Brandon Meriweather life and biography

Brandon Meriweather is an American football safety for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Patriots 24th overall in the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Miami.

Brandon Meriweather was drafted by the New England Patriots in the first round (24th overall) of the 2007 NFL Draft ... Signed by the Patriots (7/28/07).

Career Highlights

* Meriweather has played in all 48 games with 27 starts over his first three NFL seasons with the Patriots (2007-09) and has totaled 178 tackles (121 solo), nine interceptions, 21 passes defensed, four forced fumbles and 34 special teams tackles entering 2010.
* Earned his first Pro Bowl berth after finishing with career highs with 83 tackles and five interceptions in 2009.
* Meriweather was one of just four NFL defensive backs with at least two interceptions, two sacks and two forced fumbles in 2008, joining Arizona's Adrian Wilson, Minnesota's Antoine Winfield and Philadelphia's Quintin Mikell.
* As a rookie in 2007, Meriweather played in every game and tied for second on the team with 18 special teams tackles.
* Meriweather made his first career start in Super Bowl XLII, opening the game as the Patriots' fifth defensive back.

2010 (9/7)
* Recorded four tackles in a start against the Steelers (11/14).
* Recovered RB Peyton Hillis' first quarter fumble that was forced by Jermaine Cunningham (his first career fumber recovery), and made eight tackles in a start against the Browns (11/7).
* Made six tackles in a start against the Vikings (10/31).
* Started his fourth game of the season and made five tackles against San Diego (10/24).
* Registered three tackles against the Ravens in his third start of the season (10/17).
* Made three tackles in a start against the Dolphins (10/4).
* Came up with a game-clinching interception on Ryan Fitzpatrick at the Patriots 43-yard line with 3:04 left in regulation. Also registered five tackles and a pass defensed in a reserve role at safety against the Bills (9/26).
* Saw action as a reserve at safety against the Jets (9/19).
* Started vs. Cincinnati as part of the nickel defense and registered three tackles (9/12).

2009 (16/16, 1/1)
* Earned his first Pro Bowl berth after starting all 16 games at strong safety and finishing third on the team with 83 total tackles and tying for the team lead with five interceptions. Also added nine passes defensed, two forced fumbles and five special teams tackles.
* Named ESPN, Sports Illustrated and Pro Football Weekly midseason All-Pro.
* Named AFC Defensive Player of the Week (Week 7) after intercepting two passes at Tampa Bay (10/15) in London's Wembley Stadium and returning one 39 yards for his first career touchdown in a 35-7 Patriots win.
* Finished the season with a career-high five interceptions.
* Made a single-game career best 12 tackles at Denver (10/11).
* Led the secondary with a career-high 83 tackles.
* In the season-opener vs. Buffalo (9/14) made initial contact, disrupting Leodis McKelvin's fourth-quarter kickoff return, allowing Pierre Woods to force a fumble that was recovered by Stephen Gostkowski at the 31-yard line to set up the game-winning touchdown in a 25-24 Patriots win.
* Forced a fumble in the Patriots' 59-0 win vs. Tennessee (10/18), when he forced LenDale White to fumble in the second quarter to help set up a New England touchdown.
* Set up a New England touchdown with a pick and a 56-yard return vs. Jacksonville (12/27) in the AFC East-clinching 35-7 victory.
* Started in the postseason game vs. Baltimore (1/10) and finished with three tackles and one special teams tackle.

2008 (16/11)
* Played in every game and started the final 11 games of the season at safety after opening-day starter Rodney Harrison was placed on injured reserve and went on to lead the Patriots with four interceptions, tying the highest total by a Patriots safety since Lawyer Milloy had six interceptions in 1998.
* Ranked third on the team with 79 tackles (57 solo), a total that led all Patriots defensive backs, and finished second on the team with nine passes defensed.
* Collected his first NFL interception at the N.Y. Jets (9/14), picking off a Brett Favre pass.
* Played in reserve as the nickel back at San Francisco (10/5) and pulled down his second interception of the season with an acrobatic catch on his back, grabbing a J.T. O'Sullivan pass intended for Delanie Walker.
* Collected his team-leading third interception of the season, picking off a Jay Cutler pass intended for Darrell Jackson vs. Denver (10/20).
* Snared his fourth interception of the season, picking off a Chad Pennington pass intended for Anthony Fasano at Miami (11/23).
* Ensured a Patriots' victory with his first career sack, forcing a fumble on a 7-yard sack of Seneca Wallace at Seattle (12/7), while tying for the team lead in tackles with nine.
* Blindsided Matt Leinart on a 12-yard sack, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Jarvis Green, for his second strip-sack in three games vs. Arizona (12/21).

2007 (16/0, 3/1)
* Played in all 16 regular-season games in his first pro season, making 16 tackles with three passes defensed and 13 special teams tackles.
* Appeared in his first NFL game in the Patriots' win over the New York Jets (9/9), playing in a reserve role at safety and made his first tackle on Jets wide receiver Justin McCareins.
* Registered his first career pass defensed, batting down Kyle Boller's downfield attempt intended for Derrick Mason in the Patriots' comeback win at Baltimore (12/3).
* Led the team with four special teams tackles while making three tackles in coverage as the Patriots completed the NFL's first 16-0 season at the New York Giants (12/29).
* Played in all three of the Patriots' postseason games, including his first NFL start in Super Bowl XLII vs. the New York Giants (2/3), making three tackles and registering a pass defensed.

College
* Started 21 games at strong safety, six at free safety, three at cornerback and one at nickel back during his career.
* Holds the Miami career-record for tackles by a defensive back with 293 tackles.
* His 182 solo tackles broke the Miami all-time record for safeties that was held by Bennie Blades (155) and his 77 solo tackles in 2005 broke the old Miami season-record for safeties that was first set by Daryl Reeh (68).
* Became the first defensive back to ever lead the Hurricanes in tackles in a season (115 in 2005).

Personal
* Brandon Meriweather was born January 14, 1984.
* Attended Apopka (Fla.) High School and led his school to the Florida Class 6A state championship as a senior in 2001 and registered 115 tackles, six interceptions and four touchdowns.
* Played in the Florida-Georgia All-Star game and was named captain of the defense.
* Participated in the 2008 Salvation Army Holiday Party at Gillette Stadium with nearly 250 children from the Boston and Providence Salvation Army centers.
* Was a liberal arts major at Miami.
* Brandon has a daughter, Morgan.

Extra
* Brandon's hard-hitting style of play at the University of Miami earned him the colorful nicknames "The Hit Stick," "Hit-em-up," and "B-Ware." He won the team's "Hard Hitter Award" in 2004 and 2005.

Honors and Awards
2009 : AFC Pro Bowl ; AFC Defensive Player of the Week (Week 7) .

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