In some ways, cornerback Brandon Browner’s transition from the CFL to the NFL has been a smooth one.
At 6-foot-4, 221 pounds, the 27-year-old Oregon State product is one of the biggest and most physical corners in the league, fitting perfectly with the type of bump-and-run, in-your-face technique Seattle coach Pete Carroll wants his defensive backs to play at the line of scrimmage.
And he’s been effective. Browner is tied for third in the league with 20 passes defensed, and tied for fifth in the NFL with four interceptions this season, including a 94-yard interception return for a touchdown to seal Seattle’s 36-25 win over the N.Y. Giants in Week 5, the longest interception return for a score in franchise history.
Seattle’s starting cornerbacks last season – Marcus Trufant and Kelly Jennings – finished 2010 with just two interceptions between them.
But the big plays for Browner have not come without cost.
Heading into this week’s slate of games, Browner’s physical play had resulted in him being called for a league-high 16 penalties, 13 of which have been accepted for a league-high 128 yards. Eleven of those penalties have led to first downs.
“We love his aggressive play, but sometimes it goes over the top and he has to learn what’s OK in the league so that he can cut down on that stuff,” Carroll said. “He’s been a real factor. I think he’s a really good football player. He’s causing problems for our opponents and he’s making a lot of plays and we trust him and like that he’s played such an aggressive style that he can disrupt receivers and make plays for us.”
Added Browner: “It goes both ways. I’m a physical guy, but it always seems to bite me in the butt sometimes.”
Browner’s speed was a question mark coming out of Oregon State, one of the reasons he eventually headed north after he was cut by Denver in August 2006. Browner ran the 40-yard-dash in 4.63 seconds at the 2005 NFL scouting combine. But during his tryout with Seattle this year, Browner ran the 40 in 4.53 at the team’s facility.
“I’m more a football-speed type of guy,” Browner said. “I can’t run a straight line, but I can (run) fast in between the whistles.”
Once the Seahawks determined he was fast enough, Carroll and the rest of the staff knew Browner had the ball skills to be a successful press corner. Browner had 12 interceptions during his four-year stint in the CFL, including five interceptions his final year in the league in 2010. He made the CFL All-Star team his last three years in the league.
Browner had similar success at Oregon State, finishing with six picks during his two years of playing for the Beavers.
“That’s an innate ability right there,” Seattle secondary coach Kris Richard said. “He has been blessed with God-given talent to play the ball in the air.”
The key for Browner is to figure out the balance between playing physical and being within the framework of the rules to avoid costly pass interference penalties.
“That’s my biggest thing,” Browner said. “The quarterback only has a certain amount of time with defensive linemen getting after him. So I feel like if I can disrupt that timing between him and the receiver by making him take a wider release, or jamming him to knock him off – I don’t want him coming at me comfortable.
“When receivers come at you comfortable, they tend to get in and out of their breaks smooth, and that’s when you see them catching balls. And so I want to knock them off for a split second, and not let (them) get into the top end of their route.”
Browner said he’s pleased with not only finally getting the opportunity to show what he can do, but making the most of it and playing well.
“It’s still been a surprise for me because it’s a different game,” Browner said. “I’m in the big leagues in the NFL, so I’m still geeked up that I’m still playing and producing like I’ve played in the CFL.”
“He’s doing what we ask of him, aside from the penalties,” Richard said. “Sometimes it’s at the discretion of the officials. Of course, it’s something we want him to improve on, and it’s something that’s not necessary because he’s good enough to cover without some of the hand fighting that goes on out there.
“But he’s conscious of it, and he’s battling to improve it.”
Eric D. Williams: 253-597-8437
eric.wiliams@thenewstribune.com
blog.thenewstribune.com/seahawks
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