National Football League

Steelers S Clark thrives in Polamalu's absence

Published Sep. 21, 2012 12:13 a.m. ET

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Ryan Clark does not stop talking. Not in the huddle. Not in meetings. Not on the sideline and certainly not on the field.

The irrepressibly chatty Pittsburgh Steelers safety offers a running commentary on everything from an opponent's offensive set to his teammates' sartorial choices.

Yet when asked how an undrafted player has managed to stick around the NFL for more than a decade, win a Super Bowl ring and make a Pro Bowl while serving as half of arguably the best safety tandem in the league and Clark grows quiet before answering.

''Because Troy (Polamalu) is a really, really talented guy,'' he said.

True enough. Then again, isn't Clark?

''Not like that,'' Clark said. ''Not abnormally talented for an NFL safety ... I'm just a guy.''

One that in his own way is perhaps just as valuable to Pittsburgh's defense as his future Hall of Fame teammate. With Polamalu watching in sweats due to a strained right calf, Clark did a pretty solid Polamalu impersonation during a 27-10 win over the New York Jets last Sunday, all the way down to the eye-catching hairdo (a well-manicured faux-hawk if you're keeping score).

If Clark wasn't making one of his team-high eight tackles, he was breaking up a potentially game-turning pass to New York wide receiver Stephen Hill or bouncing ideas off Polamalu between defensive series.

Not that Polamalu minded.

''I probably enjoyed the last game more than any other game that I've watched or been on the sideline for,'' the perennial All-Pro said.

In another time or on another team, Clark might be the one people talk about, the one with the Defensive Player of the Year Awards and the closet full of Pro Bowl jerseys.

Instead he's often viewed as the normal human to Polamalu's wild-haired football savant, the steadying presence whose discipline allows Polamalu to go do his thing.

Clark is OK with that. Though he allows ''maybe'' he would have a higher profile if he didn't play alongside one of the best players of his generation, he wouldn't trade places and personal glory for the privilege of lining up on the same field with a guy he considers among his closest friends.

''The thing about it is he's helped me get to this point,'' Clark said. ''There's so many things about playing the position of safety that I've taken from him. Obviously I can't do what he does, but I can prepare like he prepares and we have each other to talk to.''

And there are times when Clark knows when to stop talking and listen. Every time he walked off the field against New York he made a beeline for Polamalu and asked the soft-spoken superstar for his thoughts.

''There was never one point in my mind where I wished Troy would shut up,'' Clark said. ''I was going to him, `Hey man, what do you see, what's going on?' I don't think every safety tandem has that kind of relationship.''

There is a decided lack of ego between them, an offshoot of a franchise that has little tolerance for prima donnas, particularly on defense. When Polamalu is sidelined - as he could be yet again on Sunday when the Steelers (1-1) travel to Oakland (0-2) - defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau takes the cuffs off Clark a little bit and lets his faux-hawked defensive leader run loose.

The results can be stunning.

Clark spearheaded a defense that shut down the Jets in the second half last weekend as Pittsburgh's secondary manhandled New York's wide receivers and limited the Jets to 91 yards over the final 30 minutes.

It was the kind of performance that gets a quarterback's attention.

''Ryan is probably one of the most underrated players in the game,'' Oakland QB Carson Palmer said. ''If not that, he's one of the most underrated players on defense in the league because he'll come up and hit people, he lets guys take chances, like Troy ... He's always kind of there to save them.''

Not always.

Pittsburgh's last two losses have come on the road in Denver, where a sickle cell trait that flares up at high altitudes nearly killed Clark five years ago. He made the trip both times but didn't play. In each game the Broncos torched Pittsburgh's secondary, most memorably on Demaryius Thomas' 80-yard sprint past Ike Taylor and Ryan Mundy on the first play of overtime in January to give Denver a stunning 29-23 Wild Card victory.

Clark will never know if his presence would have made a difference, though the good news is Pittsburgh's schedule - at least for now - is Denver-free. Yet he's tried to turn a negative into a positive, using the notoriety gained by his condition to help launch the ''Cure League,'' an initiative designed to to raise awareness, donations and support for those who suffer from the blood disorder.

It's a call to action the 32-year-old might not have heeded as a younger man. With his football mortality staring him in the face, however, he's starting to gain an appreciation for what happens next.

While Polamalu talks openly about retirement and stresses taking everything day to day - a mantra he says repeatedly - Clark has no such plans, though he'd like to avoid moving at all costs.

''I don't want to play anywhere else,'' he said. ''I don't want to go start over. I also know being as competitive as I am, from playing like this and feeling like this, it would be really hard to shut it down.''

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NOTES: Polamalu, linebacker James Harrison (knee), tight end Heath Miller (abdomen) did not practice on Thursday ... Wide receivers Emmanuel Sanders and Mike Wallace returned to practice after sitting out Wednesday ... Running back Rashard Mendenhall was a full participant in practice again and could play on Sunday against Oakland. Mendenhall hasn't played since tearing the ACL in his right knee on New Year's Day.

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AP Sports Writer Josh Dubow in Oakland contributed to this report. Follow Will Graves at www.twitter.com/WillGravesAP

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Online: http://bigstory.ap.org/NFL-Pro32 and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL

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