Richard Sherman may be getting the attention for Super Bowl XLVIII but the key to the game may be in how both Seattle Seahawks cornerbacks, Sherman and Byron Maxwell, play for the Seattle Seahawks.
Maxwell is a big corner (6-foot-1, 207 pounds) and he's capable of playing press coverage, which he plays well. He's also capable of playing off. He's a good cornerback and nobody talks about him. The Seahawks lost starting cornerback Brandon Browner to injury and suspension, and people thought that would affect the defense. Maxwell has played at a significantly higher level than Browner. He has upgraded that position. He is an excellent player.
Maxwell's size fits coach Pete Carroll's view of that position. With later picks you see how teams think. Maxwell wasn't a big-time prospect coming out but Carroll and the Seahawks' front office wants big corners. So Seattle took him in the sixth round of the 2011 draft. The Seahawks aren't taking a flier on a 5-9, 180-pound corner. That's how a guy like Maxwell gets there.
The Seahawks rarely move their corners. Sherman will mostly stay on the left side and Maxwell will be on the right. If it's a third-and-5 and they want to match up with a certain receiver they'll put Sherman on him, but that's rare. That means the Broncos should be able to dictate which receiver gets matched up against Maxwell, and Maxwell will see Demaryius Thomas plenty on Sunday. And Manning will throw it that way. But it's not a gimme for Denver.
You can't just go after Maxwell. We've seen teams go with three-by-one sets to get a certain receiver against Maxwell. Those passes get caught occasionally, but he wins his share too. Manning will throw it to Thomas when he's on Maxwell, but it's not automatic it will be a completion for a big gain, like it was when the Broncos got specific matchups against Chiefs cornerback Marcus Cooper earlier this year.
And, even though Seattle obviously didn't draft Maxwell with this game in mind, as it turns out Maxwell is one of the corners in the league with the size to match up with Thomas.
