Brandon Browner the Strong Safety?
 

Ok, here we go...

Nick Underhill was pointing out earlier on Twitter how last season the Patriots would put Browner on the TE and if the TE didn't run a route then Browner would just drop back into zone coverage. With Keenan Lewis coming back this leads me to a few thoughts:

1) Delvin Breaux is rapidly ascending and there's no way his phenomenal play can be ignored for long. He is truly a starter who should be covering the top WR's.

2) Damian Swann is right there in the mix with Breaux. He deserves to be our nickel CB.

3) Kenny Vacarro sucks covering TE's.

In my opinion, Browner is our 4th best CB just in terms of all around ability. If we moved Browner to strong safety he may be an upgrade in coverage over Vacarro and that would make KV trade bait.

Re: Brandon Browner the Strong Safety?
 

Just stop, please just stop

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Re: Brandon Browner the Strong Safety?
 

It's truly not a bad idea. It's actually anot excellent idea theoretically. I'd like to see how it goes. I think it could work. Vacarro is nothing like he was his rookie season. We actually miss Malcolm Jenkins as well. So yeah, I like it.

Re: Brandon Browner the Strong Safety?
 

I for one don't like my team's starting CB's to have so many stipulations... "He's a press man CB who needs safety help over the top!" Lewis, Breaux and Swann are all physical and fast enough to not need just the right set of circumstances to be successful.

Re: Brandon Browner the Strong Safety?
 

Browner does not fit our defensive scheme. Once again we take a player who is good at something and use him in a way that he shouldn't be used. Cover press corner. That is what he is. Cover press safety high. He is not a shutdown corner but a very good press corner. Stop putting him in zone with a 5-10 yard cushion. He is not that type of corner. He should be jamming everything in his way period. TE WR RB I don't care, let him interrupt routes and put his hand on people. Now I know he will get flagged, but that is the type of corner he is and what you paid him to be.

Re: Brandon Browner the Strong Safety?
 

But like I pointed out in my original post, the Patriots used him sometimes as that SS/LB hybrid that covers TE's. We use Vacarro in that role but he sucks covering TE's. We are awful at stopping TE's and Browner could match up very well against them instead of on the outside against some 6 foot WR that runs a 4.3 40.

Re: Brandon Browner the Strong Safety?
 

And I can work with that. It's a pretty good idea, but it won't work under this defensive scheme. Moving someone like Browner to a position like that takes a lot of coaching and technique. Something we don't have currently. Damn I hate being so negative with this team.

Re: Brandon Browner the Strong Safety?
 

You're right. Now that I think about it... We don't have the coaching staff to even remotely do something like that. We just continue to take the square peg-round hole approach.

Re: Brandon Browner the Strong Safety?
 

His transition to safety probably wouldn't be as hard as some think.

Re: Brandon Browner the Strong Safety?
 

I was listening til you said trade KV. That will make no sense. Yes KV was beat by the TE so was Browner. KV is younger and can cover wr, his weakness is playing deep zone.

Re: Brandon Browner the Strong Safety?
 

We need to run a Big Dime. 3 Safeties, 3 Corners.

Byrd the Free. Browner the strong. Vacarro a Rover LB who blitzes often.

Lewis and Breaux on the outside. Swann at the Nickel.

Kikiha and Edebali rushing on the ends. Jordan and Richardson inside at the "DTs".

Run press man with a single high safety and blitz. I say if you're getting beat in coverage, at least get beat putting hits on the QB.

Re: Brandon Browner the Strong Safety?
 

KV is definitely not a shell-shock impact player like he was in 2013, but he still a major tackler on defense. If we traded him, we would need to replace him with a coverage LB or someone else.

We picked up Browner from the Pats with the following caveats - 1) he will get beat as many times as he makes a play in a game, 2) he will cost us at least two 15 yard penalties or interference calls per game.

His biggest problem is he currently is costing us more plays then he makes...

Re: Brandon Browner the Strong Safety?
 

I must have missed something, because I haven't seen this phenomenal play from Breaux. He's made a couple plays, but he's still a long way off. I'm just glad he isn't getting flagged every other play anymore. I'll take the improvement.

Swann has been pretty good in spots as the nickel guy. I don't know how well he'd do as a starter, just yet. I don't want Browner on the field at any position right now. I don't think it matters where you play him, he's constantly getting lost and committing penalties. I'm not sure what happened to him, but I've seen enough that I can't call it a fluke anymore.

Re: Brandon Browner the Strong Safety?
 

Browner got I know at lest one 50 yard play last week and gave up containment on the Cam TD

Re: Brandon Browner the Strong Safety?
 

Lewis described Breaux as playing at a "lockdown level."

"It doesn't really surprised me," Lewis said. "That's a guy I knew my whole life. I already knew what he's been working with. ... He's a lockdown corner. You watch him on tape. He blankets guys. He knows what his job is. That's what he do."

As for Swann, he's played consistently well during every game this season. Amazing to say for a fifth-round pick in his rookie season. He's hopped around from cornerback and safety during the first three weeks.

"Very special guy with a bright future," Lewis said. "A guy who can come in as a rookie, and they've thrown so much at him. Three different positions: corner, nickel and safety. He's definitely going to be a star in this league."
Believe it or not, some Saints have played well in 2015: Larry Holder | NOLA.com


Considering that Breaux is rarely tested and the only completion he allowed (that I can remember) was on a busted play, I would say he is doing a great job. Swann, have been playing lights out no matter where he lined up every pass in his direction been contested.

Re: Brandon Browner the Strong Safety?
 

id be surprised, very surprised

Re: Brandon Browner the Strong Safety?
 

Browner the unemployed cornerback more like!

Re: Brandon Browner the Strong Safety?
 

Browner is the CB you want on those big TE and WR

IN PRESS MAN COVERAGE ANYTHING ELSE AND IT IS TROUBLE

Do not play him off the line and do not ask him to react in space. It is not his game.

HE MUST BE ALLOWED TO JAM AND MUG IN THE FIRST 5 YARDS

It is that simple.

That is why Lewis being out has hurt Browner and the saints. He is not a #1 CB and he is not what i call a #2 either. He is better as a specialty CB against slower taller WR/TE. That is it. no more no less. Dude is lost in space.

Think of him as the Rocky of CB not an Apollo Creed.

He could not react to stop a B-Slap to save his life. J


BUT just do not let him get his hands on you.

Re: Brandon Browner the Strong Safety?
 

That is fair enough.
I like a guy who is trying to think through solutions.

Re: Brandon Browner the Strong Safety?
 

Totally agree. If we can get Keenan back, just start Keenan and Browner and play a lot of Tampa 2. What do we have to lose? Should at least try it but instead Rob Ryan 'will want to get weird'.

Re: Brandon Browner the Strong Safety?
 

With all due respect to Lewis, I don't expect him to say anything differently. Teammates don't usually say bad things about each other.

Breaux got beat all game long against Arizona, and got flagged for holding or interference as a result of him being out of position. Tampa Bay sucks, so it's not like it should be hard to defend them, especially when they didn't even have Mike Evans. Yet he got burned for a deep bomb in that one. And against Carolina, again, no weapons except for Olson, but we couldn't cover him. Pretty much everything was thrown in the middle of the field, because it was wide open. I can't say how well Breaux did or did not play in that game, because there was no need to throw downfield.

I don't see him making plays, and that goes for the rest of the guys. I noted the improvement from the Arizona game, but when I hear things like "phenomenal play" and "lockdown level" that is pure hyperbole, at this point.

I agree that Swann has played well, and I said that, but he hasn't been on the field enough to know how he'd do as a starter. I think he's earned the playing time to see what he CAN do, especially over Browner. I'm just not ready to say he's some star until I see him playing a larger role.

Re: Brandon Browner the Strong Safety?
 

Put him at OLB. Dude is huge and nasty.

Re: Brandon Browner the Strong Safety?
 

He had some hiccups Week 1 against the Arizona Cardinals, a game in which he was flagged four times. The reason for the flags, Breaux explained, was the result of resting on the instincts he developed in the Canadian Football League. He quickly fixed those errors and has been almost unbeatable since.

Since that game, Breaux has given up one reception, a 54 yarder, after he lost the ball in the lights and did not receive much assistance from the safety. He’s otherwise largely erased the men he’s covering on every other snap.

Breaux was targeted two other times against Tampa. The first was a go route to wide receiver Mike Evans, but Breaux pinned him to the sideline and forced him out of bounds before he could complete the catch. The second target fell incomplete after Breaux jammed Evans on a crossing route, which forced an incompletion.

The next week against Carolina, Breaux was only targeted once on a go route. He pinned Ted Ginn, who is one of the faster receivers in the NFL, to the sideline and forced an incompletion.

Breaux’s ability to pin receivers to the line, which helps him shrink the field, has been one of his greatest strengths and it’s always on his mind to do so as soon as he turns up the field.
Why Saints should consider keeping Delvin Breaux at starting cornerback when Keenan Lewis returns | Saints | The New Orleans Advocate — New Orleans, Louisiana

Re: Brandon Browner the Strong Safety?
 

my guess is that Swann may end up being a top cb in this league. This dudes reactions and skils are insane, to me anyway. I just havent seen us with a rookie this good at that position in a long time. i have been on this kid for a minute. How crazy is it we mved back to the 5th for him. Great great move

Re: Brandon Browner the Strong Safety?
 

Swann reminds me a little of how Tracy Porter looked in his second season with us, except Swann is much more physical.

Plus Tracy Porter had arguably the best safety of all time behind him, whereas Swann has Vaccaro or Phillips.

Re: Brandon Browner the Strong Safety?
 

I wouldn't make any decisions regarding defensive backs until we can get some sort of pass rush. The talent is there, it's by far our most talented position group when healthy. You can have a backfield full of Patrick Petersons and if the defensive line gives the QB all day to throw they are going to get burned every time.
Kenny and Browner are good players and will excell on any defense that has a pass rush.

Re: Brandon Browner the Strong Safety?
 

You know how in basketball you have a guy on the end of the bench and he usually is only put in the game for a few minutes to be physical and commit fouls? Browner would be perfect in that role, except it's the wrong sport!

Re: Brandon Browner the Strong Safety?
 

Breaux is doing fairly well but can someone teach him to turn his head and look for the ball?

Re: Brandon Browner the Strong Safety?
 

Breaux reminded me of clubber lang last night. He was all over his guy. He could have been called all game long, same with Browner. They were lucky to get called like they did.

Re: Brandon Browner the Strong Safety?
 

All the DB's have issues to work out. If they play like that again, we will lose strictly based on gift penalties. Lewis is not ready for return obviously. I saw some stat where it seemed like half of Dallas's first downs (at least in the first half) were results of penalties on 3rd down? That will not get it done against a healthy team.

Re: Brandon Browner the Strong Safety?
 

Breaux and Swann are 4 games into their NFL careers. I love what I see from both given the circumstances they are starting when they probably should have no business doing so.

I fully agree we are not using Browner to his strengths and that is one more glaring observation that our coaching staff is trying to force players into scheme once again.

We need healthy 100% Lewis and Byrd playing full time and I think our secondary will become a strength. And hopefully we keep seeing steps and progress from the young front 7 and I think our defense will round out into a decent overall unit.

I am still stuck on our offense being able to finish drives and coming up with balance on that side of the ball.

Re: Brandon Browner the Strong Safety?
 

The way I would describe Breaux is extremely handsy.

He's staying with the receiver's, alright, but he's either holding or getting away with it on nearly every play, and he fails to turn his head the majority of the time. There's a reason that rules are in place. If you're chucking the WR all the way down the field and watching the receiver everywhere he goes without looking for the ball, it's much easier to stay on him.

I'm not trying to be a debbie downer here, but I have to be honest about it. The thing is, I think he can be good and I've seen a couple of legitimately good plays, but until he learns to play with discipline he's going to hurt us with penalties.

He hadn't been tested much in the last couple games before lastnight, and a lot of that has to do with the teams we've played not being very good in the passing game, and Browner getting abused on the other side.

Re: Brandon Browner the Strong Safety?
 

I think Breaux did fairly well, I agree he does have to learn to turn around. Eventually, his instinct will allow him to make the adjustment but after losing the ball and the player on one embarrassing moment I understand why he was so reluctant on prime time to turn around. He almost had a pick and blanket wr like a young Revis. Hopefully, when Lewis return they will move Browner instead of Breaux. It might just be me, I see Breaux as the best db we have including Lewis.