Troy's impact in the game

**steelers40xl** · 10-25-2009, 08:52 PM

I know his knee is probally still hampering his play, but did polamalu just seem to be a little mentally off today or was it just me.

**Troyisabeast_43** · 10-25-2009, 09:06 PM

I thought he played okay...He still had some big tackles and made some big stops and batted down some passes...Was his play perfect by any stretch?? No but he did play good I thought and had he not been out there again and had we had Carter and Ratliff out there the Vikings probably make a couple more plays against the Steelers secondary and the Steelers lose. A 75-80 percent Troy is better then Carter or Ratliff anyday of the week. Troy will be fine and he will continue to get better as we move forward here. Having the bye week now and 15 full days to rest and get ready for the next game can do nothing but help him feel that much better when we resume play against Denver and Cincy after the bye.

I think a real good sign for this defense today facing it's first true test without Aaron Smith in the lineup is while Peterson did get his yards and made some plays they didnt let him run wild today and break the game open. They contained him pretty good and the defense showed today that they have enough playmakers to still be a championship caliber defense with Smith out of the lineup the rest of the season. That's the most positive thing I will take from this game today more then anything is that our defense proved it can still win games and shutdown a solid running back like Peterson without Aaron Smith in there... Today's performance I believe will give this defense more confidence as we move into the 2nd half and the remainder of the season...

**steelcitysfinestXL** · 10-25-2009, 09:09 PM

Originally Posted by steelers40xl

I know his knee is probally still hampering his play, but did polamalu just seem to be a little mentally off today or was it just me.

IMO, its just you! LOL, i think he played pretty solid! He did look bad on the 4th down conversion (i believe) where Rice got behind him when the play broke down early... but he made the tacklle and we held them on the goal line so no harm done really!

**Troyisabeast_43** · 10-25-2009, 09:21 PM

Originally Posted by steelcitysfinestXL

IMO, its just you! LOL, i think he played pretty solid! He did look bad on the 4th down conversion (i believe) where Rice got behind him when the play broke down early... but he made the tacklle and we held them on the goal line so no harm done really!

That's exactly what I was talking about as well. If Tyrone Carter is starting and has to make that play as slow as he is Rice scores easily there and the Vikings take the lead and who knows how the rest of the game would have turned out...

**LarryNJ** · 10-25-2009, 10:03 PM

He was fine. And you're right Troy, it was huge holding AP to 69 yards rushing without Smith.

**JensK** · 10-26-2009, 04:16 AM

Troy played solid, not great. He still misses some of that closing speed he normally has (you could see that on that ridiculous catch Rise made on the sideline), but he made some good tackles, and he'll probably be back 100% in two weeks against Denver.

**BlitzburghRockCity** · 10-26-2009, 08:19 AM

Originally Posted by steelcitysfinestXL

IMO, its just you! LOL, i think he played pretty solid! He did look bad on the 4th down conversion (i believe) where Rice got behind him when the play broke down early... but he made the tacklle and we held them on the goal line so no harm done really!

Troy played just fine today, and you could see his impact immediately. When a top flight safety is on the field, one that can make plays in coverage and against the run, you are just flat out a better defense.

Safety is one of those positions that dynamically changes the style of the defense based on the personnel at that position. A safety like Troy makes you a better team all around, and if he was not in there I would not like to think about what our run defense would be. He makes the QB do an extra half second of pause, he makes the blockers seek him out, the RB account for him, and that all combines to make you a better defense.

**HUNT4SEVEN** · 10-26-2009, 12:28 PM

Originally Posted by JensK

Troy played solid, not great. He still misses some of that closing speed he normally has (you could see that on that ridiculous catch Rise made on the sideline), but he made some good tackles, and he'll probably be back 100% in two weeks against Denver.

AGREE

Troy was solid yesterday even though he is not 100%

i am more impressed with the entire defense holding AP to 69 yards, when the Rats let him run for 143 yards, give Rice props he made an hell of an catch.........

**TampaSteelGirl** · 10-26-2009, 12:34 PM

Originally Posted by steelcitysfinestXL

IMO, its just you! LOL, i think he played pretty solid! He did look bad on the 4th down conversion (i believe) where Rice got behind him when the play broke down early... but he made the tacklle and we held them on the goal line so no harm done really!

I agree here 100%! I think he looked fine. Lets be real it's his first real game back against an undefeated team and he did pretty well. We are on a bye this week and he will be back against the Broncos. Why would he play like he did his first game back and take the chance of tweaking that knee and being out all season. Our entire D looked good yesterday so he really didn't need to go out there and kill himself...

**Scorp** · 10-26-2009, 12:40 PM

My boy troy will get back to doing what he does best and that is tearing up the field. He'll find his game and get back in to his rhythm. #7 here we come. He did great though don't get me wrong.