Captain Munnerlyn ready to trash talk with Anquan Boldin

Captain Munnerlyn is the Vikings’ nickel cornerback, as Munnerlyn himself confirmed, and will be lining up against the ’49ers slot receiver Monday night.

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In many instances the Niners’ slot receiver will be veteran Anquan Boldin, a man known for his punishing physical style.

That matchup may lead to some difficulties for Munnerlyn who is not the biggest man in the world. But there is one other area where Munnerlyn thinks he can matchup with Boldin: the jawing department.

Munnerlyn expects some spirited verbal exchanges between himself and Boldin come Monday night (via ESPN.com):

"“He’s going to say something,” Munnerlyn said. “Anquan, I’ve played against him a lot. He’s definitely going to say a couple words, and we’re going to get a little jawing. I’m sure we’re going to do that. But at the same time, we’re going to stay within the rules and compete against each other.”"

Players like Boldin getting work from the slot is probably a big part of the reason Mike Zimmer seemed hesitant to just hand the slot corner job to Munnerlyn.

Zimmer probably had these kinds of matchups in mind when he tried out men like Terence Newman and Trae Waynes in that spot at various times during the preseason.

If Waynes had come along just a little bit faster, would Zimmer have tried lining up Waynes at outside corner and sliding Newman into the slot to deal with guys like Boldin?

There’s no doubt the Vikings tried to get bigger and stronger at the cornerback position this offseason. Unfortunately Waynes didn’t show enough as a rookie to lock down a starting or nickel role right away.

As a result of Waynes’ slow development, Zimmer will just have to settle for letting 5-9 Munnerlyn go out there and try to deal with Anquan Boldin. Let’s hope that doesn’t become an issue Monday night.

Munnerlyn may be ready to jaw with Boldin but is he ready to bang?

Next: Vikings v. 49ers: Five players to watch

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