Where does Polamalu rank?

All of this. I agree that Reed is better overall, and I believe both are Hall of Famers, but not sure about first ballot. I would give Reed the edge in going in on the first ballot, and I'd be stunned if Polamalu did. Both great players, for sure. ETA: And both head and shoulders better than Dawkins.

 

Says who, a dick like you?

 

With that company including Mel Blount and Rod Woodson, that puts Polamalu in some outstanding company, though both of those guys were better players.

I'm not sure which is sillier, the argument that Dawkins was better or the one that Donnie Shell was better. I'm old enough to remember Shell. Damn good player made to look even better because he was surrounded by so many Hall of Famers for a big chunk of his career, but he did not have the ability and he certainly did not make the impact of Polamalu.

The injuries certainly hurt his cause. He was a diminished player in 2013 and he stunk in 2014. That said, you really had to watch him rather than just looking at numbers to see the impact Polamalu had on games in his prime. He made the breathtaking plays you see in the highlights, big hits as well as acrobatic interceptions, but he also disrupted offenses with his instincts, speed and explosiveness. He could line up as a deep safety and still blow up a running play, or start at the line of scrimmage and still manage to get into deep coverage. At his best, you simply couldn't predict his role in a particular play based on where he lined up, which made pre-snap reads of that defense a challenge.

He also had a gift for making big plays at key moments, such as the 40-yard interception return against the Ravens to lock up the 2008 the AFC Championship game, leading to the team's most recent Super Bowl victory two weeks later. He also had what should have been a clinching interception in the 2005 Division Round game at Indianapolis, but a terrible replay reversal gave us the dramatic ending with Bettis fumbling and Roethlisberger making the saving tackle instead.

He wasn't always the best player on those Steelers defenses. I think Harrison eclipsed him for a couple of seasons, but if you look at the whole six-year span from 2005 to 2010, when they played in three Super Bowls and won two of them, he was the only Hall of Famer on that side of the ball and one of the few on the team. Bettis only played the first of those seasons, and primarily as a backup. Roethlisberger will probably make it eventually. I don't think anyone else will do it.

 

Is it safe to say Reed and Polamalu were two different types of players, even though they played the same position and had a reputation as playmakers?
Polamalu was better in run support, blitzing and making plays behind the line of scrimmage. Reed was more of a ballhawk who made plays in the secondary. With the possible exception of Deion Sanders, Reed might have been the most dangerous return man ever after intercepting a pass.
Just bringing it up because, even though they were peers and rivals, it might not be fair to compare the two in a "who's better?" debate. They each did things the other couldn't or wasn't called on to do.

They're also part of a new generation of safeties that changed football the way people like A-Rod and Jeter did with shortstops in baseball in the 90s. Before the mid-90s, if you had a shortstop who could hit .275 and play good defense he was likely an all-star. Ripken might have been the only one in the league, for the better part of a decade, who could consistently hit 20 home runs a year. Then that wave of A-Rod, Jeter and Garciaparra came along and a generation later shortstop is a key offensive position in baseball.
In football, it might be the same way. You had a handful of guys who could make plays back there (Rod Woodson, Lott) and some fierce hitter/enforcer types (Tatum, Wes Hopkins, Andre Waters), but not many who combined the two. Now, after guys like Dawkins, Reed and Polamalu have rolled through, that's almost a requirement.

 

Safety Paul Krause held the career interception record for years and years. Safety Larry Wilson didn't invent but was the first guy known for the safety blitz. There's little new under the football sun.

 

Yeah, Polamalu and Reed were quite different in style, but both succeeded because of sheer talent and the instincts to make big plays. Loved watching them both, but they didn't exactly reinvent defense.

 

Jesus Christ doesn't have a miracle big enough to make Donnie Shell better than Polamalu.

In his prime he made plays that, basically, no one else in the league could.

He was incredible in run support.
He was essentially a reverse Manning on offense. Half of his blitzes were not called by LeBeau, but Polamalu would blitz because he knew the opposing team had no pass play to his side out of a certain formation.
No one closed like him on the ball carrier or the ball in the air.
He never stopped on a play.

The only Steeler I will discuss being potentially as good as Polamalu is Joe Greene.

The first play of that video is not a called blitz from the sideline. He saw that offensive formation did not account for him if he went over Harrison. He knew he could get to Flacco before Rice got to him. Clark, who was great at reading what Polamalu was doing, took the slot receiver.

At the 3:17 mark that is Chris Johnson getting cut down in the backfield during Johnson's 2,000 yard season. That might be the greatest tackle I have ever seen. The ground he covered was staggering.

And the 4:40 mark was just fantastic.

I watched him for 12 years. The Steelers will never get another one.

 

I'm admittedly biased as a Steelers fanboi looser and think Polamalu is a first-ballot pick. But I'm a bit bothered by the official NFL Twitter account posting things like "Next stop Canton" after he retired. Let's let the votes be counted.

Polamalu's case, I think, is bolstered by no other HOF caliber players being on the defense with him in those SB years.

 

Good point there. One of the more fascinating match ups of the past few years was Manning's first or second game with the Broncos, when they played the Steelers on a Sunday night. Manning was doing his schtick at the line, and Polalmalu was doing the same on defense to adjust. Manning would adjust again, and Polamalu would adjust again. It went on right up until the snap. Watching two football geniuses at work, countering and re-countering each other, was fun as hell to watch.

 

Yeah, I think he is HOF lock. I think the only question is how long he'll have to wait. If John Lynch is in the discussion, Polamalu is a lock, IMO. And this is coming from a longtime Bucs fan, FWIW.

 

That was my thinking, along with what a unique player Polamalu was. Of course, give some credit to Cowher, Tomlin and LeBeau for being smart enough to give Polamalu so much freedom.

 

Polamalu was a first ballot Hall of Famer if ever there was one, OOP, but I think you are unintentionally slighting Blount, Lambert and Ham in your rating him second only to Greene.