"One wears a fade hairstyle or occasionally shaves his head close to bald. The other lets his golden locks dangle from the back of his helmet in a fashion annoying to some yet appealing to others.

One caused teams to salivate as the most heavily sought free agent on the market last offseason. The other was practically ignored coming out of high school and walked on at USC.

Ninth-year Bears defensive end Julius Peppers versus second-year Packers outside linebacker Clay Matthews: superstar versus rising star.

"The great ones, they recognize each other, and I can recognize that in him,'' Peppers said of Matthews. "Even though he's a young player, I see the potential for greatness. You don't have to be a football expert to see that.''

The respect is mutual.

"He's a tremendous athlete,'' Matthews said of Peppers during a conference call last week. "He commands attention all over the field. He's physically a freak out there, and he moves around like a guy who's not whatever his attributes are.''

Peppers and Matthews figure to make a significant impact on Sunday's NFC championship game. Both have been mentioned as defensive player of the year candidates as difference-makers on top-10 defenses.

"I play this game for a number of reasons, and it's truly an honor to be in the talks with some of the greats around the league,'' Matthews said. "But we play this game to win a championship. … And if I can pick up some awards along the way, that's fantastic.''

Matthews finished fourth in the NFL with 13 1/2 sacks this season, and his four career postseason sacks rank second in team history behind Hall of Famer Reggie White (eight)."