Johnson took at least three solid shots on slant patterns so crucial to establishing a stronghold inside Minnesota's defense.

Johnson had run a short slant pattern over the middle when Mayhew dumped the ball off to him at the Columbia 45-yard line.

Once a game, Rice could run a 10-yard slant pattern and turn it into a 60-yard touchdown.

It was a perfect slant pattern that would have beaten even Mel Blount.

Last week, on slant patterns from a four-receiver formation, he caught two touchdown passes.

He would catch that slant pattern over the middle, and I've seen him outrun some guys that we thought were fast.

Brooks ran a slant pattern and then leaped high over the middle.

When they got to the 20," he said, "we figured them to go to the slant pattern they used early in the game.

This pattern, along with the slant pattern, makes both receivers tough to cover because of their quickness.

For example, he said, the Giants on third-and-5 or third-and-6 tend to throw toward the sideline as part of a shallow slant pattern.