This is arguably the most important skill for CBs in 4.5. It basically determines how long a CB is going to stop a receiver in his tracks before letting him go flying by. The longer the jam, the more likely the QB dumps off or gets sacked. When you see a big pass on a weak side slant, it's because the WR had an advantage in b&r and speed. This is why you should always play your best DB at CB2.
This has a little less emphasis on 4.6, it appears, where speed is kind of nerfed and m2m appears to be the primary coverage skill. Coverage is so much tighter, though, that passing is difficult no matter what your DB attributes are.