"Pittsburgh's Troy Polamalu and Green Bay's Charles Woodson see a different game and have the nerve to act on what they see.

Not only do their brains and their boldness stamp them as unique players, the combination also won the Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year award for Woodson in 2009 and for Polamalu in 2010.

Each has the cunning, the vast experience and the athletic gifts to emerge as the most valuable player in the 45th Super Bowl on Sunday. By the same token, each could be the goat.

"They take educated guesses, and they're usually right," Steelers offensive coordinator Bruce Arians said. "(Woodson) is like Troy. You've got to find him before the ball's snapped. You've got to account for them."

Two years ago, when Todd Haley was the Arizona Cardinals' offensive coordinator, he and quarterback Kurt Warner watched film together before the 43rd Super Bowl and found themselves fixated on the man with the No. 43 jersey and the hair flowing from beneath his helmet.

"For two weeks we called Polamalu the wild card because he's a very unpredictable player," Haley said in 2009. "You just don't know what he's going to do. That's what scared Kurt and me. There are times he comes out of the scheme and just uses his ability or instincts to make plays."

Late in the game, the Cardinals' Larry Fitzgerald beat Ike Taylor badly at the line and then found the middle of the field wide open partly because Polamalu chased Anquan Boldin too far toward the sideline.

The result was Fitzgerald's majestic 64-yard touchdown that gave Arizona the short-lived lead in its 27-23 loss to Pittsburgh.

"He probably thought he saw something," Steelers linebacker James Farrior said in 2009. "He does a lot of things we don't understand. He's got an extra vision that we don't have. He sees a different game."

How often is Polamalu right?

"Probably about 85% of the time," replied Farrior. "You take all of the good with a few bad. You should know where he is at all times, but I don't even know if he knows where he's going to be."

Joe Whitt, the Packers' second-year cornerbacks coach, was unable to fathom Woodson's wavelength until they had several deep conversations.

"He taught me this. He said, 'Joe, a lot of guys see it but they don't believe it on game day,' " Whitt said Sunday. "It's the same with Troy.

"When Troy sees something, when he sees a formation and a motion, he believes it and goes and gets it. A lot of guys won't pull the trigger. That's the difference."

The tape-watching habits of Woodson and Polamalu are the stuff of legend in their respective camps. By kickoff, they are as prepared as a player could be.

Last year, Woodson intercepted nine passes, at least half by showing up in places or breaking on passes that left observers wondering what just happened.

Woodson often chalked it up to "instincts."

As amorphous as that word might be, the dozen or s"