Who's the most indispensable Steeler?

Earlier this week, NFL.com had an article asking who was the most indispensable player in the NFL. Most of the people who contributed to the article went with either the Saints' signal caller Drew Brees; or the new quarterback in Denver, Peyton Manning.

This got me to thinking, what player in the Steelers is the most indispensable?

The players that came to mind for me were:

QB Ben Roethlisberger - The Steelers won zero Super Bowls between the Bradshaw and Roethlisberger eras. Since Roethlisberger has become the Steelers' starting quarterback, the team has won two Super Bowls and been to a third.

C Maurkice Pouncey - Most people wouldn't consider an interior offensive lineman indispensable. However, Pouncey is one of the top two centers in the AFC, if not the entire NFL. He makes a lot of the line calls and is the anchor of the offensive line.

OLB James Harrison - The attitude of the defense comes from Harrison. He plays mean, angry. He doesn't want to injure anyone, but he's not opposed to hurting somebody (his words, not mine). When he missed those games with a broken orbital bone (that's his eye socket), the Steelers defense had trouble getting to the quarterback.

OLB LaMarr Woodley - Woodley is another sackmeister, and it was obvious that the pass rush was hurt by him missing games and then being limited by a hamstring injury. When Woodley and Harrison are both on the field together, they are one of the best pass rushing duos in the league and big plays often happen. He has also won a Defensive Player of the Year award.

FS Ryan Clark - Ryan Clark is a hard hitting safety. He plays within the scheme and allows Troy Polamalu to be Troy Polamalu. He missed the playoff game against the Denver Broncos last season and Tim freaking Tebow (TEBOW OF ALL PEOPLE!!!!!) had his best game as a QB. If Clark is there, I think the Steelers probably win that game.

That's a pretty good list of candidates. They are all excellent players. They have all been to a Pro Bowl, they all have Super Bowl rings. However, none of them are the most indispensable player on the Pittsburgh Steelers.

That indication goes to Troy Polamalu.

He is the only player on the defense that's allowed to play outside of the scheme. He's allowed to play completely on instinct. He causes big plays. He's the one player on the defense in which the other team's quarterback has to know exactly where he is when the QB snaps the ball, not that it matters much because that spot is likely not where he will be when the ball is thrown.

Troy Polamalu is the ONLY player that I have ever seen dive over the offensive line and sack the quarterback. And he's done it twice.

If he's lined up at the line of scrimmage like a pass rusher, he's likely going to end up somewhere in the defensive backfield breaking up as pass or coming up with an absolutely stunning interception. If he's way back at his spot at safety, next thing you know he's in the offensive backfield chasing down the quarterback or stuffing the running back for a loss.

This is the guy that makes the Steelers defense so good. He allows Dick LeBeau to call a lot of those exotic schemes and blitzes. When Polamalu isn't players, it's a watered down version of the defense.