Cast your vote for the Pat Tillman Award

Posted by Mike Florio on February 17, 2011, 9:50 PM EST

We close out the awards on the defensive side of the ball by handing out the Pat Tillman Award.

The finalists are Steelers safety Troy Polamalu, Packers safety Nick Collins, Ravens safety Ed Reed, Chargers safety Eric Weddle, Saints safety Malcolm Jenkins, and Raiders safety Michael Huff.

Make your selection and we’ll declare a winner on Friday.

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39 responses to “Cast your vote for the Pat Tillman Award”

  5. Not sure what position he played in college, or whether he played at all, but I’d go with DeMaurice Smith, who is fighting in a war as we speak.

  6. Any player that starts to feel sorry for themselves if there is a lockout needs to remember Tillman and what he stood for. We all get tied up in our chosen profession, but there are bigger things. He knew that and made a choice that almost NO NFL player would make. It makes me want to puke when I think about Fat Albert Haynsworth compared to Tillman.

  7. you guys are idiots…pat tillman award shouldn’t be the best safety…tillman wasn’t a standout player in the NFL bc of skill…he was a quality person and mediocre safety…

    how can you anoint nick collins for one play in the superbowl?

    and troy? he’s a playmaker but the stats don’t add up…if you’re that good, you show up in the superbowl.

    Eric Weddle might not be your stand out player, but hes a quality safety who does what needs done…respect the guy who plays safety and does his job (polamalu is out of position and gives up more plays than he makes)….

    -Truth

  9. Being a safety seems to be like being a teacher. You get to take more than 25% of the year off and people still think you did your job.

  11. Bob Sanders, Ed Reed, and Troy Polamalu should all just retire today…you’re not worth anything to your team unless your on the field on a consistent basis..

    -Truth

  12. If you are one of the plurality who voted for Nick Collins over the likes of Polamalu and Reed, then you are stupid.

  14. All safeties? Did I miss a category that was just for CB’s?

    I clicked on this link ready to give Tramon Williams strong consideration only to find that he wasn’t a candidate, and quite frankly I don’t think Collins, Reed or Polamalu had anything close to their best season, for one reason or another. Malcom Jenkins had a pretty good year. I didn’t see much of Weddle or Michael Huff, I had no incentive to go out of my way to watch the secondary play of average teams in the AFC West.

  15. @onlythetruth10 …

    Apparently your grand illusion of truthfulness doesn’t require fact-checking … for instance, reading injury reports. Troy injured his Achilles at the end of the season. That’s why he was named Defensive Player of the Year for being a difference-maker in so many regular-season games but had little impact during the playoffs. And Ed missed the first four weeks of the season recovering from surgery but still managed to lead the league in interceptions.

    Every player is susceptible to injury and players who are injured don’t play their best. Duh.

    Polamalu and Reed were All Pro at the safety position this year. You are ba-dum-bump truly nuts if you think those two need to retire. 🙄

  18. There is no need to vote because ed reed or troy polamalu wins every award , im not hating on them because both of them deserve it ……..

  19. Pat Tillman is an American hero. I hope the nominees understand how truly blessed they are just to nominated for this award.

    God Bless Pat Tillman’s family. He will never be forgotten.

  20. michael huff ???? he had his best season and put up pro bowl stats but he did get burned a lot i wouldent put him in the same catagory as troy polamalu and ed reed…………..yet

  21. As a Packers fan, I voted for Nick Collins. But in all honesty, I’d have to say Polamalu wins it based on (forget the Super Bowl) all the game changing plays he made, and that he is very difficult to game plan against because he’s all over the field, and because he can jump over the center and disrupt a play as the ball is being snapped.

    People voting for Nick Collins are mostly Packer fans. He was a Pro-Bowler, and deservedly so, but not the best safety this year. The fact that he’s the top vote getter right now goes to show how many Packer fans come to this site.

  22. onlythetruth10 says: Feb 17, 2011 10:58 PM

    Bob Sanders, Ed Reed, and Troy Polamalu should all just retire today…you’re not worth anything to your team unless your on the field on a consistent basis..

    -Truth

    Signing every single one of your posts with a smug filled “truth” doesn’t make you any more right. Especially since you’re wrong.

    -Truth

  23. Earl Thomas had a great year for a rookie in Seattle.
    Better than Collins, and Jenkins, And equal to Huff and Polamalu.
    Why to ignore the obvious.
    Yeah I know…No one was paying attention to a great player in Seattle.
    Jagoffs

  25. @hobbstweedle Did you see the Saints try to play defense without Jenkins in the playoffs? He is the anchor of that team’s D.

  27. Honestly, Troy Polamalu and Ed Reed are two of the most overrated safeties in the league. Polamalu is part of the reason for the soft Steelers secondary. He’s never doing his job as a SAFETY because he’s too busy trying to make a play. Yes, he has 7 INTs and 1 FF, but can someone tell me how many times the Steelers gave up a TD pass because he’s out of position? Ed Reed isn’t a bad safety, but his INT numbers shouldn’t be the single reason he’s considered the best. With all that said, Mike Jenkins and Nick Collins are both better choices in my opinion, but I dont think ANY safety had an amazing year last season. O.J.Atogwe and Adrian Wilson should have both been considered too, I think.

  28. It’s got to be Troy Polamalu. Admittedly I’m a huge fan, but besides the tremendous regular season, Troy stands for something larger than football.

    He seems to really live his beliefs, and does a lot of charity work, especially with sick kids. He called out Roger Goodell, speaking truth to power.

    True, Polamalu didn’t lead the league in interceptions, but — no disrespect to Ed Reed — I’d think the Pat Tillman award stands for more than that.

  29. @tfbuckfutter –

    “Being a safety seems to be like being a teacher. You get to take more than 25% of the year off and people still think you did your job.”

    Get in the classroom for a 180 days – OR get on an NFL field as a Safety for 16 games.

    Either way, I think you may change your mind

  30. “grandpoopah says:
    Feb 17, 2011 11:33 PM
    If you are one of the plurality who voted for Nick Collins over the likes of Polamalu and Reed, then you are stupid.”

    Why? Because Polamalu got consistently beaten like a rented mule in the biggest game of the year and Collins not only was not, but made a huge play?

  31. It shouldn’t be anyone from Pittsburgh.

    Tillman was a winner who operated his life based on principles.

    Pittsburgh are losers who have a history of cheating with steroids, excusing rapists and ultimately losing.

    No, the Steelers and their fans are the opposite of principle driven people.

  32. I voted for Huff. Thought he had a pretty good year. Nice work by Reed, but it’s more than just INT’s for me.

    Polamalu may be the best safety in the game, but he didnt’ do anything special this year…which makes his DPOY award very strange to me. Seriously, look up the stats. Gerald Sensabaugh had a better year than Troy.

  33. Eric Berry should have been on this list. Next to Polamalu, he was probably the most dynamic safety in the league.

    Ed Reed got a lot of picks this year, but I was not impressed with his play, compared to some of his other seasons. He looked like he lost a step, but he had a step to give so he still remained one of the best. But like I said, he was not the same Reed from the last few seasons.

    Nick Collins is like the London Fletcher of safeties. He’s got a bigger name obviously, but he just solid in all phases of the game–not great.

  35. @youboettcha …

    Thanks for your comments about Polamalu. It’s increasingly rare to see anyone on this site who can comment objectively on players from other teams. Reading jessieboom’s and jrmbadger’s comments highlight how few people understand the safety position and how many will throw off a season of stellar performance to hype one play. You are a breath of fresh air.

    Troy did have one of the best regular seasons of his career. But I’d have awarded the Super Bowl MVP jointly to Collins and Matthews. As a Steelers fan, I admire great defense, and was impressed with what they brought to that game. Congrats on the win.

  37. Troy Polamolu is so deserving! I know that him nor anybody cannot replace the original man whom this award is named after, but Troy is a humble, and giving person on and off the field. He is amazing! He helps our defense in such a special way. His very presence gives our Steel Men a boost of confidence and love!
    One of the charity works he is involved in is called Operation Once in a Lifetime! For soldiers!!
    Operation Once in a lifetime is a 501 © (3) non-profit organization created to make the dreams of U.S. soldiers come true. The dream of a soldier is to come home alive, unwounded, to train safe, to love his country, his unit and his family. However being a soldier is not easy; it is filled with hardship, not just physically or emotionally, but financially.Operation Once in a Lifetime helps every soldier for every cause; wounded, unwounded, deployed, nondeployed, all ranks and all branches of the United States Armed Forces, you serve, you qualify.Every contribution will go to helping a soldier and their families, whether paying a soldiers electric bill, car payment or flying a soldier home.
    I cannot speak more highly of this man. He is respected by even non steeler fans. He is humble!
    Read more: http://www.looktothestars.org/charity/1657-operation-once-in-a-lifetime#ixzz1ERFed0BE

  38. I get so sick and tired of people fussing about Troy, get over it people!, this man is past deserving of this award!, whether or not, he played in one game, or all of them, he deserves this award, and it’s time to move on with your lives!, stop complaining about this man, troy deserves this!, whether or not he showed up for the sb, we got there, where was your team, could it be that they were on the couch along with you, watching it too??? Our team has taken a beating from the press, from other teams, and most of all, disgruntled fans from various places, let us be, and let’s go on with your life! this man is very humble, class, dignity, and style, he deserves this award!

  39. Ask the kids at Children’s Hospital, especially the ones in the Oncology units, if they think Troy should get this award. He shows up by himself, hair shoved in a hat, no media, no cameras, just to play video games and talk with the kids. He has been an enormous support and comfort to families who have children with cancer. He listens, he prays, he will just sit there quietly next to a sick child. He has even taken time out after games to text kids about the game. This man is humble, gracious and kind. He doesn’t expect praise for his good deeds and his kindness is not just for the cameras. It is a way of life for him. If this award is for qualities OFF the field, then hands down it’s his.

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