely be made to work w/out cutting Polamalu now that a big dollar deal for Worilds is off the table. So what does cutting Polamalu get you? Can his back-up roster spot (make Shamarko the starter) be filled by someone better at this point?

Yeah, they pretty much missed out on all the big-name and even mid-range free agents, so there's not much point in having cap space just to have it. We sure restructured contracts like we needed more, though!

But you're correct, the longer it goes on without any resolution, the more it appears their plan is to let Troy play out his contract.

[Mojouw]

Yeah, they pretty much missed out on all the big-name and even mid-range free agents, so there's not much point in having cap space just to have it. We sure restructured contracts like we needed more, though!

But you're correct, the longer it goes on without any resolution, the more it appears their plan is to let Troy play out his contract.

yeah. that flurry of restructures was odd. Why free up cap space and then not (at this point) use it? It will be interesting to see what the plan was intended to be. And then see what #'s scared the FO off of some of their targets. This stuff will all come out eventually. I have to figure they were hoping to use some of that money on defensive FAs and then saw the market explode and backed off.

[SteelerFanInStl]

But does he hurt the defense as the 5th or 6th DB in those in between 3rd down distances? I don't know, but I know that he still has some value left playing around the line of scrimmage. Of course it isn't 8 million per year, but it may be more than his dead money cost.

If Troy is on the team, you can bet that he'll be a starter and he just can't play up to that any more. If he's willing to take a backup role, then that would more suit his current ability level.

[salamander]

So I just heard on 93.7 The Fan that the Rooneys are supposedly having a hard time releasing Troy Polamalu and if it were up to the coaches, he would have been gone already.

[CapLovesTroyP43]

Because IMHO that is TROY'S call to make, NOT Rossi's. I'm a Troy girl and will defend him!

[Lady Steel]

Because IMHO that is TROY'S call to make, NOT Rossi's. I'm a Troy girl and will defend him!

So, heaven forbid if someone else should have a difference of opinion, right, Cap?

And it's not Troy's call to make if the Steelers cut him because he refuses to eat a salad.