Megatron? Golden Tate? With Revis and Browner, Patriots Now Have an Answer
 Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner have boosted the secondary play of New England in 2014, giving them a deep and talented unit. (USA TODAY Images) |
Nearly every superhero has his sidekick, Optimus Prime had Ironhide, Starsky had Hutch, heck even Bill had Ted to navigate the waters of their great adventure. But the New England Patriots secondary has a dynamic duo of their own and Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner are getting it done on the field this year.
The pair has elevated the play in the Patriots secondary to a point where they are arguably the deepest, most talented at the corner position that the team has ever been during the Bill Belichick era, perhaps ever for this team.
The Patriots sit at 9-2 and the #1 seed in the AFC and while the offense has been rolling during the current seven game winning streak, the play of the defense can’t be overlooked. Because during the slate of winning football, this defense has faced some tough challenges and met them all head-on.
Facing A.J. Green and the Bengals? No problem. Brandon Marshall and the Bears? Another easy win. The Denver Broncos and the slew of targets that Peyton Manning has? Ho-hum, just another blowout victory. How about Andrew Luck and the high flying T.Y. Hilton? No drama there in Indy, a three touchdown win. Uh-oh…Megatron, Golden Tate and the Lions are on the schedule, should the Pats be worried?
Not anymore.
Revis and Browner were instrumental pieces of a total team effort in shutting down the vaunted pair of the Lions wide outs in another convincing win over Detroit as the Patriots rolled 34-9 and kept Detroit out of the end zone.
Back in the spring, all eyes were focused on Revis and the question was whether he still had the skills to be among the top corners in the NFL after a serious knee injury suffered while still a member of the NY Jets. Browner was also the subject of many whispers….He was jettisoned by the Super Bowl Champion Seahawks who opted for a younger player. Can he still cover? Will the new rules against contact make him a liability in the secondary?
Those questions were answered early in training camp, Revis was routinely providing blanket coverage of Patriots WRs in practice and after a session that the secondary admittedly didn’t have their best day, not being physical enough…and hearing it in the press, Browner had enough.
He set the tone early the next day in practice, driving WR Kenbrell Thompkins backwards and then long after the whistle, picked him up and rag-dolled him to the ground. Patriots WR Coach Chad O'Shea was incensed, Browner actually got into a heated exchange with O'Shea but didn't back down. Message sent and received. This is a different secondary than the Pats have had …for several years.
Revis has all of the savvy and technical skills of Prime while Browner brings the physicality and warrior mentality of his Ironhide, something the Patriots have lacked in the secondary since Rodney Harrison hung it up a few years ago.
On Sunday, Lions QB Matthew Stafford targeted his own dynamic duo of Golden Tate and “Megatron” Calvin Johnson 21 times in the Patriots blowout win. He completed only eight of those passes and the Lions couldn’t find pay dirt once, having to settle for only three field goals, which against this Patriots team in Gillette Stadium won’t win many games.
Revis in particular was immense on Sunday against Detroit, breaking up four passes and providing blanket coverage. Browner with safety help over the top played his usual brand of physical coverage. Detroit and their offense were frustrated and it showed more and more as the game wore on.
Revis spoke at length with the media after the game and talked about how much like the New England offense, the defense’s game plan changes from week to week and the players have to be versatile and prepared for different roles depending upon the opponent.
"It's a tough job but at the same time I'm the man they call for to do it sometimes -- to play inside, to play outside, to do whatever, to help the team, Revis said. “The big goal is to help the team. I call us hybrids. We're all interchangeable."
Revis and Browner give Belichick some much flexibility, now they have to opportunity to mix and match against quality opponents and play to their strengths rather than reacting to their opponent. Look at last week’s Colts game. Belichick matched Revis up with Reggie Wayne, leaving Hilton to the Pats fastest corner, Kyle Arrington. Hilton finished with 3 catches for 24 yards.
And much like Patriots teams of the past, the players use perceived notions of slight as locker room fodder to motivate themselves. Revis mentioned the Lions’ talk about having the #1 defense in the NFL as extra motivation on Sunday.
Revis went even further stating that this secondary is very special, “This is probably the best group of guys I’ve been around, secondary wise where everyone is just talented. We can do some versatile things.”
Things get even harder this week, as the Patriots travel to Lambeau Field to take on the talented and high flying Green Bay Packers with Aaron Rodgers, Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb. But Belichick will put together a plan to counter. It should be another fun matchup to watch.
So while the Patriots offense didn’t get a “Megatron” type wide receiver as fans have been clamoring for the past several years, they did get an Optimus Prime for the defense. With a little assistance from Ironhide…it isn’t a bad thing at all. Nowthey just need to pay the man (Revis) and lock him up for a few more seasons.
“Just kidding. I just wanted to show him my cannons.” Ironhide to Optimus Prime
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