Troy Polamalu Press Conference Transcript Thursday February 3rd Super Bowl XLV
QUOTES FROM PITTSBURGH STEELERS PRESS CONFERENCE
SAFETY TROY POLAMALU
(on his health) “My health is well, thank God.”
(on if he’ll be 100 percent for the game) “At this point, nobody is 100 percent in football but I’m as good as everybody else, I would think.”
(on what being named Defensive Player of the Year means to him) “I think it meant a whole lot to my teammates, quite honestly, more than anything. It’s a tremendous honor, obviously, given the amount of players that are out there. I think other guys were more deserving. The guy on the other end of the ball, Clay Matthews; James Harrison might be the best candidate. Ed Reed, Julius Peppers, all these guys are great candidates. I think they are probably more worthy of the award than myself.”
(on what he sees from the Green Bay Packers’ offense) “An excellent, efficient offense. An offense that makes a lot of big plays. They get good leads so their defense can open up a little bit.”
(on if Green Bay’s running game is something Pittsburgh’s defense should be concerned about) “Teams that have been successful are going to have a little bit more balance than anything. That’s always our first concern.”
(on if his play has been a bit more quiet during the playoffs by design or if it has turned out that way) “We’re winning games. If I’m not heard, I’m happy as long as we’re winning games.”
(on Pittsburgh’s team philosophy on defense) “It’s the ultimate team sport. It takes so many elements that go into making a play and that’s from pressure to the quarterback to great coverage for making sacks, to the right call, the right game situation, the right personnel on offense; there’s all these different factors that go into making plays.”
(on if he’s bored going to the Super Bowl three out of the last five years) “Absolutely not.”
(on Green Bay safety Nick Collins) “Quite honestly, I haven’t seen any of their defense too much but in order to have success, their defense has to have great safety play. I do understand that enough about the style of defense that Green Bay plays.”
(on if safety is a position that can be played in the spotlight or as a supporting role) “The success of the defense is dependent on the success of the safety play. I’m speaking in particular about this style of defense because we play very similar styles of defense. You could have a safety that may not make any interceptions or make any of the spotlight, but in order for the defense to have success you can’t give up big plays. And that allows other guys like Clay Matthews in their defense to make plays on the quarterbacks. But it’s a give-and-take, too. James Harrison allows us to make a lot of in the back end and Lamar Woodley because they force the quarterback into fast decisions.”
(on the similarities between how Charles Woodson is used at Green Bay and himself) “I’m not too familiar with their defense. I’ve heard that he’s their nickel back and the nickel back is very flexible in our scheme. But I’ve also heard they use him at safety as well. Whenever you have that flexibility, it give you a lot of freedom in order to give the quarterback different disguises, different looks. He may think you’re in a nickel package, but in fact, you’re in a base package. He may think that because he’s playing safety, that means he’s going to play man-to-man on somebody, when in fact, he’s drop into a zone.”
(on how Green Bay secondary-safeties coach Darren Perry impacted his career) “He had everything do; he was like a father to me. We went through a lot together because it was my rookie year. It was a tough, emotional experience for myself because I had a really tough year. So he helped me get over that hurdle of confidence and learning the defense.”
(on if Green Bay secondary-safeties coach Darren Perry would make a good NFL defensive coordinator) “Absolutely.”
(on being the most popular player in the Super Bowl in Mexico) “Quite honestly, it’s awesome to have support from the Mexican community. Maybe it’s because of my past; went to Southern California. Mostly because the Steelers get so much tremendous support from all the cities with large Mexican communities, anytime we play in Phoenix or Dallas, San Diego, even San Francisco, we get so much support. I got a really sweet Mexican jersey the other day, too.”
(on the thought that a faction of people believe he is a decoy to defend the deep pass in the postseason) “I don’t know about decoy. I’m just playing the same position that I’ve always played.”
(on if he’s not taking as many chances blitzing in the postseason) “I wouldn’t call them chances by any means. When the call is for me to blitz, I’ll blitz. When it’s not, or if I’m in the middle third, obviously, you can’t take as many chances as you did when you were back there. It’s a formula that’s been working for us. We’ll see how the game evolves and whether it changes or not.”
(on why he thinks he hasn’t been in Pittsburgh’s blitz packages as much) “Because we’re winning. To be very clear and to the point, is we’re winning. That’s all it’s about.”
(on if he’ll be used more in the blitz packages this weekend) “I don’t know. I guess stay tuned.”
(on if his third trip to the Super Bowl has been any more special and that it may not happen again) “That always goes through my mind. It helps you appreciate the opportunity to play in the Super Bowl. Each game, if you want to look at it from one week to another; 16 games in the regular season we had and three-game postseason is unique within itself. Super Bowls are all unique experiences within themselves; different cities, different opponents, different culture.”
(on what it means to get to the Super Bowl with this current Pittsburgh team) “You always look back on the experience after you win the game. We’ve been fortunate enough to be in this game and not walk away when the confetti is not in black and gold. But that has everything to do with the experience. I don’t know how you look back at this season, but to this point, it’s amazing. It’s amazing that guys like James Farrior and Hines Ward, these cornerstones of our locker room, have led us to this point for a third time.”
(on if he has thought about how long he wants to play football) “Me? No. I’m a day-to-get-day guy, not a year-to-year guy.”
(on if he looks around the locker room and sees players who may be in their final year) “Our strength has never been in our talent. It’s always been in our virtues, of our hard work and most importantly our camaraderie, our humility and how we respect the game and respect our opponents. That’s something youth can never have. It takes a lot of experience. It takes a lot of chemistry, a lot of life experience to have that.”
(on slowing down Aaron Rodgers) “Our game plan never changes. I wouldn’t expect anything different from us. It’s always about applying pressure. It’s about tackling the catch. More importantly, it’s about tackling the catch. You know that his receivers will get the ball because he’s such an efficient quarterback; to tackle the guys and then not to give up big plays and let the ball get over our heads.”
