Can Browner adjust?

“(Browner) told me one of the things I’ll never forget,” Sherman told the Herald last week. “He said, ‘They brought us in here — we’re both big, tall and long — to put our hands on people, to stand up toe to toe every play and put our hands on people, so that’s what we need to do every time.’ And he didn’t say anything else the whole camp to me.”​

“Denver’s receivers gave them problems with physicality a lot of times,” Sherman said. “Especially once Aqib (Talib) went out, they had trouble stopping them, and it’s a game of wills. The Broncos were able to impose their physicality on them, and I think Brandon will negate all of that, and have a countering effect, impose his will and play a tougher game.”​

“It’s still a work in progress, man,” Browner said during a private moment after Thursday’s practice. “Stuff is still new to me, so I have some up days and down days. Some days, I feel like I’ve got it, and some days are rougher than others.”

Sherman, who still speaks to his former teammate a few times per week, isn’t concerned about Browner’s ability to pick up the scheme, but he hoped the Patriots would let him do his thing without too much interference.

“(Browner) has a very good football IQ,” Sherman said. “I think he’ll be fine picking up their checks and their reads and their defense. I think he’ll pick that up easily and won’t have any problems or issues. He’s a very instinctual player, also.

“Sometimes, putting a lot of pre-snap reads and all that kind of takes away from his instincts, and I hope they don’t do that because that’s part of our game. That’s what allowed us to be successful in Seattle — a lack of checks and the lack of reads and things like that. We just stand up there and go toe to toe.”

Of course, the Seahawks’ way worked as they established the most dominating defense in the NFL, and the Legion of Boom secondary was their chief asset. The Patriots clearly wanted Revis and Browner to link up with safety Devin McCourty to form a similarly daunting unit.

Sherman was fully onboard with the signing and believed the Pats could have the second or third best secondary in the NFL. Beyond 2014, if Revis happens to be a one-and-done rental, Sherman thought Browner could fulfill the role of being the Patriots’ No. 1 cornerback for the remainder of his three-year contract.

“I definitely think that’s the kind of player he can be, and I don’t think he’d have any problem embracing that role and coming into his own,” Sherman said. “I think he’s one of the most dynamic and underrated players in our football league.

“Man, he’s a great teammate.”​