Pittsburgh Steelers & former USC All-American Safety Troy Polamalu looked like he was going to guarantee his sixth straight Pro Bowl appearance in the 1st half of the 1st game of the 2009-10 NFL Season against the Tennessee Titans. He picked up six solo tackles and an incredible 40-yard one-handed interception, which he returned for 16 yards, all in the opening 30 minutes. While covering the entire field and showing off his sub-4.4 40-yard speed, the long-haired safety picked up 3 personal fouls of his own for 30 yards.
The 2nd half did not go so well for the perennial Pro Bowler. At the 12-minute mark, a huge hit by Steelers LB James Harrison caused the ball to pop loose and Troy attempted to pick it up and exhibit his offensive play-making abilities. In doing so, his leg was trapped under another player scrambling for the football and he was out for the rest of the game with a knee injury. There has been no report yet on the severity of the injury. Madden Curse anybody?
The only highlight for Polamalu in the 2nd half was his new Head & Shoulders commercial. So EA Sports Madden Football, Head & Shoulders, Coke, and Nike just to name a few...not a bad group of athletic endorsements.
Playing for the Titans was the bruising back LenDale White, who supposedly lost 40 pounds by giving up tequila (Patron to be specific). In a later interview, he claimed that forfeiting late night In-N-Out helped a bit, too. White was only given the ball in the first 3 quarters, finishing with 8 carries for 28 yards & 1 reception for 5 yards. Not a great day for White, but he was going against arguably the top defense in the NFL and last years Super Bowl Champions.
This game went into overtime and ended with a 33-yard Jeff Reed field goal to give the Steelers the victory. Titans kicker Rob Bironas is usually automatic, but missed two 1st half field goals, which would have given the Titans enough points for an extremely solid road win.
Final Score: Tennessee Titans 10 @ Pittsburgh Steelers 13
Quick Note: There were several notable Trojan fans in the crowd for the opening game. Former USC All-American wide receiver, Super Bowl X MVP, and 2001 Hall of Fame Inductee Lynn Swan was in attendance, along with Calvin Broadus. You might know Calvin a little bit better as Snoop Dogg, who is a huge LenDale supporter. To quote Al Michaels, "Snoop loves his Pittsburgh Steelers and loves his USC Trojans!"
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