The Pittsburgh Steelers might not have linebacker James Harrison for their week 5 game against the Philadelphia Eagles, but it is looking good that safety Troy Polamalu will be back in uniform following the bye week.
Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports Saturday morning that Polamalu, who has missed the last two games with a strained calf, is optimistic that he will be ready to go a week from Sunday.
The Steelers all-everything safety practiced on both Tuesday and Wednesday of this past week. “It feels much better,” Polamalu said via the paper.
The Steelers defense has lacked splash plays through the first three games of the season and have failed to play well in the second half in the losses to both the Oakland Raiders and the Denver Broncos. In total the defense has allowed 44 second-half points in three games and allowed the Raiders to convert 7 of 8 second-half third down opportunities after stopping them on their first four in the first half.
Since being drafted the the Steelers are 88-34 (72%) overall with Polamalu in the starting lineup,
While the return of Polamalu to the line-up will not solve all of the Steelers problems defensively, he certainly will help it with his ability top freelance and makes plays. Ryan Mundy, who replaced Polamalu at strong safety the last two games, had a very rough game last week against the Raiders.
