"When Warren native Mario Manningham was a toddler, his grandfather, Gerald Simpson, tried to mold him into a Browns fan.

"I was about 4 years old, and he used to put me in this too-small Browns outfit," said Manningham. "Even after I grew out of it, he used to tell my mom to put it on me on Sundays. He really wanted me to like the Browns, but I didn't."

While his grandfather was a diehard Browns fan, his grandmother, Dea, was a Steelers fan.

"Most of the time, my grandmother won the bets," he said.

With Manningham's contract up after this season, would he like to end up in Cleveland? It would certainly make grandpa happy.

"I don't know where I'm going to end up," he said. "I'm not really thinking about that right now. All I'm thinking about is winning this game."

Manningham, who was drafted by the Giants in the third round in 2008 out of Michigan, is a major reason the Giants are facing the Patriots for the second time this season. He's second among Giants receivers with three TD catches in the playoffs, including the 17-yarder against the 49ers that forced overtime.

"It feels great to be able to contribute and make some big plays," said Manningham, who had three catches for 33 yards and a touchdown in the regular-season victory over the Patriots.

Manningham, who caught 39 passes for 523 yards and four TDs during the regular season, made some waves here on media day when he questioned Patriots receiver Julian Edelman's ability to play cornerback and succeed against the Giants' red-hot wideouts. Edelman was a quarterback at Kent State.

"It's not just me, but us as a receiving corps," said Manningham. "We know he's a great player, but we want to go out and do what we have to do to win, no matter what it takes. He plays wide receiver. He's not a real defensive back. Did he get drafted as a defensive back? "