His play speaking volumes

FOXBOROUGH - There has been a new sound emanating from the Patriots' defense this year, one that has caught the ears of everyone from coach Bill Belichick to linebacker Tedy Bruschi to safety Rodney Harrison.

It is coming from Brandon Meriweather, who has been shouting instructions from the secondary with confidence and authority.

Off the field, the second-year safety has a soft-spoken timbre. He's polite, unassuming, and almost timid, but on the field his teammates have noticed a difference both in Meriweather's communication skills and his play. The 24-year-old, who struggled to be heard from at times during his rookie year, has been making noise in training camp - both literally and figuratively - emerging as one of the team's breakout players after the first week.

With the contracts of Harrison and safety James Sanders set to expire after this season, Meriweather finding both his voice and his place in the secondary couldn't come at a better time for Belichick and vice president of player personnel Scott Pioli.

"I think he made a lot of improvement last year during the course of the year," said Belichick. "He had a good offseason. He had a good spring. I think he's much better than he was last year at this time, as you would expect, and he continues to improve on a regular basis."

Meriweather has not only become a better communicator; he's become a better interceptor. The 5-foot-11-inch, 200-pounder watched balls clank off his hands last year, including one that could have potentially clinched a victory in the Super Bowl.

In response, he spent the offseason catching passes fired by defensive line coach Pepper Johnson and catapulted from a JUGS machine, and doing reaction drills he learned from former Patriots cornerback Asante Samuel, to improve his hands.

The difference has been noticeable, as Meriweather has intercepted two passes already in camp, including a juggling effort Wednesday.

"Every one you catch you get a little bit more confidence in yourself, and you start to put stuff behind you," said Meriweather. "So, every one that I get to put my hands on that I actually come up with, it's just going to be that much more of a confidence booster."

Confidence was something Meriweather lacked for much of last season as he tried to get acclimated to the NFL. After being selected with the 24th overall pick in the draft, the former University of Miami star was miscast as a cornerback. With Samuel refusing to sign his franchise tender at this time last year, Meriweather was projected as his potential replacement.

That seemed to stunt his growth, as he had trouble learning the cornerback, slot corner, and safety positions in the playbook. However, Meriweather came on down the stretch last season, when he was employed in more of a safety role as a nickel (five defensive backs) or dime (six defensive backs) defender. He finished the season with 16 tackles and three passes defended and earned his first career start in the Super Bowl.
Belichick said that with Meriweather's increased confidence, he is playing faster. Returning to safety, the position he primarily played at Miami, seems to have brought out the best in him.

"To be honest, I just play whatever my coaches ask me to. It's not really a comfort level with safety," said Meriweather. "It's more of me just knowing what to do and how to do it."

And now he's letting everybody know it. In fact, sometimes Meriweather has been too boisterous.

"I even had to tell him to shut up because he was trying to tell me how to do my job," joked Harrison. "It's nice to see [from] Brandon. Obviously, he's a very talented young man. He's worked extremely hard this last year, and as he gets older and his role increases, he's going . . . to become more vocal, and he's definitely becoming a leader out there."

Where has Meriweather's newfound talkativeness come from?

"Being confident," said Meriweather. "Confidence in your playbook and confidence in the players around you. Having confidence in and knowing that what you're saying is right."

Meriweather feels he has something to prove after a less-than-riveting rookie season. His career will always be followed closely because the draft pick the Patriots used to select him was acquired when they shipped wide receiver Deion Branch to the Seattle Seahawks.

Meriweather spent part of the offseason picking the brain of another former Hurricanes safety who went 24th overall, Baltimore Ravens All-Pro Ed Reed.

"Just to talk to him is a blessing. Ed Reed is a good friend and everything I can learn from him, I am," said Meriweather.

Meriweather may never reach the level of play of Reed or Harrison, two of the biggest talkers and best safeties in the game, but he's no longer afraid to speak up.

But as vociferous as Meriweather has become on the field, he was at a loss for words to explain how different this training camp feels from his rookie year.

"I can't put that into words. It's a totally different Brandon right now," he said.

(boston.com)