PITTSBURGH — There was a column in one of the local papers here Saturday that pronounced Baltimore’s Ed Reed the NFL’s best safety.
Which means Reed is better than Pittsburgh’s Troy Polamalu.
Reason for Steeler Nation to boycott the paper? Nah. Polamalu admitted Reed was better.
Reed may be the best safety, but let the record clearly show Polamalu plays safety on the better team. The Steelers beat the Ravens for the third time in three games this season, winning Sunday’s AFC championship 23-14.
“I think without a doubt this is the best defense I’ve ever played on,” Polamalu said.
Better than the 2005 defense that beat the Broncos in the AFC championship?
“This team had to rely more on the defense to win games this year,” Polamalu said. “We had to make more big plays. We caused and forced a lot more turnovers than we have in the past.”
Trailing all game, the Ravens rallied to within 16-14 and had the ball, third down at their own 29 with 4:39 left. Ravens rookie quarterback Joe Flacco threw a pass near the sticks intended for Derrick Mason. Polamalu, though, was reading Flacco’s eyes.
Polamalu intercepted the pass, made a terrific 40-yard runback to the end zone and gave Steeler Nation reason to exhale.
“When you have a great pass rush and your responsibility allows you to freelance in a way, it’s the easiest thing to do — where- ver he looks, you just drift that way,” Polamalu said. “Sometimes it doesn’t work. I can tell you a lot of times throughout the season I messed up plays like that. You get lucky every once in a while.”
Mike Klis, The Denver Post
