Brandon Browner is going from playing with the best cornerback in the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks to playing with the best cornerback in the NFL with the New England Patriots. That’s probably how Richard Sherman and Darrelle Revis, respectively, see it at least.
Browner said Monday that Revis can push him to get better with the Patriots, just like Sherman did on the Seahawks. The Patriots’ secondary has the potential to be one of the best in the NFL this season.
“It’s going to be fun,” Browner said in a conference call with New England media. “Not just (Revis), but a lot of other DBs up there. Very good football players — (Patriots safety Devin) McCourty’s a good football player himself.
“Revis is one of those guys that I study. He’s a really good technician, so to say. He always seems to have a good base, a good balance in his back pedel, so it’ll be fun to play with someone like that. There will always be someone to push me, sort of like what I had with Richard Sherman and those guys, that group up there (in Seattle). We sort of pushed each other day in, day out.”
Browner doesn’t expect much to change with the Patriots, as far as his role is concerned. He still expects to play man-to-man cornerback.
“They haven’t talked to me about playing safety,” Browner said when asked about a position switch. “So far it’s just, I’m here to play cornerback.
“A lot of the stuff I’ll be doing on defense I did in Seattle. The only thing that changes is the terminology. I was also told I’ll play a lot of man to man, which is my strong suit. I take it in stride and can’t wait to get back out there.”
Browner will miss the first four games of the 2014 season because of a suspension for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy. He’ll have time to earn a starting role in OTAs, minicamp, training camp and the preseason, but the Patriots will have to use Alfonzo Dennard, Logan Ryan and Kyle Arrington at cornerback to start the season.
That should only strengthen the Patriots’ already strong defensive backfield. Dennard, Arrington and Ryan all were used as starters in 2014. McCourty was a second-team All-Pro in his first full season as a safety.
The Patriots’ secondary struggled for many years before seeing an improvement in 2013. It should be even better with Revis and Browner matched up against the league’s big wide receivers.
Have a question for Doug Kyed? Send it to him via Twitter at @DougKyedNESN or send it here.
