Troy Polamalu, in a recent interview with the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, said that despite his sound tackling and generally consistent play, he expects more from himself.
Polamalu said that he was one of the main reasons why the Pittsburgh Steelers lost against the New Orleans Saints a week ago.
“I think there are times in games where there were a lot of opportunities to make plays, and I didn’t make them,” he told the Tribune-Review. “It doesn’t have anything to do with anything physical with me, and maybe I’m second-guessing myself a little too much. But, other than that, we’re 5-2.”
Polamalu, who has gone to the Pro Bowl five times in his career, is his harshest critic, free safety Ryan Clark told the newspaper.
“He can cover anybody in this league,” Clark said. “He can tackle anybody in this league. Some days, you’re not going to be at your best, and I think that was just the case for him [against New Orleans.] He feels like he let us down, but we have tremendous faith in Troy.”
Last week, Polamalu had some criticism for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and the newly-enacted helmet-to-helmet hit rule, saying that he has too much power.
“But, you know, he’s got all the power; that may be part of the problem, that there needs to be some type of separation of power like our government,” he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “There should be some type of players involved in decisions over how much people should be fined or what they should be fined for, as well as coaches, as well as front office people.”
Polamalu’s teammate James Harrison was fined twice this year by the league for hard hits.
“It’s football, you know. If people want to watch soccer then they can watch soccer,” Polamalu said in the interview.
During the game, there are hits that are hard to control. “If I’m aiming for his chest and he lowers his head, that shouldn’t be a fineable hit,” he said.
Polamalu said that he was one of the main reasons why the Pittsburgh Steelers lost against the New Orleans Saints a week ago.
“I think there are times in games where there were a lot of opportunities to make plays, and I didn’t make them,” he told the Tribune-Review. “It doesn’t have anything to do with anything physical with me, and maybe I’m second-guessing myself a little too much. But, other than that, we’re 5-2.”
Polamalu, who has gone to the Pro Bowl five times in his career, is his harshest critic, free safety Ryan Clark told the newspaper.
“He can cover anybody in this league,” Clark said. “He can tackle anybody in this league. Some days, you’re not going to be at your best, and I think that was just the case for him [against New Orleans.] He feels like he let us down, but we have tremendous faith in Troy.”
Last week, Polamalu had some criticism for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and the newly-enacted helmet-to-helmet hit rule, saying that he has too much power.
“But, you know, he’s got all the power; that may be part of the problem, that there needs to be some type of separation of power like our government,” he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “There should be some type of players involved in decisions over how much people should be fined or what they should be fined for, as well as coaches, as well as front office people.”
Polamalu’s teammate James Harrison was fined twice this year by the league for hard hits.
“It’s football, you know. If people want to watch soccer then they can watch soccer,” Polamalu said in the interview.
During the game, there are hits that are hard to control. “If I’m aiming for his chest and he lowers his head, that shouldn’t be a fineable hit,” he said.
