Kudos to Gerry Dulac and the Post-Gazette for being way out in front on the Troy Polamalu injury story.

Dulac reported early morning hours on Friday that Troy Polamalu would not play due to his injury. (Jim Wexell had also been posting regular Tweets on the subject.)

Rival sites such as the Tribune-Review and ESPN.com were late in bringing this information to their readers, failing to report that Polamalu would sit against the Jets until well into Friday afternoon.

Dulac again scooped his rivals with the report that the Polamalu might not play again until if and when the Steelers make he playoffs. Dulac posted the report on PG Plus Friday afternoon, well ahead of the competition.

Ankle, Achilles, or Calf Injury?

And just what is the nature of Polamalu’s injury? Enquiring minds want to know. Here, the picture gets fuzzy. The Steelers have said it was an Achilles injury, something that has been listed since mid-season.

Dulac, and others, have reported that Troy’s teammates say that it is his calf. Other reports say that it is an ankle injury.

Given that Troy Polamalu is one of the few legitimate playmakers in the National Football League, this is important. I am not medical expert, but I don’t think there is such a thing as a minor Achilles injury.

The fact that the Steelers are talking about sitting him for the rest of the year suggests that the injury is in fact with the Achilles, but that amounts to speculation on my part.

Thanks for visiting. To read more analysis of the media that cover the Steelers, click here to read more from Steel Curtain Rising’s Watch Tower.