ALBANY, N.Y. -- Where there is a Will, the old proverb suggests (and, yeah, we know that the "w" technically isn't supposed to be capitalized), there is a way.

And where there are two of them, the New York Giants organization feels, there just might be a way to Super Bowl XXXVIII.

In the pair of third-year veterans familiarly known to teammates as "Will A." and "Will P." -- or, more specifically, Will Allen and William Peterson, respectively -- a Giants team that is suddenly becoming much better known now for its productive offense might well possess the best and most explosive young cornerback tandem in the entire league.

Which sounds like a pretty good assessment to Allen, the Giants' first-round selection in the 2001 draft, provided the adjective young is expunged from the analysis. Not to worry, Will A., since your reputation and that of your cornerback partner seems now to come with neither requisite modifiers nor caveat-like conditions.

	“	They've got talent, they're young and, what I like best, they work hard. Plus, they are both good team guys. The nature of the position sometimes means guys who play it become loners. They brood a little bit. But these two are outgoing, good leaders, and they don't go into a shell. ”
		— Jim Fassel, Giants coach

Young or old or in-between, even those wide receivers who have gotten the better of the New York duo in the past seem to realize that their days are numbered. And, as well, that their receiving numbers are destined to shrink considerably the more times they match up against the fast-maturing Peterson and Allen.

"Those guys don't play like (cornerbacks) who have only been around a couple of years," said San Francisco star wideout Terrell Owens. "They're good, very good, and they make you work for everything you get. Plus you can tell they like playing together. There is a sort of (synergy) there, like one always knows what the other is doing, even though they aren't exactly cut in the same mold. But the more they play, yeah, the tougher those two are going to be."

In the 49ers' dramatic comeback victory in the 2002 playoffs, a game in which the Giants experienced the ignominy of the second-largest postseason collapse in league history, the brilliant Owens had nine catches for 177 yards and two touchdowns. Only four months earlier, in the NFL's much-ballyhooed Thursday night regular-season opener, Peterson and Allen limited Owens to a mere four receptions for 41 yards.

Looking at those widely disparate statistics, one might conclude that Owens actually got his assessment backwards, and that he meant to suggest wide receivers would prosper the more times they saw the New York cornerbacks. Owens held firm to his original thesis, though, that Allen and Peterson are emerging stars in the league, both individually and as a matched set.

And when Terrell talks, which he does often, well, people listen.

Certainly as the Giants opened training camp late last week, with the franchise harboring Super Bowl aspirations it wasn't trying particularly hard to camouflage even at this early juncture of the summer, Peterson and Allen were worth talking about.

But watching them in practice, where they worked as hard as anyone on the field, was even better.

These are two players who, now absent the lengthy shadow of departed Jason Sehorn, figure to move much closer to the league's center stage now. Although both surpassed Sehorn as coverage defenders last season, the former Giants star and resident celebrity still garnered his share of the spotlight, and neither Peterson nor Allen begrudged him that seeming birthright.

The corners each claimed that they were sorry Sehorn departed because he took with him years of wisdom on which they often leaned. But even coach Jim Fassel conceded that the two might blossom even more without the inherent Sehorn focus that became a factor the past two seasons as the veteran corner began to see his talents erode.

"You might see them carry themselves a little differently, perhaps be more outspoken now, maybe a little looser," Fassel said. "That's just human nature."

They are seemingly joined at the hip but, unlike some better known and more colorful cornerback pairings leaguewide, not necessarily at the lip. There might be a modicum of smack-talkin' because it is inherent to the position, but Peterson and Allen are both well-spoken, and their deeds speak even more eloquently than their decibels.

"I think we push each other a little," acknowledged Peterson, a third-round choice in the '01 draft after an itinerant college career, but a player who actually got his first starting assignment before Allen did. "We make each other better. But it's not what you would call a competition. He wants me to be good, and I want him to be good, and that's just the way things are. We're good friends and, playing the cornerback position, it helps to have a guy who understands exactly what you might be going through."

Just as misery craves company, so does mastery, and Allen and Peterson have benefited from both friendship and frustration, from having been thrown together into the crucible at the NFL's loneliest position. From their first day of rookie orientation in the spring of 2001, their lockers have been side-by-side, at Giants Stadium and in training camp here. That physical proximity has carried over on the field and off it.

The two corners have struck a strong friendship, are roommates together on the road and in camp, have participated as a tandem in charitable endeavors and, in general, seem to have each other's back. From a physical dimension, they are hardly similar, and both agree their playing styles diverge, but there is a palpable dovetailing that nicely ties up the Giants starting cornerback package.

"When you've been through the wars together," Allen allowed, "you can't help but to be close. I mean, we came into the league together, (playing) the same position, sitting in all the same meetings and stuff . . . so it's sort of natural we would become friends. We may not do everything together, because I've got a family and he doesn't, but we'll still stick pretty close on most things."

Case in point: When both were asked on the first day of camp what element of their game they would most like to improve in 2003, each, in separate interview sessions 30 minutes apart, cited enhanced consistency as their biggest goal for the coming season.

One of the areas in which Peterson and Allen diverge is their coverage styles. The bigger Peterson is clearly the more aggressive player, known to be a more knee-jerk reactionary, while Allen is the smoother defender and a polished technician. During his college career at Syracuse, Allen was touted as one of the country's premier corners. Peterson, who had some off-field problems at Michigan that caused him to transfer after two seasons there, had to finish his campus tenure in the relative hinterlands, at Western Illinois.

To his credit, Peterson has matured markedly over the last several years, and the Giants scouts, renowned sticklers on the issue of character, had no qualms about recommending the franchise choose him.

In two seasons, Allen has started 27 games, recorded 104 tackles, five interceptions and 10 passes defensed. Over the same period, Peterson has 17 starts at right cornerback, with 92 tackles, three thefts and 14 knockdowns. One of the best statistics: Both cornerbacks are just 24 years old, already established starters, and with their best football still lying ahead of them.

How many teams in a league where cornerback is a prime position, one where every franchise would love to have extended stability, wouldn't like to have a couple of guys not yet 25 years old lining up on the edge of the secondary for them?

"Yeah, it's a nice feeling," allowed Fassel. "They've got talent, they're young and, what I like best, they work hard. Plus, they are both good team guys. The nature of the position sometimes means guys who play it become loners. They brood a little bit. But these two are outgoing, good leaders, and they don't go into a shell."

Fact is, the two young corners have quickly developed the selective amnesia requisite to surviving at the position. No cornerback has ever gotten through a season without giving up a big play. Let the long bomb get to you mentally and your psyche will eventually just implode on you, Peterson and Allen understand, and keep telling each other.

"You've got to have a short memory," Allen said, "but you never forget. I think we both comprehend that (reality) of the position. And if something happens, well, we're there for each other. I just think we share the will to succeed."

And the Giants share two Wills that should help make this season and interesting one.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.