Best of the Bus: Troy Polamalu Talks the Art Of Defense, Chasing Ed Reed + Life After Football

Summary

---

Bussin' With The Boys: "Best of the Bus: Troy Polamalu Talks the Art Of Defense, Chasing Ed Reed + Life After Football"

Date: October 11, 2025
Guests: Troy Polamalu | Hosts: Will Compton & Taylor Lewan
Episode Focus:
A deep-dive conversation with NFL Hall of Famer Troy Polamalu, covering life after football, raising athlete sons, the nuances of defensive football, legendary rivalries, and the wisdom gained from elite coaches like Dick LeBeau and Mike Tomlin. Polamalu’s humility, obsessive work ethic, and strategic brilliance as a football player underscore the conversation.

---

Main Themes & Episode Purpose

• Transition to Life After Football: Troy’s honest take on being a father, the realities of “sport dad” life, and keeping perspective away from the spotlight.
• The Art and Science of Defense: Meticulous preparation, study of fellow greats (like Ed Reed), and the mental chess of elite defensive football.
• Legendary Leadership: Behind-the-scenes stories and life lessons from Hall of Fame Steelers coaches Dick LeBeau and Mike Tomlin.
• Identity, Discipline, and Instinct: Insights on personal growth, balancing discipline with instinct, and what it means to really excel — as an athlete, a dad, and a teammate.

---

Structured Episode Summary

1. Troy Polamalu, The "Sport Dad": Humility Off the Field

[02:10 - 06:57]

• On Becoming a Regular Dad:

  • Troy emphasizes that post-NFL, "once sports are over with and, you know, like, you get into the stands, you become no different than any other dad." [02:41]
  • Jokes about how his sons don’t always care about his NFL credentials: "for my children, they don't...they don't care what I say, whether it's about football or not, really." [02:41]
  • Tried hard to not be the stereotypical "crazy sports dad" but admits he's cycled through all those roles. [02:41]

• Raising Young Athletes:

  • Discusses the type-A tendencies he has and the importance of structure, hydration, sleep, and diet, especially for multi-sport kids:
    • "The most important thing for kids and for any athlete is sleep, hydration, and then the diet and then the therapy and then the training." [05:11]
  • Studies how other famous sports dads operate, including Ed McCaffrey and Marv Marinovich (his own childhood trainer).
  • Balance is key: "There's a certain balance there. Absolutely. But without a doubt...it's always the little things...the accumulation, those little things that kind of make the big difference." [05:32]

• Parenting Styles and Communication:

  • His two boys are opposites: "One's very geared towards trying to please everybody, and one of them is very much about himself." [06:09]
  • They do watch old highlights, but Troy feels lucky they're "great listeners" and jokes about parental advice often going in one ear and out the other. [06:39]

• Notable Quote:

  • "We have a very great relationship with my two boys." [06:57]

---

2. "Jealous Athlete" and Chasing Ed Reed; The Mindset of Greatness

[11:19 - 15:16]

• Navigating Expectations:

  • On sons feeling pressure because of his legacy: "I tell them to embrace that, you know, that's only going to harden them, make them even better." [11:19]
  • Open about being a “jealous athlete” early in life, always trying to "knock down who's ever on top." Now uses that self-awareness to help coach his boys. [11:19]

• Obsession With the Game:

  • "Every year I watched five safeties and I would literally watch every single one of their plays, and I would make a highlight tape and a low light tape of all of them. So that's what I did throughout my whole career." [12:25]
  • Ed Reed was the main rival and model: "Ed was somebody...I would watch every single one of his plays. So obviously Ed is somebody who I admired." [12:42]
  • Also praised overlooked greats: "Donovan Darius, Bob Sanders, a lot of guys that don't get a lot of credit..." [12:49]

• On Tools for Growth:

  • Preparation and being a relentless student of the game—formatting life with the discipline learned in the NFL. Studied not just players, but also famous sports dads for lessons. [13:19]
  • "It's no secret, man. It's sacrifice, it's grit, it's hard work. It's no special talent that anybody else has." [13:57]

---

3. Dick LeBeau: The Sage Defensive Coordinator

[15:16 - 22:33]

• Tradition and Wisdom:

  • Legendary Steelers D-coordinator Dick LeBeau would recite "'Twas the Night Before Christmas," complete with his own intro, for the team. "I always look forward to that every year...you understand the level of like you kind of look around, you're like, dang, man, like this guy's reciting the whole poem." [16:08]
  • "Every day was like a wise, sage moment with him...it was just like every day was that." [20:18]

• Coaching Style:

  • Never a yeller or cursor—gave calm, profound advice and earned immense respect with his quiet steeliness.
  • "He'd come to DB line, just walk down...Ah, all of you guys don't amount to amount of interceptions that he would literally just go like that." [21:00, paraphrased]
  • Consistency is key: "He didn't change his message. It got stale. It never did that. But they always kept us excited and happy." [22:13]

• Unique Traditions:

  • Anecdote: LeBeau once ate a cheeseburger every day for 400 days just to see if he could. [23:01]

---

4. The Art of Defensive Instinct and Preparation

[24:06 - 32:01]

• Studying and Stealing From the Best:

  • "There's absolutely a lot of things for Ed [Reed] in particular that he would do that, I'm like, oh, man, I need to incorporate that." [24:06]
  • Used scout team as a laboratory to practice new disguises and tricks: "I want to do scout team because I'm like...I want to try some of the things I've seen some of these other safeties do." [24:21]

• On Practice and Skill:

  • "The only way that we can get better is to get, get bigger, stronger or faster...it's not get better at our skill development."
  • Cites Malcolm Gladwell's "Outliers" and the 10,000 hours principle: "I need to maximize reps on the field." [24:34]

• Defensive Versatility:

  • As a rookie, played almost every position, including both safeties, nickel, cornerback, and even rushing the passer.
  • "What was really cool about that, what terrible about that was I had to learn them all, which was terrible because my whole rookie year, I gave up...I gave up a touchdown again game. And it was. I. I'm serious." [29:41]
  • As his understanding grew, began actively switching positions mid-play ("I know the ball's going there, coach, I'm just going to switch with him."), adapting in real time—leadership and instinct in action. [30:58]

• Highlights a Crucial Lesson:

  • "What started to hurt our defense late in my career is you get rookies out there...I'm like, hey, man, you got curl the flat. He's like, what's curl the flat?" [32:01]

---

5. The Mental Chess of Defense and Team Communication

[32:25 - 39:51]

• Making Defensive Calls:

  • Remembers flipping coverage responsibilities on the fly during games, to confuse QBs and give different looks.
    • "I'm showing cover three the whole time, and Coach is yelling at the side, hey...you gotta be back. And I'm, like, trying to ignore him." [32:25]

• On Trust and Standards in the Back End:

  • Ryan Clark and Ike Taylor highlighted for willingness to play on the edge and fully communicate.
  • "The level of trust and exposure that we would consistently put each other in...it takes a lot of, like, cohesiveness to do that." [38:48]
  • "Ryan's communicating. Ike, cornerback Brian McFadden. They're cover zero oftentimes where, you know, we want to do some cowboy type stuff, but they...hold their own. They're the reason why we were, you know, as successful as we were." [38:48]

---

6. Mike Tomlin's Quiet Strength

[39:51 - 41:11]

• Coach Tomlin's Impact:
  • Praised for being a brilliant, young head coach with strong family values, preparation, and empathy.
  • "I really enjoyed his podcast with Ryan [Clark]...He’s not...like the Bill Belichick in the press conference, you know, like, completely opposite." [39:51]
  • "An amazing father, coach...So he's incredible. I actually so fortunate to have him Coach Cower. Dick LeBeau." [39:51]

---

7. Legendary Plays, Instincts, and the Mythos of Troy

[41:11 - 48:27]

• The Art Behind the Crazy Plays:

  • Questioned about his signature leaps and perfectly timed blitzes:
    • "If it didn't work ... it's called the Troy [as a joke]."
  • Breaks down his obsession with "reading" formations, personnel, even how linemen break the huddle:
    • "You know the difference between zero silent count or on two and the urgency that offensive lineman comes to. You know what I'm saying?" [41:31]
    • "That's where I started to develop this because I was like, man, everybody breaks the line very differently." [41:31]
  • Preparation creates freedom: "You have to overly prepare so that you can just be instinctual and be free rather than like be a student out there." [46:11]
  • "When I did jump...it was, I swear to you, pure instinct. It was just like afterwards, I make the play and like, oh man, it was a crazy ride." [46:11]

• On Iconic Hair and Identity:

  • Was there pressure to always keep the look?
    • "It was always part of my identity before...it was always my identity before I even had it." [47:46]
    • Nods to warriors across cultures: "All the greatest warriors through all time had long hair...Samurais, Native-Americans, ancient Hebrews to...Polynesians." [47:50]

---

8. Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Teaching and Learning:

  • "Sacrifice, grit, hard work...it's no special talent that anybody else has." [13:57]

• On Defensive Preparation:

  • "The most important thing for kids and for any athlete is sleep, hydration, and then the diet..." [05:11]
  • "You have to overly prepare so that you can just be instinctual and be free." [46:11]

• On Hall of Fame Coaches:

  • On Dick LeBeau: "Every day was a wise, sage moment with him." [20:18]

• On Legendary Plays:

  • "When I did jump...man, it was, I swear to you, pure instinct...it was a crazy ride." [46:11]

• On Identity:

  • "It was always part of my identity before I even had it." [47:50]

---

Resource Recap (Timestamps)

| Segment | Start | Highlights | |-----------------------------------|-----------|--------------------------------------------------------| | Sport Dad & Raising Athletes | 02:10 | Troy’s parenting approach & athletic family life | | Jealous Athlete/Ed Reed Rivalry | 11:19 | Learning from and competing with the game’s greats | | Dick LeBeau Stories | 15:16 | Legendary Steelers D-coordinator’s annual traditions | | Preparation/Instinct | 24:06 | Stealing from the best, the 10,000-hour mindset | | Defensive Trust | 34:51 | Importance of communication, partnership with Clark etc.| | Mike Tomlin Coaching | 39:51 | Tomlin’s unique presence and teaching | | Art of Signature Plays | 41:11 | Blitzes, instincts, reading the offense | | Hair as Identity | 47:12 | Mythos of “the hair” and Troy’s cultural pride |

---

Final Thoughts

This episode is a treasure trove for fans of both football strategy and personal growth. Troy Polamalu’s blend of humility, competitive fire, and deep study—both of football and of life—comes through in every answer, whether he’s discussing family, rivalry, or the magic of playing freely after putting in obsessive preparation. Behind the celebrated highlight reels is a lifetime of grit, empathy, and constant learning—on and off the field.

---

End of Summary

Transcript

[Troy Polamalu]

This is an iheart podcast.

[Maggie Freeling]

The murder of an 18 year old girl in Graves County, Kentucky went unsolved for years until a local housewife, a journalist and a handful of girls came forward with a story.

[Troy Polamalu]

America, y' all better wake the hell up. Bad things happens to good people in small towns.

[Maggie Freeling]

Listen to Graves county on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts and to binge the entire season ad free. Subscribe to Lava for Good plus on Apple Podcasts.

[Troy Polamalu]

Whenever I got through the window, I.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Tried to pick him up and his body was stiff. I'm Ben Westoff and this is the Peacemaker, a true crime podcast about a string of mysterious suicides at a Missouri university and fraternity brother tied to them all, Brandon Grosseim.

[Troy Polamalu]

The lawsuit says Grosseim was one of the last people to see each victim before their deaths.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Was he profoundly unlucky or was something.

[Troy Polamalu]

Much darker at play?

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Listen to the PeaceMaker podcast starting October 14th on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts.

[Troy Polamalu]

Or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up everybody? It's snacks from the trapped nerds and all October long, we're bringing you the horror. Boogity, boogity, boogity.

[Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman]

We kicking off this month with some.

[Podcast Co-host / Interviewer]

Of my best horror to keep you terrified. Then we'll be talking about our favorite.

[Troy Polamalu]

Horror and Halloween movies and figuring out why black people always die first.

[Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman]

And it's the return of Tony's horror show side Quest, written and narrated by yours truly.

[Troy Polamalu]

We'll also be doing a full episode reading with commentary, and we'll cap it off with a horror movie battle royale. Open your free iHeartRadio app and search Trapp Nerds podcast and listen now.

[Podcast Co-host / Interviewer]

Welcome to Busting with the Boys. We have an absolute legend with us, Troy Palamalu. Man, it is, it is an honor.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

To have you give a round of applause.

[Podcast Co-host / Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Troy Polamalu]

Outstanding.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Obviously, here on behalf of Frito Lays.

[Podcast Co-host / Interviewer]

Right, Frito Lays, Frito Lay, Cool Ranch, Cool Ranch, Doritos. Wherever the fun wants to take you. It is Frito Lay. Right before the pod, I was kind of asking off like, so, like, what have you been up to? Like, you, you've always done a very good job of staying under the radar. And he was getting into his two boys, 15 and 13. They're starting to get in the thick of it with sports. And, and what I wanted to ask is, what's it like being, you know, being like one of those sport fathers, being those sport dads, like, navigating that you're talking about teaching them hard work and everything else.

[Troy Polamalu]

Well, to tell you the truth, like, once sports are over with and, you know, like, you get into the stands, you become no different than any other dad. That's what I realized. Like. Like, first of all, for my children, they don't give a. They don't care what. What I say, whether it's about football or not, really. Secondly is I don't like. You know, the crazy sports dad thing is, is I've embodied that completely. I've tried my best not to be that person. So it's pretty funny. I've been all that. I've been the sports dad. I've been the coach. I've been all that. And that's. That's kind of been my experience since football, to be honest with you.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

We had Ed McCaffrey on here. He's talking about, obviously, his son Christian. He's playing in the super bowl and all that. And Christian was on last year talking about all the crazy things his dad would do during the recruiting process. Putting weights in his socks so he.

[Podcast Co-host / Interviewer]

Weighed more IV During. In the middle of school, pick him up for a night game, get an I.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

He went to a private school, and he had to wear jeans. And his dad be like, jeans a little heavy for game day, huh? Do you catch yourself, like, obviously having the success you did in the NFL and you see your young boys, like, soda playing?

[Podcast Co-host / Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

No soda, no carbonation. You don't want that in the belly.

[Troy Polamalu]

Yeah, yeah.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Like, you see your. Your young boys, like, starting their process.

[Troy Polamalu]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Is. Do you ever catch yourself being like, if, you know, hey, sleep routine, diet, all that? Because, like, when. I mean, all men didn't play in the league, but, you know, we just kind of ate whatever. Right. It was high school. You kind of just figured it as you win. But you having that knowledge, have you tried to put that on your kids at all?

[Troy Polamalu]

Yeah, but then you. But. But then you evolve towards doing what's most optimal for your body and for your health. Yeah, it's kind of tough, to be honest with you. I. I'm geared. I'm geared very much Type A, although I may not act that way, you know, So I am very regimented and how I view things, how I do things. So funny enough is, yeah, absolutely. I. I've watched that Ed McCaffrey, like, his Inside the NFL and everything that he'd done. That's how obsessed I am. I study other fathers to make sure, like, how can I be sports dad? So aside from that, a very infamous father and who I think is unfortunately characterized that way. Marv Marinovich was my trainer, so he was kind of, like, seen as the ultimate sports dad and, you know, bestowing all of his knowledge on his son. So, yeah, there is a certain balance there. Absolutely. But without a doubt, you know, as you know and you learn in the NFL is it's always the little things. You know, everybody does the big things. It's always the little things and the accumulation, those little things that kind of make the big difference in those inches that are millimeters that you try to gain throughout the sport. And for my son, it's a little bit of that. You know, I'm not telling him, you know, wear jeans or not wear jeans or any of that sort of stuff. Without a doubt. I tell them how important sleep is, how important. I'm saying this for all the other kids out there is, you know, the most important thing for kids and for any athlete is sleep, hydration, and then the diet and then the therapy and then the training. So the things that are under your control are the sleep, the diet, you know, and the hydration. So that's one thing that I. That I am very, you know, strict on is like, no, man, you gotta hydrate. If you want to play two sports, you want to play five sports, whatever the case is, like, these things are really important. So I am pretty strict about some of those things.

[Podcast Co-host / Interviewer]

Are they both. Are they both very different? Is one more Type A, Is one more like you, that you feel like, okay, I can coach him this way and coach the other one this way?

[Troy Polamalu]

Oh, yeah, absolutely. They're. They're exact opposite. One's very geared towards trying to please everybody, and one of them is very much about himself.

[Podcast Co-host / Interviewer]

Do they understand? I'm sure they do. But finding, like, that interest of, like, oh, my. My dad played at this high level. He's this hall of Fame guy. Like, the things he says, I'm more of a spong. Or is it very much that, you know, since you're the dad, one ear out the other at times. And then their coach says something like, I've been trying to tell you this the whole time.

[Troy Polamalu]

To be honest, I joke that my kids are like that, but they aren't. They're very. I'm very blessed. They listen really well. They do look up old highlights and things like that. But, you know, I'm very fortunate. Again, we have a very great relationship with my two boys.

[Podcast Co-host / Interviewer]

Do you love looking back at USC and watching that hit you put on? Oh, boy. What was it on special teams?

[Troy Polamalu]

Yeah, I Don't even know what you're talking about, man. Funny enough, on that hit, it was Aaron Lockett. Yeah, it was a terror. It was. It was a ill timed hit. But what I always tell people is that was the third one. The two before that were perfectly timed. So if you were to watch the whole game, you would have saw the two before that. But my wife was like, I had met her at that time right before and she was like, man, that guy's a cheap player. I hope I never meet that guy. I'd say something terrible to him like, yeah, I wouldn't want to meet him either. He's a piece of crap. She later found out it was obviously me.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

But yeah, with the kids, like sticking on that for just one more like.

[Troy Polamalu]

This is the story of the 1. As a maintenance supervisor at a manufacturing facility, he knows keeping the line up and running is a top priority. That's why he chooses Grainger. Because when a drive belt gets damaged, Grainger makes it easy to find the exact specs for the replacement product he needs. And next day delivery helps ensure he'll have everything in place and running like clockwork. Call 1-800-GRAINGER clickgrainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.

[Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman]

All I know is what I've been told. And that's a half truth is a whole lie.

[Maggie Freeling]

For almost a decade, the murder of an 18 year old girl from a small town in Graves County, Kentucky went unsolved until a local homemaker, a journalist and a handful of girls came forward with a story.

[Troy Polamalu]

I'm telling you, we know Quincy killed her.

[Maggie Freeling]

We know a story that law enforcement used to convict six people and that got the citizen investigator on national tv.

[Troy Polamalu]

Through sheer persistence and nerve, this Kentucky housewife helped give justice to Jessica Curran.

[Maggie Freeling]

My name is Maggie Freeling. I'm a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist producer. And I wouldn't be here if the truth were that easy to find.

[Podcast Co-host / Interviewer]

I did not know her and I.

[Troy Polamalu]

Did not kill her or rape or.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Burn or any of that other stuff that y' all said.

[Maggie Freeling]

They literally made me say that I took a match and struck and threw it on her. They made me say that I poured gas on her from lava for good. This is Graves County, a show about just how far our legal system will go in order to find someone to blame.

[Troy Polamalu]

America, y' all better wake the hell up. Bad things happens to good people and small towns.

[Maggie Freeling]

Listen to Graves county in the Bone Valley. Feed on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts and to binge the entire season ad free, subscribe to Lava for Good plus on Apple Podcasts.

[Narrator / True Crime Podcast Host]

In early 1988, federal agents raced to track down the gang they suspect of importing millions of dollars worth of heroin into New York from Asia.

[Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman]

We had 30 agents ready to go.

[Troy Polamalu]

With shotguns and rifles, and you name it.

[Narrator / True Crime Podcast Host]

But what they find is not what they expected.

[Troy Polamalu]

Basically, your stay at home moms were picking up these large amounts of heroin. They go, is this your daughter? I said, yes. They go, oh, you may not see her for, like, 25 years.

[Narrator / True Crime Podcast Host]

Caught between a federal investigation and the violent gang who recruited them, the women must decide who they're willing to protect and who they dare to betray.

[Troy Polamalu]

Once I saw the gun, I tried to take his hand and I saw the flash of light.

[Narrator / True Crime Podcast Host]

Listen to the Chinatown sting on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or anywhere you get your podcasts.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Was there ever a point in your life as your kids get older, they discover they go to school, their kids are talking about your kids, friends are talking about their. Their dad and, like, tempering those expectations as they kind of go into sports, like, hey, you don't have to, like, the goal is not to, like, achieve what I did. It's like to be the best version of yourself. Did you ever have, like, were they ever struggling with that or anything?

[Troy Polamalu]

Yeah, I think naturally they. My son plays football. They both will be playing tackle football, so I think naturally they're going to deal with that. And I mean, you guys have been in this all. We've been all the same circles. You know, these things aren't to an advantage to anybody, you know, in our circle. But I tell them to embrace that, you know, that's only going to harden them, make them even better, you know, in a lot of ways. And also is, you know, I've also been on the other side of where I've always been the jealous athlete, always trying to knock down who's ever on top. And, you know, there was a lot of bad characteristics that I had growing up because of that. So, you know, I try to coach my son, like, how to deal with people that have similar character of how I was, you know, growing up. Very jealous, very competitive, very alpha type. So what they do have is they have, you know, somebody who's got a lot of life experience, you know, that's able to impart a lot of knowledge and. And to their credit, they're great listeners.

[Podcast Co-host / Interviewer]

Who are some of those safeties that you were jealous of all of them.

[Troy Polamalu]

To Be honest with you, but are.

[Podcast Co-host / Interviewer]

There a couple or is there one that you're just like?

[Troy Polamalu]

So every year, every year I watched five safeties and I would literally watch every single one of their plays, and I would make a highlight tape and a low light tape of all of them. So that's what I did throughout my whole career. Ed was somebody. I watched every. I would watch every single one of his plays. So obviously Ed is somebody who I admired. But there's a bunch of guys like Donovan, Darius, Bob Sanders, a lot of guys that don't get a lot of credit that, you know, were hall of Fame type caliber players that didn't have length. And to be very frank, man, I was in the most beautiful situation in Pittsburgh. I had a Hall of Fame defensive coordinator, hall of Fame head coach. Man, you could put any of these players in my position, they would have been just as successful as I am. I studied. I was obsessed with the game. I broke down safeties in this way and even cornerbacks in this way. So I don't say these things humbly. I study these guys. I studied everything about them. You know, I studied father, I studied McCaffrey, I studied Marinova. I'm telling you. So these sort of things aren't like, that's obviously who I am and maybe a part of my success as a football player, but it's just who I am. It's things of how I view, you know, trying to be a father or trying to help train athletes or whatever the case is.

[Podcast Co-host / Interviewer]

Were you very. Was all this. This student of the preparation, did you have all this in USC and it helped carry you into the league, or did it obviously develops over time, but did you kind of have that sense of urgency and preparation at college?

[Troy Polamalu]

No, I absolutely developed it over time. And what I did is I studied the greats. Like, if anybody at this period of time knows, like, saw how Ed Reed, how much he talked about how important film was, and you didn't listen to that, you know what I mean? Like this. He was talking in college about this stu stuff, and I'm listening to him in college. And so. So, like, all of these sort of things became habits for me. You know, you hear here, you hear here and there about what Tom Brady is doing and all these guys about health, wellness, longevity and, you know, how to keep a sharper edge. And, you know, you hear about how other athletes rob, you know, like Gilbert Arenas talking about how he watched Kobe Bryant play and how he learned from these guys. And honestly, it's very simple in that way, you know, you got to have a student mindset in the sport. You're not going to be original in anything. There's a lot of great players that have done a lot of great things and you guys have walked in these shoes. It's no secret, man. It's sacrifice, it's grit, it's hard work. It's no special talent that anybody else has. So that to me was my mindset. So that's why I learned from guys like Ed, guys like Donovan, Darius, a lot of safeties that I studied that aren't quite, you know, very famous out there.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

When you're talking about like hall of Fame d coordinators. Dick LeBeau, he was with the Tennessee Titans for a year and he. This is a guy who like walks into a room and you're like, holy, dude, that's Dick LeBeau. Yeah, and he's a legend. And there's so many things that we wouldn't play the Steelers on Thursday Night Football. We got destroyed. It was like, it was ab. Catching the ball in the back of his head. It was just an absolute. They molly whopped us. But like, he brought all these other players in these hall of Fame dudes. Like, is it Kessel Keisel? Yep, he brought him and a bunch of other guys. And they, they had conversations with us. But one of the things, they always would tell amazing stories about Dick. And like, there was one time for Christmas, like right around Christmas time, we'd have a team meeting. And I don't know if he did this with you guys. He sat and he read the Night Before Christmas in front of the whole team. No, he didn't.

[Troy Polamalu]

He didn't read it. He didn't read it. He recited.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

He cited the entire book or story, like verbatim. And so are there any, like some Dick lebeau isms that maybe the world doesn't know about as much?

[Troy Polamalu]

Well, to extend on that story though, this is something he did every year. So it was like a tradition on the. The last game before Christmas. And to me, I always look forward to that every year because I mean, you experience it, you understand like the level of like you kind of look around, you're like, dang, man, like this guy's reciting the whole poem. He writes an intro and you know, an intro to it that he wrote. All I know is what I've been told.

[Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman]

And that to half truth is a whole lie.

[Maggie Freeling]

For almost a decade, the murder of an 18 year old girl from a small town in Graves County, Kentucky went unsolved until a local homemaker a journalist and a handful of girls came forward with a story.

[Troy Polamalu]

I'm telling you, we know Quincy killed it.

[Maggie Freeling]

We know a story that law enforcement used to convict six people and that got the citizen investigator on national tv.

[Troy Polamalu]

Through sheer persistence and nerve, this Kentucky housewife helped give justice to Jessica Curran.

[Maggie Freeling]

My name is Maggie Freeling. I'm a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist producer, and I wouldn't be here if the truth were that easy to find.

[Podcast Co-host / Interviewer]

I did not know her and I.

[Troy Polamalu]

Did not kill her or rape or burn or any of that other stuff.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

That y' all said.

[Maggie Freeling]

They literally made me say that I took a match and struck and threw it on her. They made me say that I poured gas on her from Lava For Good. This is Graves County, a show about just how far our legal system will go in order to find someone to blame.

[Troy Polamalu]

America, y' all better wake the hell up. Bad things happens to good people and small towns.

[Maggie Freeling]

Listen to Graves county in the Bone Valley feed on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to binge the entire season ad free. Subscribe to Lava for Good plus on Apple Podcasts.

[Narrator / True Crime Podcast Host]

In early 1988, federal agents raced to track down the gang they suspect of importing millions of dollars worth of heroin into New York from Asia.

[Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman]

We had 30 agents ready to go.

[Troy Polamalu]

With shotguns and rifles and you name it.

[Narrator / True Crime Podcast Host]

But what they find is not what they expected.

[Troy Polamalu]

Basically, your stay at home moms were picking up these large amounts of heroin. They go, is this your daughter? I said, yes. They go, oh, you may not see her for like 25 years.

[Narrator / True Crime Podcast Host]

Caught between a federal investigation and the violent gang who recruited them, the women must decide who they're willing to protect and who they dare to betray.

[Troy Polamalu]

Once I saw the gun, I tried to take his hand and I saw the flash of light.

[Narrator / True Crime Podcast Host]

Listen to the Chinatown sting on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or anywhere you get your podcasts.

[Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman]

I'm Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman, host of the psychology podcast. Here's a clip from an upcoming conversation about exploring human pot. I was going to schools to try to teach kids these skills, and I get eye rolling from teachers or I get students who would be like, it's easier to punch someone in the face. When you think about emotion regulation. Like, you're not going to choose an adaptive strategy which is more effortful to use unless you think there's a good outcome as a result of it, if it's going to be beneficial to you because it's easy to say, like, like, you go blank yourself, right? It's easy. It's easy to just drink the extra beer. It's easy to ignore, to suppress. Seeing a colleague who's bothering you and just like, walking the other way. Avoidance is easier. Ignoring is easier. Denial is easier. Drinking is easier. Yelling, screaming is easy. Complex problem solving, meditating, you know, takes effort. Listen to the psychology podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Troy Polamalu]

Himself that, like, is perfectly in line with the entire poem. And then you. To me, what I would love to. What I loved at those moments, I would look around at all the younger guys and then they. That's when they would, like, would really start to say, man, I'm part of something special and very different. Like, they don't do this normally at different, you know, in the NFL. So to me, that was always really special thing that he would always do. In fact, even to this day, on the night before Christmas, I'll pull up the video on YouTube and my family will watch it as well. But Kosobeau is, He's. I mean, you experienced him for a year, but in my career, he was everything to me. I mean, he was. Came in my second year and we. We left the Steelers together. Man, every. Every day was like a, Like a, Like a, Like a, Like a. There was like a wise, sage moment with him. It was like, whoa, that was profound. Like, thank you for that. You know, like, it was just like every day was that. And, and you don't get that from coaches that you like. You know what I mean? Like, coaches you get different type of. Of wisdom from. He got. Gave like, sage advice. So. And it came like, at like, like he was never a yeller, he was never a Custer, you know, but so it was, it just came like, in a very real sense. And, and especially the fact that he's a Hall of Fame player. You know, the funny things that he would always do is like, he'd come to DB line, he'd just walk down, he'd go 12, 15, 27, 55. He's like, Ah, all of you guys don't amount to. Amount of interceptions that he would literally just go like that. Like, yep, that's 55. All you guys combined 63 over here. Like, so. Yeah, he was. He was awesome.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Was. His was the beauty of his coaching, the consistency. Consistency. Like having him from a year two till when you finished. Did he ever kind of waver?

[Troy Polamalu]

Oh, absolutely. Absolutely not. But also, like, you know, I, He. I think that's one thing is his consistency. But, like. Like, I. I don't know. Like, it wasn't like he changed his message. It got stale. It never did that. But they always kept us excited and happy. I don't know why. It was just that. That level of respect that we had.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

For him, such a unique, like, way to go about things. Because I feel like the coaching world, at least what we grew up in, was like, more yelling, more intensity, and there was, like, such a calmness about everywhere he walked. He comes see you, he remember everybody's name, tap you on the shoulder as you left, and gentle tap on the shoulder like. Like, man, we had a moment.

[Podcast Co-host / Interviewer]

I think the first time you experience somebody like that, too, you're just thinking, like, okay, there's another way that goes about it. I'm kind of receptive to this style.

[Troy Polamalu]

Like, he's. He, like, told me one day, he's like. He's like.

[Podcast Co-host / Interviewer]

He.

[Troy Polamalu]

He just. For the heck of it, he went like 400 days eating a cheeseburger every day. So he tried to do something like that with, like. You know what I mean? Like, yeah, like.

[Podcast Co-host / Interviewer]

But yeah, I'm so fascinated with the way you were talking about your preparation and being kind of obsessed with, like, watching everybody else and kind of adding those parts of the game. I know we talk about doing things like that and just that. That. That level of. Of detail. Could you. You have your style of play of, like, being up on the line of scrimmage, rolling to the middle of the field, jumping over the line of scrimmage, like, doing all these, like, unique things, and was there a time? Because I feel like when you're a player and you want to go make a play, right? Coach. Coach will be in the film room. Like, y decision. You better make a play or it wouldn't work out. Like, was there a time where you're studying these other guys and you're thinking, okay, Ed Reed just did this or this disguise just happened. Like, I'm going to start adding this wrinkle to my. And then when that moment did happen, you're like, okay, the leash of Palomalu gets longer because, like, hey, he's going out here and making these plays.

[Troy Polamalu]

So. Oh, yeah, there's. There's absolutely a lot of things for Ed in particular that he would do that. I'm like, oh, man, I need to incorporate that. And funny thing is, that's what I would use scout team for. To be honest with you, I was like, I want to. I want to do scouts. I want to do scout team because I'm like, oh well, you know, I want to try some of the things I've seen some of these other safeties do. You know, one thing that I try to tell people about football is it's a hard sport to get really good at in a sense because we spend our off season working out. So like the mentality is every off season the only way that we can get better is to get, get bigger, stronger or faster. You know, it's not get better at our skill development. So for me, I realized that man, in order for as this, for a safety to become better, I need to get more reps at practice. So I needed like see more. I need to just continue to see it. So that's where, that's where I really started to change my practice habits to like get more reps on the field so that I could, I could see see more. I actually learned that from, from a book of the 10,000 hours book. I forget. Yeah, outliers and just talking about like that maximize that rep. So I was like, man, I need to maximize reps on the field. So whenever I'd go and do scout team, that's where I was maximizing the reps. But then I would also incorporate the things that I saw on film like oh man. Ed disguised cover one this way to make it look like cover six. So he baited that front side post that they wouldn't throw in cover three, but they would throw in cover six. You know, he would do these genius type things like oh man, they call cover one. Hey, let's make it look like six. And you know, these sort of things that you can, could practice and Ryan would be out there or Chris Hope, you know, the, the other safety would be out there. So we'd be, you know, practicing these guys together. The other thing was at Pittsburgh.

[Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman]

All I know is what I've been told. And that's a half truth is a whole lie.

[Maggie Freeling]

For almost a decade, the murder of an 18 year old girl from a small town in Graves County, Kentucky went unsolved until a local homemaker, a journalist and a handful of girls came forward with a story.

[Troy Polamalu]

I'm telling you, we know Quincy killed her.

[Maggie Freeling]

We know a story that law enforcement used to convict six people and that got the citizen investigator on national tv.

[Troy Polamalu]

Through sheer persistence and nerve, this Kentucky housewife helped give justice to Jessica Kerr.

[Maggie Freeling]

My name is Maggie Freeling. I'm a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist producer and I wouldn't be here if the truth were that easy to find.

[Podcast Co-host / Interviewer]

I did not know her and I.

[Troy Polamalu]

Did not kill her or rape or.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Burn or any of that other stuff that y' all said.

[Maggie Freeling]

They literally made me say that I took a match and struck and threw it on her. They made me say that I poured gas on her from Lava For Good. This is Graves County, a show about just how far our legal system will go in order to find someone to blame.

[Troy Polamalu]

America, y' all better wake the hell up. Bad things happens to good people in small towns.

[Maggie Freeling]

Listen to Graves county in the Bone Valley feed on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to binge the entire season ad free. Subscribe to Lava for Good plus on Apple Podcasts.

[Narrator / True Crime Podcast Host]

In early 1988, federal agents raced to track down the gang they suspect of importing millions of dollars worth of heroin into New York from Asia.

[Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman]

We had 30 agents ready to go.

[Troy Polamalu]

With shotguns and rifles, and you name it.

[Narrator / True Crime Podcast Host]

But what they find is not what they expected.

[Troy Polamalu]

Basically, your stay at home moms were picking up these large amounts of heroin. They go, is this your daughter? I said, yes. They go, oh, you may not see her for like 25 years.

[Narrator / True Crime Podcast Host]

Caught between a federal investigation and the violent gang who recruited them, the women must decide who they're willing to protect and who they dare to betray.

[Troy Polamalu]

Once I saw the gun, I tried to take his hand and I saw the flash of light.

[Narrator / True Crime Podcast Host]

Listen to the Chinatown sting on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or anywhere you get your podcasts.

[Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman]

I'm Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman, host of the Psychology Podcast. Here's a clip from an upcoming conversation about exploring human potential. I was going to schools to try to teach kids these skills, and I get eye rolling from teachers or I get students who would be like, it's easier. Punch someone in the face. When you think about emotion regulation, like, you're not going to choose an adaptive strategy which is more effortful to use unless you think there's a good outcome as a result of it, if it's going to be beneficial to you. Because it's easy to say like. Like you go blank yourself, right? It's easy. It's easy to just drink the extra beer. It's easy to ignore, to suppress seeing a colleague who's bothering you and just, like, walk the other way. Avoidance is easier. Ignoring is easier. Denial is easier. Drinking is easier. Yelling, screaming is easy. Complex problem solving, meditating, you know, takes effort. Listen to the Psychology podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Troy Polamalu]

The unique thing that I had as a Role was my rookie year, they made me play safe, they made me play safety, both safeties, which were two different positions at the time, and then both nickel and the dungeon, so. And cornerback. So I was end up being like the. The big safety on corner. So I literally played almost every position on defense. And then on. Sometimes on three man rushes, I'd be the fourth rusher. So I could run a text. I can run the X game with some. With. With the. With the dn. So you could literally say I played every position. What was really cool about that, what terrible about that was I had to learn them all, which was terrible because my whole rookie year, I gave up. I promise you, I gave up a touchdown again game. And it was. I. I'm serious. What's funny about that is my second year, if any rookie who would have come in and done that, I would have been like, get him out of the game. Like, like my standard had been crazy different. But anyway, when you look at an offense and then you see, hey, man, they. They attack you in this way, and I'm a safety, I'm like, I play every position. I know what everybody's doing. If I know the ball's going there, coach, I'm just going to switch with him. I'm going to say, all right, you know, linebacker, you play safety. I'm gonna play linebacker. Because I know if I. If you. You play it right. But I know the play I'm gonna play. I'm gonna blow it up.

[Podcast Co-host / Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Troy Polamalu]

So for me, it was. That's, that's. That's kind of where I started, really develop. I just started seeing, man, I'm knowing everybody's role, and if I know that the ball is going to go there, I'm just going to switch positions with him. So you would do that in real.

[Podcast Co-host / Interviewer]

Time in the game?

[Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman]

Game.

[Troy Polamalu]

In real time in the game.

[Podcast Co-host / Interviewer]

This one, they wouldn't be a practicing. You'd be okay. I have a really good inkling.

[Troy Polamalu]

I started getting smart enough to know that when I would do this in practice, the coaches would say, you can't do that. I'm like, all right, I'll just wait for the game to do that. So then during the games, I'm like, oh, but you know, I'm not talking about. I'm also giving up blitzes. I'm also saying, hey, James, you'd be better in this. This blitz than I am. Because I know you're going to get the running back. I won't. I'll get the running back, too. But, you know, like, the same thing, you know? Like, I know I'm gonna get the tight end. Let's switch positions, because I'll rush a D gap. You rush. You rush contained. Because I'll get the tackle, you get the tight end. So, like, you know these little nuances that you can make everybody better. Everybody doesn't think, like, oh, well, why would you switch a place? Like, are you kidding me? James versus the tight end and me versus the tackle. Of course I'm going to lose. He's going to win 100% of the time.

[Podcast Co-host / Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Troy Polamalu]

So that's. That's what started to make our defense really roll together. And what's started to hurt our defense late in my career is you get rookies out there. I'm like, hey, man, you got curl the flat. He's like, what's curl the flat?

[Podcast Co-host / Interviewer]

You can't be doing that.

[Troy Polamalu]

I'm like, oh, man.

[Podcast Co-host / Interviewer]

Do you remember the first play where that worked out, where you just kind of went out of the box and. And. And took a shot and it happened to work well to where it's like.

[Troy Polamalu]

Okay, you know, it was more or less. That happens in, like, coverage. You know, coaches would be yelling at me, hey, it's cover two. It's cover two. It's cover 2. You should be in the half. And I'm showing cover three. But I'm telling the corner, hey, you got cut the half. I'm gonna take the flat. So I'm showing cover three the whole time, and Coach is yelling at the side, hey, hey, you gotta be back. You gotta be back. And I'm, like, trying to ignore him. And then all of a sudden, it's like, you know, I'll get to the sign. Like, coach, I just inverted with the corner. I let him play the half. I played the. You know, I just want to give the quarterback a different look. They've been calling this in cover three every time. So those little things is what Coach LeBeau started to allow. It's like, yeah, man, and here's the call. Make it right. You know what I mean? Like, just giving us that level of flexibility. In a lot of ways, we're talking about how Coach Tomlin does, too.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

How long did it take for a coach LeBeau to be like, all right, it's gonna be a point where you're supposed to be in cover two, but you're showing cover three, and you go to the sideline, and it's like, you can't do that. How many times did it work? How many does it have to work? Before they were like, maybe he's onto something.

[Troy Polamalu]

Like, let Troy. Yeah, I'm a little bit of a politician too, you know, Like I, I, I would tell him you told me this though. If you tell me it's 100 run, then I'm gonna play 100 run. Like, don't, don't tell me it's gonna be something that it's not. And that's what I, I try to tell players, like, just don't study film to study film. You know, if Ed taught us anything, man, it's like you make plays studying film. Believe what you see is what he would always say. I'm like, all right, I'll believe what I see. So all of these like anyway, yeah.

[Podcast Co-host / Interviewer]

It'S like for all the kids out there listening, make sure you understand your install first, know what to do, know how to do it. But no, that is, it's just cool like hearing those stories. Like, I remember I got to play with Ryan Clark in his last year when he was in Washington and I was starting to come into the hull and get some play and everything else. And Ryan at practice, like he was somebody that was such a student of the game and you'd be out of practice and you know how it is. It's like you want to be a situational master. And like whatever down in distance it was, you'd hear Ryan back there chirping, like, how pivotal was it? I'm sure that's what made your defense great. Everybody having that level of standard, of kind of knowing every situation, know how to talk about it as the huddle breaks, as the formation's coming out, emotion happening. But how beneficial was it to have like a back end like that and somebody next to you like Ryan Clark?

[Troy Polamalu]

It's everything. It's, I mean it's absolutely everything. And it may not be like that in every organization, but it's absolutely everything to me and everything to our daily defense.

[Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman]

All I know is what I've been.

[Troy Polamalu]

Told and that to half truth is a whole lie.

[Maggie Freeling]

For almost a decade, the murder of an 18 year old girl from a small town in Graves County, Kentucky went unsolved until a local homemaker, a journalist and a handful of girls came forward with a story.

[Troy Polamalu]

I'm telling you, we know Quincy killed her.

[Maggie Freeling]

We know a story that law enforcement used to convict six people and that got the citizen investigator on national tv.

[Troy Polamalu]

Through sheer persistence and nerve, this Kentucky housewife helped give justice to Jessica Curran.

[Maggie Freeling]

My name is Maggie Freeling. I'm a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, producer and I wouldn't be here if the truth were that easy to find.

[Podcast Co-host / Interviewer]

I did not know her and I.

[Troy Polamalu]

Did not kill her or rape or.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Burn or any of that other stuff that y' all said.

[Maggie Freeling]

They literally made me say that I took a match and struck and threw it on her. They made me say that I poured.

[Troy Polamalu]

Gas on her.

[Maggie Freeling]

From Lava for Good. This is Graves County, a show about just how far our legal system will go in order to find someone to blame.

[Troy Polamalu]

America, y' all better wake the hell up. Bad things happens to good people and small towns.

[Maggie Freeling]

Listen to Graves county in the Bone Valley feed on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts and to binge the entire season ad free. Subscribe to Lava for Good plus on Apple Podcast.

[Narrator / True Crime Podcast Host]

In early 1988, federal agents raced to track down the gang they suspect of importing millions of dollars worth of heroin into New York from Asia.

[Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman]

We had 30 agents ready to go.

[Troy Polamalu]

With shotguns and rifles and you name it.

[Narrator / True Crime Podcast Host]

But what they find is not what they expected.

[Troy Polamalu]

Basically, your stay at home moms were picking up these large amounts of heroin. They go, is this your daughter? I said, yes. They go, oh, you may not see her for like 25 years.

[Narrator / True Crime Podcast Host]

Caught between a federal investigation and the violent gang who recruited them, the women must decide who they're willing to protect and who they dare to betray.

[Troy Polamalu]

Once I saw the gun, I tried to take his hand and I saw the flash of light.

[Narrator / True Crime Podcast Host]

Listen to the Chinatown on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or anywhere you get your podcasts.

[Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman]

I'm Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman, host of the Psychology Podcast. Here's a clip from an upcoming conversation about exploring human potential. I was going to schools to try to teach kids these skills, and I get eye rolling from teachers or I get students who would be like, it's easier to punch someone in the face. When you think about emotion regulation, like, you're not going to choose an adaptive strategy is more effortful to use unless you think there's a good outcome as a result of it. If it's going to be beneficial to you because it's easy to say, like, go blank yourself, right? It's easy. It's easy to just drink the extra beer. It's easy to ignore, to suppress seeing a colleague who's bothering you and just like, walk the other way. Avoidance is easier. Ignoring is easier. Denial is easier. Drinking is easier. Yelling, screaming is easy. Complex problem solving, meditating, you know, takes effort. Listen to the psychology podcast on the iHeartRadio app Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Troy Polamalu]

The level of trust and exposure that we would consistently put each other in is, you know, it takes a lot of. Takes a lot of, like, cohesiveness to do that. I meant, when we do some of this manipulation on the back end, you have to understand you're completely exposing somebody else. Oftentimes that was Ike, you know, like, hey, Ike, we're doing this over here. Sorry. Your man to man covers zero with their Chad Ocho Cinco or Brandon Marshall, you know, so we were always like, we. That was the only reason why we were allowed to do what we do is because, you know, Ryan's communicating. Ike, cornerback Brian McFadden. They're cover zero oftentimes where, you know, we want to do some cowboy type stuff, but they help. They hold their own. They're the reason why we were, you know, as successful as we were.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Man, Mike Tomlin just. I was. Had the opportunity. He coached me at the Pro bowl in 2016. And just being around him and his presence was very like, Dick LeBeau esque. Yeah, just more of a calming. More like, positive and confident. Can you just, like, elaborate on him and his legacy as a Steelers head coach?

[Troy Polamalu]

Man, I. I really enjoyed his podcast with Ryan. He. Ryan Clark did a podcast with him, and I was just like, man, I'm so happy people get to see Coach Tomlin, like. Like, who he really is, because he's. He's not. He. That's who he is. That's who he is as a coach. You know what I mean? Like, I guess. I guess maybe like, press conference. Like, it's like the. He's like the Bill Belichick in the press conference, you know, like, completely opposite. Right. But, man, it was really cool to see that level of who he is, because when. I mean, he was 34 when I. When he came to coach the Steelers, I mean, it's amazing that he was that young. And aside from that, that he had a family and had young children. So, like these kids that grew up in the locker room now, now that you, like, kind of see him. So I don't know. He's an amazing father. Coach. I meant later in my career, he would. We would have DV sessions. I learned so much for him about protection routes based on protections and all these different things. So he's incredible. I actually so fortunate to have him Coach cower. Dick LeBeau. That's why I say humbly. But I say in all sincerity, man, you put anybody in my position, man, these guys are. You can't do nothing but be a hall of famer. To be very frank with you, how was it that.

[Podcast Co-host / Interviewer]

I know and we're getting the wrap up signal, but I have to ask, like, how sick is it knowing that you pulled off all those line of scrimmage plays? I mean getting the watch back, like diving over the line of scrimmage, timing up snaps, like that's pretty badass.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Because if it didn't work. Yes, it's called the Troy.

[Troy Polamalu]

You know what's funny is, is is it didn't work sometimes. But you know, it goes back to the outliers thing. What I realized is that a safety needs to see everything and that means like not only the formation, not only the personnel, but like how they break the huddle. And you know this, you know the difference between zero silent count or on two and the urgency that offensive lineman comes to. You know what I'm saying? Like it's on zero, man. They're going to get up there and then they get ready or if you know these sort of, sort of game situations. So the funny thing about it is that's where I started to develop this because I was like, man, everybody breaks the line very differently. When offensive line they come, it's on two, they break with different sense of urgency than when it's quick snap or silent count. And when you start to see that, you also see it when they run back to the huddle. So I would always tell people watch the full length of the play, as in like.

[Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman]

All I know is what I've been told. And that to half truth is a whole lie.

[Maggie Freeling]

For almost a decade, the murder of an 18 year old girl from a small town in Graves County, Kentucky went unsolved until a local homemaker, a journalist and a handful of girls came forward with a story.

[Troy Polamalu]

I'm telling you, we know Quincy killed her.

[Maggie Freeling]

We know a story that law enforcement used to convict six people and that got the citizen investigator on national tv.

[Troy Polamalu]

Through sheer persistence and nerve, this Kentucky housewife helped give justice to Jessica Curran.

[Maggie Freeling]

My name is Maggie Freeling. I'm a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist producer. And I wouldn't be here if the truth were that easy to find.

[Podcast Co-host / Interviewer]

I did not know her and I.

[Troy Polamalu]

Did not kill her or rape or.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Burn or any of that other stuff that y' all said.

[Maggie Freeling]

They literally made me say that I took a match and struck and threw it on her. They made me say that I poured gas on her from lava for good. This is Graves County, a show about just how far our legal system will go. Go in order to find someone to.

[Troy Polamalu]

Blame, America, y' all better wake the hell up. Bad things happens to good people and small towns.

[Maggie Freeling]

Listen to Graves county in the Bone Valley feed on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to binge the entire season ad free, subscribe to Lava for Good plus on Apple Podcast.

[Narrator / True Crime Podcast Host]

In early 1988, federal agents raced to track down the gang they suspect of importing millions of dollars worth of heroin into New York from Asia.

[Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman]

We had 30 agents ready to go.

[Troy Polamalu]

With shotguns and rifles, and you name it.

[Narrator / True Crime Podcast Host]

But what they find is not what they expected.

[Troy Polamalu]

Basically, your stay at home moms were picking up these large amounts of heroin. They go, is this your daughter? I said, yes. They go, oh, you may not see her for like 25 years.

[Narrator / True Crime Podcast Host]

Caught between a federal investigation and the violent gang who recruited them, the women must decide who they're willing to protect and who they dare to betray.

[Troy Polamalu]

Once I saw the gun, I tried to take his hand and I saw the flash of light.

[Narrator / True Crime Podcast Host]

Listen to the Chinatown sting on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or anywhere you get your podcasts.

[Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman]

I'm Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman, host of the psychology Podcast. Here's a clip from an upcoming conversation about exploring human potential. I was going to schools to try to teach kids these skills. And I get eye rolling from teachers or I get students who would be like, it's easier to punch someone in the face. When you think about emotion regulation, like, you're not going to choose an adaptive strategy which is more effortful to use, unless you think there's a good outcome as a result of it, if it's going to be beneficial to you. Because it's easy to say like. Like, you go blank yourself, right? It's easy. It's easy to just drink the extra beer. It's easy to ignore, to suppress seeing a colleague who's bothering you and just, like, walk the other way. Avoidance is easier. Ignoring is easier. Denial is easier. Drinking is easier. Yelling, screaming is easy. Complex problem solving, meditating, you know, takes effort. Listen to the psychology podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Troy Polamalu]

How long the call it takes to make the call, how long it takes for them to run to the lineman. All these things mean something. Something. So the funny thing is, when it started to happen, I say started to happen is I was just reacting. I had never thought about it. I was just like, oh, jumping and then doing it. I'm like, oh, man. Oh, wow. That Worked. It wasn't until I was like, okay, it's this game situation. Oh, you gotta. You gotta jump it. And then that's when I would actually jump offside. So I started to really understand how I was as an athlete, that I'm like, okay, okay. You have to overly prepare so that you can just be instinctual and be free rather than like, be a student out there. That's always like, you know what I mean? I really just had to go out there and be free. So when I did jump, you know, blitz and do those sort of things, man, it was, I swear to you, pure instinct. It was just like afterwards, I make the plane, like, oh, man, it was like a. It was a crazy ride. But it wasn't when I was thinking, that's when I would jump offside and do it wrongly. So it was funny.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Well, I know we gotta get you out here, but one, one, one last. This is it. This is it right now. Like, as you, as you became more famous and more established as a player and all that, like, the hair was always a thing that people were like, that's how we know it's Troy Paul Mallow. Did it ever get to the point for you? You're like, I literally can't change his lookup ever, because this is. This is me now. Like, I'm a mustache guy. I can never shave my mustache.

[Troy Polamalu]

Are you saying. You can never say to me, this.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Is my identity now. I love, I love, but there's got to be a point where you're like, you know, maybe you wake up and you had a little bedhead. You're like, man, it'd be so much easier if I just kind of baked it and let it run a little bit.

[Troy Polamalu]

A better way to put it is it was always part of my identity before.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Troy Polamalu]

So it wasn't like it's something I had to hold on to. So it was more or less like it was always my identity before I even had it. And it was like it was a specific identity. You know, like my, my mother in law, who's a classic, is a classicist, very Greek classic. This, what I would say. All the greatest warriors through all time had long hair. You know, you talked about samurais, Native Americans, ancient Hebrews to, you know, all of them Polynesian. They all had long hair. So I was like, oh, okay. I like that. I probably. They probably had mustaches too, though, probably long haired mustache.

[Podcast Co-host / Interviewer]

Troy, thanks so much, man.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

We appreciate you, man.

[Podcast Co-host / Interviewer]

This is awesome. This is awesome, man. It's. It's been great. Having you. Make sure to subscribe Comment thank you, thank you. Yeah.

[Maggie Freeling]

The murder of an 18 year old girl in Graves County, Kentucky went unsolved loved for years until a local housewife, a journalist and a handful of girls came forward with a story.

[Troy Polamalu]

America, y' all better wake the hell up. Bad things happens to good people and small towns.

[Maggie Freeling]

Listen to Graves county on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast. And to binge the entire season ad free. Subscribe to Lava for Good plus on Apple Podcasts.

[Troy Polamalu]

Whenever I got through the windmill I.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Tried to pick him up and his body was stiff. I'm Ben Westoff and this is the Peacemaker, a true crime podcast about a string of mysterious suicides at a Missouri university and the fraternity brother tied to them all.

[Troy Polamalu]

Brandon groaned. The lawsuit says Gross Heim was one of the last people to see each victim before their deaths.

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Was he profoundly unlucky, or was something.

[Troy Polamalu]

Much darker at play?

[Podcast Host / Interviewer]

Listen to the PeaceMaker podcast starting October 14th on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts.

[Troy Polamalu]

Or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman]

I'm Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman, host of the Psychology Podcast. Here's a clip from an upcoming conversation about how to be a better you when you think about emotion regulation, you're not going to choose an adaptive strategy which is more effortful to use unless you think there's a good outcome. Avoidance is easier. Ignoring is easier. Denial is easier. Complex problem solving takes effort. Listen to the Psychology podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Troy Polamalu]

This is an iHeart podcast.