The matchup between the New York Giants' receiver corps and the New England Patriots' secondary figures to be one of the most dissected mini-games leading up to Super Bowl XLVI.
Based on past production and whom makes up each respective unit, the Giants' trio of Victor Cruz, Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham seems to hold a decisive advantage. New England had the league's second-worst pass defense during the regular season, and even though the Pats showed marked improvement during their two playoff wins, their defensive plan still heavily relies on contributions from wideout-turned-conerback Julian Edelman.
"I hope he's out there when we play them," Manningham told the Boston Herald. "I don't want to sound like that, but you know what I mean. To our advantage, I hope he's out there."
Manningham then added a few comments that surely will find their way to the Patriots' locker room.
"It's a different stage," Manningham said. "This ain't regular season. That ain't your real position, so we're going to try to expose you. It's all or nothing now. That ain't your position, this is the Super Bowl and we want you to play that position."
Edelman was tasked with covering Anquan Boldin for much of last weekend's AFC Championship Game and was targeted repeatedly by Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco. Flacco looked for Boldin five times on the final drive, completing four pass for 59 yards.
