Speak softly, carry a big hairdo

DETROIT -- Everything about Troy Polamalu is a contradiction.

He is one of the NFL's most violent players, a whirlwind of speed, high-flying hits and wildly flowing hair who forces offenses to alter their game plans. His defensive coach says the league has never seen anything like him.

When he walks out of the Pittsburgh Steelers' locker room, Polamalu seemingly becomes a different person. He is peaceful and spiritual, quiet beyond a whisper, a man devoted to his wife and faith who never watches on TV the very game he plays.

This Super Bowl will be his first -- not only to play in, but, remarkably, to watch.

"It's tough for me to watch sports," Polamalu said. "I'm more of a hands-on person."

And when those hands are around a football, an entire game can change. There has been no better or more disruptive player in the NFL playoffs this season. He has made plays that defensive backs aren't supposed to make, lined up in positions where safeties are not supposed to be. Colts quarterback Peyton Manning often ran down the play clock to the final second to find him, and it seemed in the AFC Championship game that Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer never did.

On a key third-and-9 play in that game, Plummer flipped a screen pass to running back Tatum Bell. Blockers Tom Nalen, Cooper Carlisle and an open sideline are in front of him. Somehow, from across the field, Polamalu emerges, nearly flies over the blockers and drags down Bell inches short of the first down.

"You have to find him on every play," Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said. "On every play."

Polamalu missed part of practice Thursday because of a sore ankle -- an injury that was not previously disclosed. He was listed as probable, and was almost certain to play.

While Joey Porter is the loud and nasty voice of the Steelers' defense, Polamalu provides its distinctive personality, its uniqueness. He may line up as a lineman on one play, in deep coverage on another. He can blitz or cover, be a decoy or disrupt a play. He may even line up with his back the offense, only to turn just before the snap and blitz.

Defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau seemingly finds new ways to use him every game, and it is unlikely this Sunday will be different.

"He's very motivated, very studious and he has tremendous instincts, so that's a pretty good combination," LeBeau said. "His talent lets us do a lot of things that you could not do with not many people."

Once the game or practice ends, it is almost as if his football life ends and another Polamalu appears, even if he says that isn't true.

"To me, it's the same thing and I'm the same person," said Polamalu, known to his teammates as the Quiet Storm. "If you tell me somebody is going to be barbaric on the field when they blow those whistle, then a peaceful, humble gentle guy off the field, there is something nonauthentic about either the way he plays or his personal life. For me, it's the same person throughout.

"I'm passionate about everything I do. I'm passionate about reading the Bible, too."

Noteworthy

• The Seahawks ran an end-around on Texas A&M, filing notice Thursday to remove the dispute over the "12th Man" slogan from a Brazos County court just a few miles from the A&M campus. The case was transferred the case to federal court in Houston, about 100 miles away, where it will be heard June 16.