FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Brandon
Meriweather's eyes widened when his 2008
statistics were repeated within context.
In looking at where he ranked among his teammates in
the various categories, it can be argued sincerely that
Meriweather had the best season of any New England
Patriots defender.
He didn't become their starting strong safety until
Week 8, yet he led the Patriots in interceptions and
takeaways, made more tackles than Tedy Bruschi and Mike
Vrabel and recorded as many sacks as Vince Wilfork and
Ty Warren.
"I didn't know all that," Meriweather said with a
beaming smile.
If Meriweather didn't realize just how impressively he
performed last year, then you can't blame the rest of
the football world for overlooking him. While everybody
raved about rookie linebacker Jerod Mayo and fretted
over myriad injuries, Meriweather quietly put together
a superb sophomore season.
Folks will start to notice. With veteran Rodney
Harrison retired to the broadcast booth, Meriweather
has emerged as one of New England's defensive leaders
in his third NFL season. Add his ability to make a
game-changing impact in multiple ways, and you'll see
why we made Meriweather our choice as the AFC East's
Emerging Star for 2009.
"It's all there," Scouts Inc. analyst Matt Williamson
said. "He's ready to blossom and be a player."
Meriweather led all Patriots defensive backs in stops
and finished second overall with 57 solo tackles. His
22 assists placed him third in total tackles behind
Mayo, the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year, and Wilfork,
an elite 3-4 nose tackle.
Meriweather also snared a team-high four interceptions
and tied for the lead with two forced fumbles. He was
second to cornerback Ellis Hobbs in passes defensed.
Meriweather added two sacks. His 11 special-teams
tackles ranked third.
He was one of only four defensive backs last year with
at least two interceptions, two sacks and two forced
fumbles. The others were Adrian Wilson, Antoine
Winfield and Quintin Mikell. Wilson and Winfield went
to the Pro Bowl.
"I want to be one of [those] safeties that you don't
have to take off the field for nothing, not for special
teams, and if I could I'd play offense," Meriweather
said. "I'm just trying to be an all-around player.
"I envision myself to be a smart player, instinctual,
an all-around athlete. I don't want to be just a
safety. I want to be known as a cover safety, a deep
safety. I want to be known as a safety that can do a
little bit of everything."
Patriots coach Bill Belichick has been pleased with
Meriweather's development. For the first time,
Meriweather went into training camp as the starter and
didn't disappoint.
"Each year he's taken a jump in the offseason and then
through the course of the year, and then another jump
the next offseason and through the practice sessions in
the spring," Belichick said. "In training camp he's a
guy that's improved pretty steadily, as I said, with a
couple big offseason jumps.
"He's smart, works hard and he's really kind of
starting to quarterback the secondary now. He and [free
safety] James [Sanders] both do a good job of
communication back there and getting everybody on the
same page. He's had a very productive camp for us this
year."
Meriweather should thrive with the Patriots in 2009 not
only because he's another year wiser, but also because
situations probably will be in the defense's favor more
often than not.
With quarterback Tom Brady returning to a potent
offense that's deep at running back, receiver and tight
end and features three Pro Bowl linemen, the Patriots
should be playing with a lead frequently.
"He can make more plays on the ball, get more
interceptions," Williamson said. "He's shown an ability
to get his hands on the ball already.
"You can't get away from the physical attributes that
he has. He's fast. He's fluid. He has good size. He can
be in the box and throw his body around. He has the
ability to play man against tight ends or slot receiver
at the line.
"And he's not afraid at all to come up and hit. He can
be an intimidator over the middle in the passing game."
The Patriots drafted Meriweather 24th overall two years
ago out of the University of Miami. He had the talent
to be selected much higher.
Some teams rated him the No. 2 safety in the draft.
Others projected him as a big cornerback because of his
agility and coverage skills. He was a ferocious hitter,
garnering the nicknames "Hit Stick" and "B-Ware." He
left Miami as its career leader among safeties with 182
solo tackles. Ed Reed and Sean Taylor were Hurricanes,
too.
But a pair of incidents hurt Meriweather's stock and
deleted him from a few teams' draft boards. He was the
fourth safety and seventh defensive back taken.
Meriweather was involved in a shooting incident in July
2006, firing three bullets at an unidentified assailant
who had shot his Hurricanes teammate, Willie Cooper. No
charges were filed because Meriweather was defending
himself and the handgun was registered.
Three months later, Meriweather stomped opposing
players with his cleats during the infamous
Miami-Florida International brawl.
But after interviewing Meriweather before the draft and
with the testimony of Hurricanes coaches Randy Shannon
and Larry Coker, the character-conscious Patriots
didn't detect a significant risk and made him their
first pick.
Meriweather didn't start as a rookie. He made his mark
on special teams with 18 tackles, but had trouble
getting on the field defensively. He had 11 games with
one or zero defensive tackles.
"What's difficult about it is the expectations,"
Meriweather said of the NFL transition. "You expect and
the coaches expect you to be almost perfect. That's why
people say our system is difficult. We have good
coaches that expect good things out of you. When you
put so much pressure on yourself, it gets hard."
Meriweather got his shot last season when Harrison
suffered a torn quadriceps in Week 7. The injury ended
Harrison's season, and the way Meriweather played ended
Harrison's career.
Meriweather's progress was illustrated by the coaching
staff's belief in him late in the season. Both of his
sacks happened in December. His first was a critical
strip sack of Seneca Wallace to seal a Week 14 victory
over the Seattle Seahawks.
"I prefer to get an interception to a sack, but
whenever you get a chance to blitz, that says
something," Meriweather said. "That says your coaches
trust the rest of the players around you, trusts your
timing and ability to get to the quarterback. That
shows your coaches have faith in you."
As an emerging leader in the secondary, he knows he
must play even better this year.
"The more that's given, the more's expected,"
Meriweather said.
In that vein, he intends to open up as he gets more
secure in his role.
For example, he thinks it's about time to break out the
Hit Stick again after a couple of seasons of keeping it
stashed while he learned the NFL game.
"He's still alive," Meriweather said. "He's been in the
background, trying to adjust and learn the system and
learn the NFL level and how to be a pro.
"He's been hiding a little bit, but he's coming back
soon. Real soon."
(espn.com)