Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu had a brush with the clippers back in 2000, only because a coach insisted.

The two budding stars are part of surging trend in the National Football League.

Around the NFL, more and more athletes sport dreadlocks, corn rows or, in the case of Polamalu, a wild, 60s hippy-like coif that have been grown and nurtured for years.

Polamalu learned the downside to his Samson-esque choice of hairstyles - painfully - last weekend.

To halt a 31-yard interception return, Kansas City's Larry Johnson pulled a pass-picking Polamalu to the ground by the long, flowing locks that cover up the name and even some of the number on his back - a perfectly legal tackle, albeit dangerous.

After contemplation in suspended Miami running back Ricky Williams' earlier years, the NFL has yet to put restrictions on hair hanging from the helmet. The league also ruled that tackling by the hair is allowed, citing the hair is to be considered part of the uniform.

Maroney is no fool, though, especially with his orange-tipped dreads now dipping down past the shoulder length. Have you seen the rookie use the stiff-arm on defensive backs looking to take him on up high?

"Self-defense," admitted Maroney, who uses the open-hand slap to the face mask to keep his opposition from yanking the dreads. "I'm not worried about (being tackled hair first) now."

Defenders aren't stupid, especially 175-pound defensive backs. Their options are a face full of Maroney's pumping knee caps or an attempted fistful of shirt and dreads. So Maroney's stiff-arm evens the score.

Perhaps, the rest of the NFL's Dread Nation should learn from the rookie.

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Polamalu, a Samoan native who calls his flowing mane a "fifth appendage," was nonplussed by all the attention surrounding his hair and the Johnson tackle. As a safety, he told the Associated Press, "I never have the ball enough for someone to pull my hair."

Players without dreads respect the hairstyle to a point.

While Johnson's takedown of Polamalu dealt a bit more with the frustration of an ugly loss than the hair, Mike Vrabel found himself once grasping for locks to make a tackle and will do it again.

"It was Ricky Williams and he was trying to get to the corner with Miami," said the Patriots outside linebacker. "At that point, you're grabbing for anything you can get, the jersey, the hair. Sure it's legal; I'll do it.

"Of course, pulling a guy down by the hair is one thing. Grabbing on and twisting it at the bottom of a pile is totally another."

Dreadlocks are a style in which the hair is twisted in rope-like locks. Corn rows, thin braids in a same fashion, are also popping up more and more.

According to the hair care company Knotty Boy Dread Stuff, which specializes in dreadlocks and braids, dreads can be locked with as little as three inches of hair.

Williams, he of the eccentric styles and multiple offenses of the NFL's drug abuse policy, was one of the early dread donners in the league, along with Mike McKenzie during his days in Green Bay.

Williams was asked about the pain of being dragged down by the dreads. "You ever been stepped on by a 300-pound defensive lineman?" he retorted. "That hurts, too."

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Three Patriots sport longtime dreads, with the locks flowing out of their helmets. Receiver Doug Gabriel, practice squad linebacker Corey Mays and rookie running sensation Maroney have all chosen dreads for their look.

Maroney chose the hairdo in his first year at the University of Minnesota strictly for a change of style.

"It's easy to care for, just twist it up and let it lock," said Maroney, who professes no connection to the Rastafarian culture from which the style began. "I thought it looked good, and this (pointing to his full head of dreads) just happened. It just grows."

His locks have grown more than a foot long with the tips tinted almost an orange shade.

In addition to the three notables in the New England locker room, there is cornerback Asante Samuel, whose braided corn rows have begun to show from the base of his helmet. Linebacker Eric Alexander also sports dreads in their early stages, still hiding underneath his helmet.

Alexander, like Maroney, made the switch for the vanity. "I'm not sure I'm going for it that long, if it happens, it happens," the 24-year-old said.

"I doubt religion or cultural issues have anything to do with it. Guys just like the hairstyle. I don't know too much of the Rastafarian culture. I'm not taking on any of their beliefs, it's just the hair, that's all."

Alexander, a special-teams player on the bottom half of the Patriots roster, was adamant that his new locks had nothing to do with the "Rasta world."

Dreads are clearly part of that Jamaican, Reggae-inspired culture that is often stereotypically linked with marijuana use. That's something Williams found easy to align himself with, and even Gabriel has noted his devotion to the island and its music.

The players insist, though, they aren't doing it to pay homage to legendary artist Bob Marley or anyone else. The look has been moving more and more mainstream.

"I've always liked it," said Maroney.

Meanwhile, Alexander added, "I'm really not sure if it's more prevalent in football now than before. But people have taken notice of it more. Guys have had them in college. They've had them for years and aren't ready to let the look go.