Yesterday, Mel Kiper released a post on his blog, saying that Seahawks CB Brandon Browner was among the NFC’s most overrated players.
His excuse for Browner making it to the Pro Bowl, was the six interceptions he had on the season. Other than that, Kiper said Browner had “abysmal coverage metrics”, was terrible against all different sorts of passes and showed off as a penalty machine. He also added that his INT return touchdown against the Bears was a real gift, considering that Bears QB Caleb Hanie just “threw a pass right into his hands”. But is Browner really THAT bad? I don’t think so. Here’s a little background on Browner:
- Undrafted in 2005
- Picked up as undrafted free agent by the Denver Broncos
- was placed on IR in 2005, missed the rest of the season and was then waived by the Broncos
So, this is how Browner’s NFL career started out. Not the best start you can have, and it didn’t get any better for him as he signed with a CFL team, the Calgary Stampeders in 2006. In his four years with the Stampeders, he picked up 6 all-star awards, 2 all-pro awards and won the Grey Cup. But now, here’s the part in his career that makes me think he’s not an overrated player: he made it back into the NFL, signing with the Seahawks. And that, if you ask me, is the best statement about his skills that he could make. He was an undrafted free agent, that must have hurt already (considering that he was such a promising prospect), and then you can’t find an NFL team to sign with after an injury, you go back a step signing with an CFL team.. and now here we are, looking at Seahawks Pro-Bowl-CB Brandon Browner. He’s the same type of cornerback that Asante Samuel is, or used to be. Seems to lack skills at certain parts such as coverage, but still comes up with the interceptions, and INT returns that help you win games. He set a franchise record for the longest INT return in week 5 against the Giants, sealing the Seahawks win over NY in that game. For my part, I’d say that maybe his coverage skills are overrated, and he’s certainly not a shutdown corner such as Nnamdi Asomugha used to be, or Darrelle Revis is, but he piles up the stats and makes the plays that help you win games, and if you have a down-year offensively, such as the Seahawks had in 2011, defensive production is what you need. And thats where Brandon Browner can help you out.
Original Story:
http://seattlesportsnut.com/kiper-bra...
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June 29, 2012
