Troy Polamalu Best Player in AFC North?

[ed.s52]

As a player, looking at it simply, Polamalu is more of a run-stuffer and Reed more of a coverage guy. Both have their advantages, but taken that Reed has great scoring ability when he makes interceptions and that this is now a pass-happy league I am inclined to take Reed not to mention he is still complete with his run game and would take him. As for Lewis, now, no, in his prime he was probably the best player in the AFC North as long as I can remember/

[DocMartin]

[quote name='flynismo' date='25 May 2010 - 07:54 PM' timestamp='1274831676' post='414371']
Hairball is definitely the most well rounded safety in the game, and that includes Ed Reed.

Its funn this topic came up, because my brother and I just had a big debate...he thinks that Reed and Hairball get too much hype, and that Bob Sanders is nearly as good as either.
I claimed that Sanders is a poor man's Polumalu, and that after Reed and Hairball, there is a significant drop in talent in the rest of the safeties in the league.

Personally, whether or not bias is a factor, I'd rather have Reed. We all know what he brings to the table, but I think people dont give enough respect for his run support. A great example was his one armed tackle of Adrian Peterson in open field last year...Reed saved a certain TD.
Reed is no Hairball when it comes to the run game, but he's good enough at it for me..
[/quote]
Somewhat agree with the statement.
Yes, Hairball Polamalu is the best [b]Strong Safety[/b] in AFC, probably in NFL
Yes, Ed Reed is the best[b] Free Safety[/b] in AFC, probably in NFL.
But [b]The Best Player in AFC North is RB Ray Rice[/b]. The Best Player in AFC North is Ray Ricee as of this time. And when and if Hairball Polamalu catches him and makes a great play on him - I may change my mind. But as of this moment it is Ray Rice - 2nd in most yards from the line of scrimmage in 2009. (Chris Johnson was 1st).

[1/28/01]

[quote name='DocMartin' date='26 May 2010 - 12:01 AM' timestamp='1274846474' post='414460']
Somewhat agree with the statement.
Yes, Hairball Polamalu is the best Strong Safety in AFC, probably in NFL
Yes, Ed Reed is the best Free Safety in AFC, probably in NFL.
But The Best Player in AFC North is RB Ray Rice. The Best Player in AFC North is Ray Ricee as of this time. And when and if Hairball Polamalu catches him and makes a great play on him - I may change my mind. But as of this moment it is Ray Rice - [b]most yards from the line of scrimmage in 2009. [/b]

[/quote]

Wrong bro, that was Chris Johnson

[DocMartin]

[quote name='1/28/01' date='26 May 2010 - 12:03 AM' timestamp='1274846635' post='414463']
Wrong bro, that was Chris Johnson
[/quote]
Dang it, correction - 2nd best, right?

[1/28/01]

[quote name='DocMartin' date='26 May 2010 - 12:07 AM' timestamp='1274846846' post='414465']
Dang it, correction - 2nd best, right?

[/quote]
yeah......CJ beat our boy by a ridiculous 450 some odd yards. Crazy!!!!

[Integrity]

Something to consider; back when Ed Reed won NFL defensive player of the year in 2004 he was playing the Strong Safety position. There's no question, when healthy he can play Troy's position at an elite level, the question is can Troy play Ed's position at an elite level?

[DocMartin]

[quote name='1/28/01' date='26 May 2010 - 12:14 AM' timestamp='1274847282' post='414468']
yeah......CJ beat our boy by a ridiculous 450 some odd yards. Crazy!!!!
[/quote]
Hmm, "lousy 450 yards", haha, that's a bummer. And still not enough to make Playoffs. Should of throw some TD's, I guess.......................LOL

[flynismo]

[quote name='GuitarScott' date='25 May 2010 - 09:14 PM' timestamp='1274840074' post='414427']
I'm gonna go out on a limb here. And say that IMHO Ray rice is the best player in the afcn. Based on his performance last year, he had the most productive year of any player in the division. Reed and hairball were good, when healthy. Ray lewis saved the Charger game, but lost one of the Cincy games for us. Rice had no major flaws in his game. Couple fumbles and a INT by flacco vs Indy is all I can think of. If were speaking of Defense though, I'd say Ed. Troy makes you change your gameplan every play, but Ed reed changes the QB's decision making 10x moreso. IE Cincy Pick 6.
[/quote]

Thats a heckuva stretch, for the time being.....I have no doubt that Ray may very possibly become the best player in the league, not just the division, at some point in his career. But he needs to repeat last seasons performance a couple more times before we can start calling him the best.

FWIW, it's a real treat to know that Rice may never even be the best player on his own team. Flacco, Oher and Gaither are definitely going to give him a serious run for his money for that crown, and I think Kindle, Webb and Kruger have a shot at it too.

[BloodRaven]

I can accept that, Polamalu is an incredible safety in his own right.

[Twoo]

Troy is the best strong safety in the AFC North, but it's one heck of a long shot to call him the best player. Ed Reed is without a doubt the best player in the AFC North.

[b]Ed Reed:[/b]
6x probowler, 6x all pro, NFL defensive player of the year
458 tackles, 70 pdef, 46 interceptions for 1,255 yards

[b]Troy Palamalalalmalu:[/b]
5x probowler, 3x all pro
452 tackles, 60 pdef, 20 interceptions for 227 yards

That being said, how are you going to tell me Troy is a better player than Ed? James Walker is an idiot.

[Eduardo - Brasil]

Are u kiding me? #52 and the #20 are better players than Polamalu. By the way, Reed and Mason deserve a SB ring, and this year could hapen..

[Twoo]

[quote name='Eduardo - Brasil' date='26 May 2010 - 09:35 AM' timestamp='1274880959' post='414544']
Are u kiding me? #52 and the #20 are better players than Polamalu. By the way, Reed and Mason deserve a SB ring, and this year could hapen..
[/quote]

Concordo com voce completamente.

[Eduardo - Brasil]

AUEHAHeauHeUhea....

se a gente começa a fala português aqui os caras vão chuta a gente.... =)

[Twoo]

[quote name='Eduardo - Brasil' date='26 May 2010 - 09:42 AM' timestamp='1274881333' post='414546']
AUEHAHeauHeUhea....

se a gente começa a fala português aqui os caras vão chuta a gente.... =)
[/quote]

Concordo. Nos provavelmente deveriamos ater apenas ao Ingles.

Hopefully my port isn't too bad- been a few years since I spoke/wrote.

[Eduardo - Brasil]

me too, I graduate at English School 7 years ago, and never pratice.

Sorry "felas" my english suck... hAhahAHAhAhA

[Runnin Raven]

[quote name='Twoo' date='26 May 2010 - 09:11 AM' timestamp='1274879507' post='414538']
Troy is the best strong safety in the AFC North, but it's one heck of a long shot to call him the best player. Ed Reed is without a doubt the best player in the AFC North.

[b]Ed Reed:[/b]
6x probowler, 6x all pro, NFL defensive player of the year
458 tackles, 70 pdef, 46 interceptions for 1,255 yards

[b]Troy Palamalalalmalu:[/b]
5x probowler, 3x all pro
452 tackles, 60 pdef, 20 interceptions for 227 yards

That being said, how are you going to tell me Troy is a better player than Ed? James Walker is an idiot.
[/quote]
Great stats. I didn't know how it shook out from that perspective. How old is Troy?

[Twoo]

[quote name='Runnin Raven' date='26 May 2010 - 09:47 AM' timestamp='1274881637' post='414549']
Great stats. I didn't know how it shook out from that perspective. How old is Troy?
[/quote]

Reed is 31, Troy is 29.

[quote name='Eduardo - Brasil' date='26 May 2010 - 09:47 AM' timestamp='1274881623' post='414548']
me too, I graduate at English School 7 years ago, and never pratice.

Sorry "felas" my english suck... hAhahAHAhAhA
[/quote]

No worries, I speak 5 languages fluently- so I get a bit jumbled up sometimes as well.

[samic]

This argument is pointless really. What matters most is who has the best TEAM in the AFC North. Troy can take the title of best player any day, just give me the division title, thank you.

[MKdave]

Assuming Troy returns to 100% of his previous form, (which is a dangerous assumption) he's hands down the best player in the AFCN, potentially the NFL. Of course the reason that Ed isn't is that he never came back from an injury to full strength so Polamalu could very well suffer a similar fate, and should he have to tone down his physicality he'll be no where near as capable of adjusting and remaining productive as Ed was. For me, Reed's virtual inability to solo tackle means that, even as a defensive back, he's a liability in the running game. And when you have gaps as big as that in you're game then you can't be the best. Especially at a position that has such a varied job desciption. I'd say Rice is in the conversation for best AFCN player, to a greater extent than both Ray and Ed, but I'd still give it to a healthy Polamalu because of how terrible the Steelers were without him.

[Runnin Raven]

Doesn't Ray have like 28 career picks? That is just amazing to me. That is a freaking ball-hawking nightmare for QBs (Ed/Ray).

[Twoo]

[quote name='Runnin Raven' date='26 May 2010 - 10:14 AM' timestamp='1274883278' post='414559']
Doesn't Ray have like 28 career picks? That is just amazing to me. That is a freaking ball-hawking nightmare for QBs (Ed/Ray).
[/quote]

If he gets 2 more he's the second member of the 30/30 club.

[Awesomo]

[quote name='Twoo' date='26 May 2010 - 04:39 PM' timestamp='1274884770' post='414564']
If he gets 2 more he's the second member of the 30/30 club.
[/quote]
who is the other one?

[WinnipegRaven]

[quote name='Awesomo' date='26 May 2010 - 08:55 AM' timestamp='1274885730' post='414568']
who is the other one?
[/quote]

Rodney Harrison

[Bltravens]

Before Ed's neck injury, Ed used to do what Troy does now. Ed was an animal against the run, used to blow up TEs almost 50 pounds heavier than him across the middle, and blow up WRs too. When Ed won his DPOY award and before 2007 Ed did pretty much what Troy does now. Troy is the better all around player in the AFC North now, but Ed was doing it before Troy was, and unlike Troy Ed didnt need a couple years under his belt to figure out how he was going to make an impact and play well. Ed did it out the womb lol. And I would venture to say that if Troy had the same injury Ed did, limiting him he wouldnt play to the same level that Ed has done with that injury.

[indianstick]

ed reed can solo tackle..a lot of his misses last season were because he was going for the ball and he stopped doing that toward the end of the season..the real reason why ed doesn't get too many tackles is bc it usually never gets to him..and like many people have said before he hasn't been 100% for the past two seasons atleast

[Brendan Ayres]

I can't really argue with this one. He's proclaiming that Polamalu is the best player right now, and he's probably right. If he was talking about a couple years ago, then I think he would be talking about Ed Reed. Until Ed can prove that his injury problems are behind him, then Polamalu is the best AFC North player at this time.

[FerrariFan87]

Sorry, but I'll take Ray Rice as the best overall player in the division at this point in time.

[Brendan Ayres]

[quote name='FerrariFan87' date='26 May 2010 - 01:24 PM' timestamp='1274891055' post='414594']
Sorry, but I'll take Ray Rice as the best overall player in the division at this point in time.
[/quote]

If he can equal (or somehow manage to surpass) what he did last year, then I'd say you're right on there.

[FerrariFan87]

[quote name='Brendan Ayres' date='26 May 2010 - 12:34 PM' timestamp='1274891671' post='414597']
If he can equal (or somehow manage to surpass) what he did last year, then I'd say you're right on there.
[/quote]

He'll easily match his production from last year. Bringing in Boldin & Stallworth (and re-signing Mason), drafting the two young TEs, and having a healthy Todd Heap in the fold for the first time in a long time, will have Rice seeing a lot more 7 man fronts than last year, and with our strong, athletic O-line starting to gel day by day, he's going to be a force.

[Dan The Man Ravens #1 Fan]

Can someone post a link to this whole subject. I did a quick browse and couldnt find where Walker made this statement. I'd like to check it out. Thanks