Tarrell Brown: 'we're held to a higher standard'
Free agent signings like Tarrell Brown have been trying to make an impression to head coach Bill Belichick in order to make the final roster. Brown, by all accounts, has been doing that.
Despite an ugly showing from the Patriots' secondary last Saturday night against the New Orleans Saints, Brown knows the team can, and will play better.
Per Mike Petraglia of WEEI.com:
“We have to get better. We have a lot of stuff to work on,” Brown said. “We have to get better. We have to hold each other accountable. That’s the most important thing, making sure we hold each other accountable, not only during the games but in the film room, practice field, walkthroughs, everything.”
Looks like Brown has bought into the Patriots' philosophy, which should serve him well moving forward.
“For us, we understand that we’re held to a higher standard here and we have to come out here and prove that,” he said. “For us to be a good team and total good defense, overall, we have to hold each other accountable.”
The Patriots are in the middle of a complete secondary shake up and are trying to figure out who their No. 2 corner is. It's almost a foregone conclusion that Malcolm Butler will be the No. 1 corner on opening night. Brown has been competing against Logan Ryan, Bradley Fletcher, Ronald McClain for the job.
Some feel that Brown is in line to win the No. 2 job.
Brown has the resume to assume that role, as he was a starter on the 2012-2013 NFC champion San Francisco 49ers.
That means he's no stranger to having lofty expectations placed on his shoulders, seeing as he's played in a Super Bowl and knows the Patriots are once again expected to contend for another title this year.
“No doubt, no doubt,” Brown said enthusiastically. “That’s one of the reasons why I came here is just because these guys are held to a higher standard. Day in and day out, you compete and that’s what we’re here to do and there’s nothing less than winning [accepted].”
We haven't seen a full starting defensive unit for the defending champions in a preseason game yet. But going off of what we've heard and seen in training camp, there may be reasons to be optimistic. Obviously, Brown and Butler are not Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner, but they could very well become serviceable backs this season.
More eyes are on Butler considering his hero status in New England, and he's only in his second season in the NFL. Opening Night is only two weeks away, and it can't come soon enough.
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