FanHouse TroyPolamalu

The Steelers are 1-2, without Troy Polamalu, and face a huge test against the Chargers on Sunday night. The biggest story line heading into the weekend? Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers' offensive line headlining a WWE Raw (!) event Monday night.

Evidently, there are concerns that Big Ben and his five fat friends aren't taking their day jobs seriously. Because everyone knows that true professionals think about football every waking moment.

In any event, left tackle Max Starks isn't worried. Via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

It's not quite the harbinger of doom of, say, Joey Porter taking one in the backside just before the 2003 season, or Big Ben helmetlessly head-butting asphalt four months after winning Super Bowl XL, but if the Steelers' tank in 2009 I'm blaming Troy Polamalu.

The Redskins defeated the Steelers in their Week 2 preseason matchup Saturday, but despite the meaningless victory, there are still concerns about Washington's inert offense. It starts with quarterback Jason Campbell, of course, although fans now have a new favorite backup quarterback should things get to that point.

The defense is a different story, however. Free-agent acquisition Albert Haynesworth and first-round pick Brian Orakpo have suddenly given Washington a pass rush, and as Pittsburgh and Baltimore (the 'Skins opponent last week) can attest, a suffocating defense can mask a lot of offensive shortcomings.

The '09 Redskins defense isn't yet on par with some of the league's best units, but it wouldn't come as a complete surprise if that changed in the coming months. Because in addition to Haynesworth and Orakpo, there's also free safety LaRon Landry who, according to safeties coach Steve Jackson is, well, just keep reading (via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Ed Bouchette):

The knock on Vernon Gholston coming out of Ohio St. was that he took plays off, even as the most physically gifted player on the field. His rookie season with the Jets didn't change that perception, especially since he was taken sixth overall in the 2008 NFL draft.

Gholston's final stats: 15 games played, no starts, 13 tackles, no sacks. In January, shortly after getting the Jets head-coaching gig, Rex Ryan said that "We hope [Gholston] can be a great player ... A lot of us aren't sure, but we're going to find out. If he can't do it for me and for this team, he's never going to do it."

Every year, Madden comes out on Xbox. And every year I buy it. And every year, I don't play it enough. I know this will happen again this year and I don't care. As long as it's under $75, I'll buy it. And the introduction to this year's game (via PSAMP) only reinforces that notion, because, as usual, it is awesome. And gets me pumped; naturally, it features cover stars Larry Fitzgerald and Troy Polamalu. So, yeah, get excited Steelers fans and Will Leitch people who cheer for the Cards.

Cornerback Larry Brown was the first defensive player I remember who parlayed an MVP Super Bowl performance into a big payday. Brown intercepted quarterback Neil O'Donnell two times to help the the Cowboys defeat the Steelers during Super Bowl XXX. That offseason he signed with the Raiders for a nice little sum based primarily on that one performance.

He played just 12 games in two years with the Raiders, and he was out of football a year after that. I was reminded of Brown when reading about former Bucs safety Dexter Jackson. Jackson won MVP honors when Tampa Bay throttled Oakland in Super Bowl XXXVIII. And like Brown, he used the experience to pad his bank account.

Earlier this week, EA Sports released the player ratings for Madden 10. And now, with the NFL Draft in the rearview, and nothing else to do between now and training camps, we'll ponder the important questions. Like: How is [Player who is obviously rated too high] rated above [Player who is obviously rated too low]?

It's fun and original!

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.

It was 20 years ago that Bo Jackson became a pop-culture icon when Nike featured him in a series of "Bo Knows ..."commercials for what was then a new kind of shoe, the Nike Cross Trainer. Now Nike has come out with a new Trainer 1 shoe, and to celebrate the release they brought together superstars from all sports for the 2009 Nike Training Summit. Superstars like Amare Stoudemire, Brandon Roy, Larry Fitzgerald, Adrian Peterson, Troy Polamalu (right) and more talk about everything from who they think the greatest athletes are (Troy's answer will surprise you) to what other sports they would play if they could cross over like Bo (again, Troy's answer will surprise you).

Check out the video after the jump.

Will Brinson kicked it at The OC for the Nike Global Training Summit.

Troy Polamalu is best known for his lengthy hair and ability to punish anyone who ventures into the Pittsburgh secondary. What people might not know is that he's a rather large MMA fan, incredibly soft-spoken and a very spiritual gentleman.

FanHouse caught up with him at the Nike Global Training Summit and discussed his MMA fanhood, the likelihood of a Steelers repeat, and whether he's had any changes to his training regimen this offseason.

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Last week, I left the comfort of my mother's basement shoddy little East Coast apartment to rep FanHouse at the 2009 Nike Global Training Summit in Newport Beach, California. The primary reason for convening 50-some media members in sunny SoCal? The introduction of the Nike Trainer 1, the Swoosh's newest crosstraining shoe, which celebrates the 20-year anniversary of the "Bo Knows" campaign, featuring Bo Jackson.