In their franchise’s history, the Pittsburgh Steelers have had multiple legendary defenders. Joe Greene likely takes the top spot, but when it comes to more modern players, Troy Polamalu stands out as the best. Polamalu was one of the best safeties in NFL history. There’s a good argument to be made that he is the best. However, former NFL safety Earl Thomas III believes he’s better than Polamalu.
“I’m better than Ed Reed,” Thomas said recently on Josina Anderson’s podcast, The Exhibit. “I’m better than Troy Polamalu.”
Not does Thomas think he’s better than Polamalu, but he also believes he’s superior to Reed. That would basically make him the best safety of the 21st century. Thomas was an incredible player, and he has a good chance of getting into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but he might think a little too highly of himself.
Thomas played from 2010 to 2019. He helped the Seattle Seahawks’ phenomenal Legion of Boom defense win a Super Bowl and then spent the final year of his career with the Baltimore Ravens. He was named a First-team All-Pro three times, also being named to a Second-team All-Pro twice. Additionally, he was named to seven Pro Bowls and ended up on the NFL All-Decade Team for the 2010s.
That’s a lengthy resumé but compare it to Polamalu’s. Playing from 2003 to 2014, Polamalu was named a First-team All-Pro four times. He was also named a Second-team All-Pro twice, making eight Pro Bowls as well. Most importantly though, Polamalu won the Defensive Player of the Year award in 2010 and led the Steelers to two Super Bowl victories.
Thomas was a special player, and he comes close, but he’s no Polamalu. That list of accomplishments doesn’t even do Polamalu justice. He just seemed like a different beast on the football field. It seemed like he had a sixth sense that just allowed him to play at a different level.
When asked what he thinks Steelers fans would think about him saying that he’s better than Polamalu, Thomas was dismissive.
“I beat the Steelers. It was a crazy thing that happened with me and the quarterback. That would be the only big thing that happened that game where Steelers fans would remember me. I didn’t play the second game. I sat out that game.”
The game Thomas is referring to came in Week 5 of the 2019 season. The Baltimore Ravens were in Pittsburgh playing the Steelers, and Thomas crushed quarterback Mason Rudolph. That hit led to Devlin Hodges coming in to start.
It sounds like the point Thomas is trying to make is that he beat the Steelers, and therefore, he showed their fans why he’s such a good player. However, that argument becomes much weaker when he compares himself to Reed. Steelers fans got to see a lot of him too, and he definitely made more plays beyond just knocking a quarterback out.
Thomas does go on to explain why he believes he’s better than Reed and Polamalu, and it only continues to weaken his case.
“I saw the older career of Ed Reed, the older career of Troy [Polamalu]. Based on what I saw from that, I’m better than these guys.”
So, Thomas isn’t even comparing himself to Polamalu’s entire body of work. It sounds like he’s only comparing himself to Polamalu during the last few years of his career. Still, Polamalu was a dominant player for the first few years of Thomas’ career. He never won Defensive Player of the Year.
It sounds like Thomas needs to go back and study Polamalu’s whole career before he confidently proclaims himself as the better player. There was no need to bring up Polamalu’s name. All Thomas had to say was that he feels like he’s one of the best safeties ever. That’s not an untrue statement. Saying he’s better than Polamalu just because he’s younger is bizarre though.
