INDIANAPOLIS — When the question was posed to Giants receiver Mario Manningham, it was met with an uncomfortable pause and the body language of a guy wanting to speak his mind but knowing he probably shouldn’t.
“Mario, what do you think of Julian Edelman as a cornerback and, with him covering slot receivers, do you think he can stay with Victor Cruz?’’ I asked him yesterday.
Manningham fidgeted in his seat and stammered, “Um, we’ll see on Sunday. … We’ll see on Sunday. I don’t really want to say anything else about him because … you know … we’ll see on Sunday.’’
COMPLETE GIANTS SUPER BOWL COVERAGE
Then Manningham, unable to muzzle himself any longer, blurted out, “Let me ask you: Do you think he can [cover Cruz]?’’
“No, I don’t think he can,’’ I replied.
“OK, then,’’ Manningham said, feeling as if he got his point across without directly stating he believes the Giants will exploit Edelman, the Patriots receiver who also is used as an inside cornerback.
“He’s a good player, but he’s not a defensive back and I see plays out there for us to be made against him,’’ Manningham said.
Cruz likely will match up against Edelman in the slot.
“I see he’s very raw at that position, obviously because it’s not his dominant position,’’ Cruz said. “Obviously, that’s going to be an area that we’re going to test out really early in the game and see how it goes.’’
Edelman’s response to the Giants’ confidence they’ll make plays on him was a defiant shrug of his shoulders.
“I am not really worried about what Mario Manningham is saying right now,’’ Edelman said. “That’s just noise. I don’t really focus on what other people are talking about. I’m just focusing on my job.’’
Edelman’s teammates believe he’ll hold up just fine against Cruz and the Giants receiving corps.
“I have full faith in Julian, 100 percent,” safety Patrick Chung said.
Kyle Arrington, the Patriots’ top cornerback, called Edelman “feisty.’’
“He’s out there throwing his body around and, shoot, he’s a better tackler than I would have thought,” Arrington said.
Patriots safety James Ihedigbo recalled seeing Edelman, whom he refers to as “Slash,’’ enter the defensive meeting for the first time.
“I was like, ‘Are you lost? What are you doing in here?’ ’’ Ihedigbo said.
Receiver Deion Branch described Edelman as the type of defensive player who gets under receivers’ skin.
“He’s an aggressive guy,” Branch said. “You don’t find that too often with guys on the offensive side of the ball. Coach Belichick saw that in him.’’
Bill Belichick saw enough in Edelman that he didn’t cut him earlier this season when he was arrested and charged with indecent assault and battery on Halloween night for allegedly groping a woman at a Boston nightclub.
Edelman, a college quarterback at Kent State who had not played defensive back since he was a high school freshman, was first used at cornerback on Nov. 13 against the Jets, injuring running back LaDainian Tomlinson’s knee with a hit in that game.
If there is anyone who understands the challenges of playing on both sides of the ball as a receiver and cornerback, it is former Patriot Troy Brown, who was used in the same role by Belichick during New England’s last Super Bowl winning season in 2004.
“Julian is not afraid to get up there and mix it up and be physical with guys,’’ Brown told The Post yesterday. “He’s just one of those guys that you watch play and say, ‘He’s just a football player.’ ’’
Because he saw teams do it to him, Brown said he expects the Giants to “game-plan’’ for certain matchups against Edelman.
“Julian is a competitor, and I don’t know that the Giants know that about him,’’ Brown said. “He has to go up against probably the best slot receiver in the game every day in practice in Wes Welker. He’ll be ready for the Giants.He won’t back down.’’