Steelers have a long history of winning defensive player of the year awards

Troy Polamalu, S

Only two years after along came another Steelers player who re-defined the position he played, Troy Polamalu. Although he had a lackluster first season and drew criticism from the Pittsburgh media, a year later, all that changed, and Troy became a premier safety in the NFL.

Troy did things no other defensive back could do. Leap over the line of scrimmage on the snap to stop a play before it started, make next to impossible one-handed interceptions; he had an uncanny a 6th sense about what was going to happen before it did. Former teammate Ike Taylor nicknamed him baby Jesus. The nickname stemmed from Troy’s faith and the fact that God whispering in his ear explained his unusual instinctual ability.

Something that infuriates former Colts punter Pat McAfee to this day. In Week eight of the 2014 season, the Colts had the ball at the Steelers’ seven-yard line and had a fake field goal set up from that spot. However, for no explainable reason, Troy decided not to line up in his normal position and lined up in the “C” gap, thus ruining Pat McAfee’s chance of scoring his first touchdown in the NFL. Troy later explained he had a Peter Parker-like spidey sense and decided that lining up in the ‘C” gap was the right thing to do

After already helping the Steelers win two titles in 2005 and 2008, Troy rose to the occasion in 2010. In only 14 games, he had a season-high of seven interceptions and 101 return yards. He had 11 passes defended, his 3rd highest single-season mark. With that, he had one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, one sack, 63 combined tackles, 49 solo tackles, 14 assists, six tackles for a loss, and two quarterback hits.

Next to the award, Troy made it to eight pro-bowl nominations and a four-time all-pro along with two Superbowl rings.