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Bumper-Sticker Campaign Working for Cornerbacks

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Lester Hayes, Mel Blount and Willie Brown have to be loving how NFL officials have allowed cornerbacks to dominate wide receivers at the line of scrimmage during this season’s playoffs.

Officials have turned a blind eye to violations of the five-yard bump rule, giving cornerbacks an edge.

The last thing a wide receiver wants is to be jammed at the line of scrimmage by a cornerback, then grabbed downfield while he runs a pass pattern.

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Two successful practitioners of this technique will be playing in today’s Super Bowl, New England’s Ty Law and Carolina’s Ricky Manning Jr.

Law has become the prototype for today’s cornerback. He loves contact and he uses his upper-body strength and quick hands and feet to perfection at the line of scrimmage. He also plays mind games with receivers.

If he thinks a receiver wants to go inside on a route, Law will line up outside, then jump inside before the snap, luring the receiver into contact, making it difficult for him to get free and run a route.

Law also is well-versed in his team’s defensive schemes. His film study shows because he always seems to know where a play is going, based on a formation.

Like Hayes, Blount and Brown, Law gets beaten for catches from time to time. But like yesterday’s great cornerbacks, he usually responds on the next play.

The Patriots are expected to put Law on Carolina’s Steve Smith for much of the game. If he’s able to frustrate the Panthers’ speedy receiver and keep him without catches early, the Panthers’ offense will be in trouble. That will leave Muhsin Muhammad against New England’s other cornerback, Tyrone Poole, a former Panther.

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Poole is a good defensive back, but he’s no Law. Muhammad may be too big and physical to be shut down by Poole, perhaps prompting New England to play more zone defenses. That would open things up for the Panthers’ running game.

Another important matchup will be Carolina’s slot receiver, Ricky Proehl, against New England’s nickel back, Asante Samuel. Proehl is one of the best at avoiding contact and getting free on his patterns. Samuel doesn’t have the strength to tie him up at the line of scrimmage and will have to rely on his makeup speed to make plays.

Like Law, the Panthers’ Manning has been a rock. He has been able to smother top receivers throughout the playoffs. He manhandled Dallas’ Joey Galloway and Terry Glenn, then put a blanket on St. Louis’ Torry Holt. In the NFC championship game, Manning took the heart from Philadelphia’s James Thrash.

The former UCLA cornerback is crafty and has a knack for getting the football. He does a lot of his work in tight man-to-man coverage but he’ll also go for interceptions whenever the Panthers are playing a zone.

Manning’s unpredictability makes receivers alter their routes and that often leads to interceptions. Manning had three against Philadelphia.

It will be interesting to see how Carolina uses Manning against the Patriots, who lack a go-to receiver. New England quarterback Tom Brady gets the ball to a variety of receivers.

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Deion Branch, David Givens, Troy Brown, Dedrick Ward and Bethel Johnson may not have the talents of Minnesota’s Randy Moss but they are physical receivers eager to compete. That will be important against the Panthers’ cornerbacks.

Carolina’s other cornerback, Reggie Howard, also is a physical player who has a tendency to gamble. He tips his coverage on occasion, and if he does so early, expect Brady and the Patriots to pick on him.

Whichever team plays the better game against man-to-man coverage is likely to win today, unless the officials change their trend and make penalties the story of the game.

Hayes, Blount and Brown wouldn’t like that. Defensive backs always think it’s better to let the big games be decided by the players.

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