Brown does not shrink from ‘Megatron' challenge

Calvin Johnson is six feet, five inches and 236 pounds of touchdowns and receiving yards. His speed and strength earned him the moniker 'Megatron' as well as 16 scores and 1,681 yards in 2011.There are defensive backs who may be faster, but none bigger. The tallest DB on the 49ers roster is safety Dashon Goldson at 6-2. The heaviest is Donte Whitner at 208 pounds. Tarell Brown (5-10, 193) and Carlos Rogers (6-0, 192) are typical in size for starting corners.Those kind of disparities certainly give Johnson the advantage over his defenders, and that's just the kind of challenge Brown is looking for."I always get geeked up for games like this because our backs are up against the wall," Brown said. "People don't expect you to play up to your caliber just because of the type of guy he is. For me, I'm really excited."Excitement is one thing. Execution is another. Johnson will pose a challenge Sunday especially when the quarterback getting him the ball threw for more than 5,000 yards last season. But as good as Matthew Stafford is, Johnson is key to containing the Lions offense. Brown explained how best to do it."I think the biggest thing is really to key Johnson more or less, with him getting in and out of his breaks," Brown said. "You want to take the focus off the quarterback and have more focus onto him and kind of see what his types of stems are, where he likes to go with the ball, the types of routes he likes and how he bends and breaks out of his cuts."A lot of that information will come from film study, some from instinct and a good amount from a player's 'tells'. Like a bad poker player who gives away his hand by showing emotion, a receiver can tip off a defender.RELATED: Calvin Johnson misses Lions' Wednesday practice
"The receiver's eyes usually get big. They get wide-eyed just because the ball is coming and you pretty much, you hear the crowd as well," Brown said. "So when you hear the crowd kind of 'oohing' and 'ahhing' you know the ball is coming to you and you're in attack mode."With a guy like that the hardest thing is the jump ball. You want to get in to him. Be aggressive with him at the line of scrimmage. My biggest thing is when the ball is in the air we're both going to compete for the ball. He might have a height advantage, but if I get off the ground quicker than him I feel like I'm taller than him. For me, I'm going to go out and compete with him."