Can Browner adjust?

[MrNathanDrake]

I think Browner will cover a lot of TE's this year.

 

[Huckleberry1]

I think that Browner will either be a star or will struggle depending on how he is used. BB is usually pretty adept at exploiting player's strengths and covering up their weaknesses, at least when injuries don't force his hand.

I was just going to post the same thing, Belichick is exceptional at using player's to their strengths and i expect him to match Browner up according to the profiles of the offense they are facing. I would still like to see him end up as the safety next to McCourty but we will have to wait and see if Belichick has that in mind for him as they move forward.

 

[mayoclinic]

I was just going to post the same thing, Belichick is exceptional at using player's to their strengths and i expect him to match Browner up according to the profiles of the offense they are facing. I would still like to see him end up as the safety next to McCourty but we will have to wait and see if Belichick has that in mind for him as they move forward.

I originally thought of him as a safety, but (as many others pointed out) his best skill is jamming WRs and knocking them off their routes. But I do think that BB will use him creatively, and that at times he will drop into a safety role.

 

[Huckleberry1]

I originally thought of him as a safety, but (as many others pointed out) his best skill is jamming WRs and knocking them off their routes. But I do think that BB will use him creatively, and that at times he will drop into a safety role.

Yep, the question is really about how Browners skills are best used and despite his measurables, which scream strong safety, it may be that he plays better in a press corner or press interior DB role than he does off the ball. In either case I have a great deal of confidence that Belichick is going to know how best to use him and maximize his skills. Great pick-up.

 

[PatsBoy12]

The beauty about this defense is Browner won't have to if he proves incapable. We have enough guys who can line up in multiple areas. If Revis is in a matchup where he is following the best receiver, Dennard can line up on either side. Ryan can line up on either side. Even Arrington can line up on either side in a bind, though he is one you prefer to have in the slot because he's way better there than on the outside.

Browner could potentially line up at safety on occasion. I don't see it as a full-time thing, which has been suggested by some, but I will not be surprised to see him at the SS spot in some packages. BB is about versatility and using guys in multiple spots. Remember, Ty Law lined up at SS in a few packages back in the day.

 

[jmt57]

On the topic of Brandon Browner, Jeff Howe had an interview with Richard Sherman about the new Patriots' cornerback.

Brandon Browner has size, power to help Patriots turn the corner | Boston Herald

“(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.”​

Sherman goes on to comment about the Patriots in the AFCCG loss to Denver.

“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.”​

There are also comments on Browner learning a new system, and in what type of scheme Sherman sees fitting Browner the best.

“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.”​

One last thing I noticed: after the Herald ran the story based on the interview with Sherman, the Globe ran a story based on the Herald's column. So how does one attract readers to a story based on a story, without losing your readers to your competition?

How about by writing a completely different headline, even if it implies something quite different from the content? The Herald's headline was Brandon Browner has size, power to help Patriots turn the corner; the Globe's headline was titled Richard Sherman Sounds off on Former Teammate Brandon Browner.

 

[SmellsLikeGrundle]

Can he adjust?

I'll have to check his combine #'s.