By Jim Wexell
SteelCityInsider.com
Posted Dec 4, 2008 

One of Dick LeBeau's favorite all-time players is Troy Polamalu, who, according to the Pittsburgh Steelers' defensive coordinator, is having his best season yet.

PITTSBURGH – Troy Polamalu missed Thursday’s practice with a calf injury, but the NFL’s leading interceptor doesn’t believe it’ll keep him from playing Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys.
That was good news to Dick LeBeau, because the Steelers’ defensive coordinator believes Polamalu is playing his best football ever.

“I just couldn’t name the amount of plays that he’s cut off with his range and his diagnostic intuition in just getting to where the ball is,” LeBeau said. “When the ball’s breaking on him, he always shows up. And if he doesn’t get the guy on the ground, he sure does slow him up long enough for the posse to get there.

“He’s invaluable to us back there. He’s done a great job all along, but this probably is his best year.”

It’s showing up in the team statistics, where the Steelers rank first in several categories, foremost being overall, run and pass defense. Polamalu also leads the NFL with six interceptions.

“He’s very unselfish and he’s not blitzing as much as he has in the past,” LeBeau said. “You look at the number of big plays that have gotten in there on this defense and a great part of the credit goes to our safeties and where they’ve been back there to keep those plays from hitting us deep. Troy and Ryan (Clark) together have been tremendous. Troy’s range, it just hits me whenever a play’s breaking. He always shows up, it seems like, and keeps it from going for a real big play.”

The Steelers have given up only one play over 41 yards this season, and that 65-yard catch by Reggie Wayne was tipped by Ike Taylor.

Per play, the Steelers allow a league-low average of 3.88 yards. The NFL record in 16-game seasons is 3.89 yards per play set in 1979 by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers