Troy Polamalu – The Face Of The Steelers Defense

This summer, a revised edition with new chapters and updated stats, dedicated to the Black and Gold book will be coming out in stores entitled “100 Things Every Steelers Fan Should Know Before They Die.”

The book, which is being published by Triumph Books, will be available in all major book stores and will retail for $14.95. It is currently available for pre-order through Amazon and Borders, and is set to arrive in stores early September.

Through the reminder of the summer, we’ll give Steelers Gab readers a sneak peek of some chapters of the book. Today we highlight chapter 47 – “Troy Polamalu” – he’s the face of the Steelers D – today and tomorrow for a unit that needs a new look.

The Steelers have always felt that the best way to build a championship team is through the NFL Draft, and the drafting of Steelers safety Troy Polamalu in 2003 once again proved that theory correct.

The club had not made a Super Bowl since the 1995 season, and they knew they needed a playmaker on the defensive side of the ball. Polamalu was the player they targeted when draft day arrived in 2003.

Several off-season events led up to Polamalu coming to Pittsburgh. First, the team was shunned by free agent safety Dexter Jackson, who left Tampa Bay and, after agreeing to a deal with the Steelers, backed out to ink with Arizona.

Then, on draft day, though the Chargers were eyeing Polamalu to replace Rodney Harrison with their 15th pick, they traded down. With Polamalu still available, the Steelers moved up, making a deal with the Chiefs to move from 27 to 16 to grab the USC safety.

The pick was historic for Pittsburgh—Polamalu was the first safety the team had ever taken in the first round. Since then, he has become the unqualified face of the franchise, playing with reckless abandon every play, saying a prayer after every play, and seemingly coming up with a play that makes the highlight films every week.

That abandon was his worst enemy though in the 2009 season, as playing on special teams in Week 1 versus Tennessee he injured his knee and was limited to just three games the entire season.

Don’t forget, order the book through Amazon and Borders.