Was Brown a steal?

[PonyExpress]

It took Kareem a long time to mature into an impact college player, so it may be unrealistic to expect him to take to the NFL like a fish to water. Hopefully #75 can keep the Hit Stick and Kareem on the straight and narrow. Vince has that kind of charisma and is still beloved by his Miami brethren past and present. As for Kareem, he will likely follow a similar slow-starting pattern in the NFL as he did in college. If he backs up his college coach's bluster with a LeKevin Smith type rookie year I will be pleased: good attitude, hard worker, listens to coaching, gets stronger, eats right, etc. Kareem turned it on at the end of last season and stands out on tape if not in workouts.

 

[Metaphors]

No doubt a great value at that spot. Makes you wonder why no one that needs a 4-3 tackle picked him up.

Doesn't seem to have a position in a 3-4.

NFL.com says "He plays too tall in his stance to be a nose guard, but shows enough lateral movement to make plays down the line".

http://www.nfl.com/draft/profiles/2007/brown_kareem

And he's too slow to play end.

I think you need to look at what he CAN do instead of concentrating on what he can't do. When you watch him play, you see that he is incredibly strong once he gets locked onto an OL. When he locates the ball, he disengages quickly and pursues well. Basically he disrupts the pocket or inside run blocking...which is a useful asset to have around.

I don't think he fits the prototype for any of the DL spots in the Pats' 3-4, but he brings a skill set that can be useful in a situational context. While Manning was picking the Pats apart in the 2nd half of the AFCC, the Pats really could have used someone to push Saturday back into Manning's face. Make him move a step or two to the side and his throws (or anyone else's for that matter) take longer and become a little less accurate.

So I look for Brown to stick and to become a part of the DL rotation. At least this year, I don't see him getting a lot of snaps since he seems to lack the discipline for gap control. I do see him getting the opportunity to be a distruptive force in key situations (2 minute defense, short yardage, etc.).

 

[patchick]

So I look for Brown to stick and to become a part of the DL rotation. At least this year, I don't see him getting a lot of snaps since he seems to lack the discipline for gap control.

Interesting that another former Hurricane--who's apparently friendly with Brown--has watched his career soar since he learned to suppress his aggressive instincts in favor of disciplined gap technique. I'm sure Wilfork and Brown will have plenty to talk about.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Interesting that another former Hurricane--who's apparently friendly with Brown--has watched his career soar since he learned to suppress his aggressive instincts in favor of disciplined gap technique. I'm sure Wilfork and Brown will have plenty to talk about.

Not to mention Santonio Thomas.

 

[VJCPatriot]

Trust me, you can never have too much depth at DL. Those big guys can get tired and having a quality guy to rotate in can really keep the defense fresh for later in the game. Also as you know injuries are a part of football, knock on wood. So if Kareem Brown can contribute a few downs per game in his rookie year at an acceptable level, that's a few downs more rest for our premiere guys so they can be at their best for the big plays in the game.

 

[sebman2112]

I like Brown a lot. Green is a good player in his role. Wright is a good backup. But I would like a more complete backup DE for rotations, injuries and four man lines. I was looking more at Carriker and Harrell (the latter of which went way earlier than I expected) but Brown is an interesting fallback plan.

When everyone's healthy I wouldn't mind seeing some (note, some, I'm not proposing a chnage of our base defense because of a 4th round pick) 4-3 with Brown, Seymour, Warren, Wilfork upfronnt Vrabel, Colvin, Thomas at LB.

The Patriots already use the 4-3 in certain situations, so you'll see it.

 

[sebman2112]

Brown returned with a vengeance, setting a Hurricanes record for sacks by a defensive tackle (11).

“Over the second half of the season, you’d be hard pressed to find a better defensive tackle in the country,” Hurtt said. “If he had played that way all year, he would have been a top-15 pick.”

http://patriots.bostonherald.com/patriots/view.bg?articleid=1000435&format=&page=1

Sounds like Brown has alot of potential.....sounds like a hungry guy coming off the bench.

Yea, I like brown, and Pioli said he was surprised Kareem was still on the board when they picked him.

 

[sebman2112]

Look at his measurables. Brown is 6'4'' 290lbs. That really not the weight youd be looking for but if he puts on some more weight and plays well he can be a dominant piece.

He dropped weight for workouts. He played at I believe 315lbs last year.

 

[sebman2112]

It took Kareem a long time to mature into an impact college player, so it may be unrealistic to expect him to take to the NFL like a fish to water. Hopefully #75 can keep the Hit Stick and Kareem on the straight and narrow. Vince has that kind of charisma and is still beloved by his Miami brethren past and present. As for Kareem, he will likely follow a similar slow-starting pattern in the NFL as he did in college. If he backs up his college coach's bluster with a LeKevin Smith type rookie year I will be pleased: good attitude, hard worker, listens to coaching, gets stronger, eats right, etc. Kareem turned it on at the end of last season and stands out on tape if not in workouts.

He was inconsisant but I wouldn't say it took him a long time to mature into an impact college player. Again, he always flashed the ability, he was just inconsistant for a large part of his career. During his senior year he became more consistant.

While he was inconsistant he still had better production (157 tackles, 30.5 tackles for loss, and 20.5 sacks in 48 games) than most of the DT's rated ahead of him.

Look at the list of college DT's, and he had more production than most rated ahead of him.

Actually he had more Sacks (in some cases way more) than ANY other DT ranked in their top 30 on that list.

 

[SeanBruschi54]

He dropped weight for workouts. He played at I believe 315lbs last year.

Then in that case he could be one of the biggest steals in this draft if he pans out.

 

[Metaphors]

Interesting that another former Hurricane--who's apparently friendly with Brown--has watched his career soar since he learned to suppress his aggressive instincts in favor of disciplined gap technique. I'm sure Wilfork and Brown will have plenty to talk about.

How much do you think that played into the decision to draft Brown? Having a "big brother" can only help him reach his full potential. Given Brown's skills and apparent support system, the real question is does he have the football IQ to get those gameday opportunities. Hill has all the talent in the world but has never earned the chance to apply it on the field. So what can Brown do for us? Is it August yet?

 

[mgteich]

We don't need anything from Brown this year, although it does seem that he can be Wilfork's backup by mid-season if gains the weight back. If ends wup being a situation DL like Green then that's fine. In this draft, Brown is the 4th round is a great pick up. He would have been fine at 91 or 110 but we received better offers from Oakland for those picks.