LATROBE - Troy Polamalu never found himself lacking for confidence on the football field until last season, his rookie year with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Polamalu questioned his knowledge of the defense, his ability to cover, even his ability to tackle, and he was openly honest about what he felt was his poor play.

But the former first-round pick is a new man at training camp this season. He's not only breaking up passes, he's doing so with intimidating authority. Ask Hines Ward, who went up for a ball at a recent practice only to have both of his hands chopped, tomahawk-style, by Polamalu, the converging strong safety.

"It was a perfect play," Ward said. "Tommy (Maddox) put it right on my hands and at the same time his hands came in there and batted it down. He's making himself known for that. When you get close to Troy, make sure you catch the ball and cover it up."

Polamalu is also drawing notice for not hitting receivers in the open field. Last week, he drew back from hitting tight end Jay Riemersma over the middle. On Tuesday, he drew back from hitting Chris Doering over the middle. Doering, feeling Polamalu's presence, short-armed the pass and it fell incomplete.

"He would've made a lot of plays in this camp," said Coach Bill Cowher. "But he has kind of pulled off and made some good decisions because it is our guys we are practicing against."

Nothing seemed to go the right way in practices last season. Initially, Polamalu felt like an outsider. He was a highly paid rookie trying to take the starting job away from veteran Mike Logan.

Then Polamalu had trouble figuring out the Steelers' defenses. In the Steelers' scheme, it's important for the strong safety to understand everyone's responsibilities.

On special teams, Polamalu's primary responsibility as the fullback on punt coverage was to block and then cover. But his missed block allowed the Seattle Seahawks to block a punt and beat the Steelers last year. Polamalu also missed a sure interception at the 1-yard line that allowed the St. Louis Rams to score a touchdown in another Steelers loss.

Throughout the season, Steelers defensive coordinator Tim Lewis, now with the New York Giants, held firm in his belief that Polamalu would one day become an exceptional player, and, judging from Polamalu's play in training camp, Lewis may be right.

"Well, I feel great out there," Polamalu said. "We haven't had the opportunity to really play. I try to make practice as close to game speed as possible. Once we put the uniforms on, whether it be this Saturday (preseason opener) or against the Oakland Raiders (regular-season opener), we'll have a chance to really see how comfortable I am."

The prospect of letting loose and punishing another team's receivers going over the middle doesn't necessarily excite Polamalu.

"I'm excited just to see our defense work as a unit for the first time under coach (Dick) LeBeau," he said. "It feels like we're doing great, but I'm still young in this league and in this defense and organization. I don't think my word can go very far, but I feel very comfortable."