There’s no shutting up Tony Brown

There’s no doubt Tony Brown talks the talk.

“Any time you complete a ball on Tony, it’s nice because he shuts up for a couple seconds,” quarterback Aaron Rodgers joked during the first week of training camp.

Now, with increasing regularity, Brown is walking the walk.

During the final period of Saturday’s practice, Rodgers threw four passes at Brown. The results: a deep incompletion to Davante Adams, a deep incompletion to Marquez Valdes-Scantling, an incomplete pass to Valdes-Scantling at the sideline and a pass breakup to Jimmy Graham that Brown almost intercepted.

So, what’s the talk like when Rodgers is unable to shut up Brown? Brown laughed and said he couldn’t share those conversations.

“You know, it’s always cool when you can break up an Aaron Rodgers pass in a competition period,” Brown said. “I didn’t know they were going to try me like they did but they did, and I feel like I got better. I handled those reps as best I could. After that, then the talking is a little different. It’s a little more on my end. I get to talk a little more freely when I do have a little success.”

Brown has been one of the revelations of training camp. With the extended absences of Kevin King and Josh Jackson, Brown has been with the No. 1 defense for most of training camp. That has meant a lot of work against Rodgers and the No. 1 offense.

And, as it turns out, a lot of chatter.

“I love Tony,” Rodgers said on Tuesday. “Tony is a really great part of the locker room. If there’s ever a time when you’re like, ‘Argh, need a little inspiration’ during the day, just look over at Tony because he’s probably doing something, dancing, singing, rapping, listening to something, mixing it up with somebody. He’s just got a great personality and brings a great energy to our team. You don’t really have to get him wound up too much because when we’re out there he’s hypercompetitive and he’s played really well.”

If Brown can take his play from the practice field to game days, he’d be a huge asset for a defense that has scrambled for secondary depth for years. That depth could be critical again this season considering the injury history of King and the age of Tramon Williams.

Brown has worked hard to put himself in this situation.

“I give Tony a lot of credit,” Rodgers continued. “I think he’s continued to improve his entire time being here. What a lot of people don’t see and I’m going to brag on Tony here for a little bit, is when I’m leaving here some nights, Tony’s still working out. He’s still doing something back in the weight room or he’s watching something. He’s always working. This guy is in here early and he leaves late – legitimately, not like hyperbole of what it means to be a certain type of player in this league. Like I can vouch that Tony is usually probably the first one in here and one of the last to leave.”

That drive is paying off for a player with a bit of an unusual path. A world-class sprinter in high school and a five-star recruit, Brown had a decent but underwhelming career at powerhouse Alabama. Even after measuring in at 6-foot and running a blistering 4.35 in the 40 at the Scouting Combine – measurables straight out of Cornerback Central Casting – Brown went undrafted. The Chargers released him at the end of training camp. A day later, the Packers signed him to their practice squad.

“I didn’t have a lot of downtime to get under the weather,” Brown said. “It was a quick turnaround – Thursday game, released Saturday, picked up on Sunday, in Green Bay on Monday. I didn’t have a lot of time to be, ‘Oh, man.’ I know in my heart when I did get released, I never in my head was like, ‘Damn, I don’t know what’s going to happen.’ My mind instantly went to, ‘What’s the next step? I know somebody’s going to call.’ I assessed what I did wrong and tried to take the steps toward my next team and being better than I approached it with the Chargers.”

Brown played in 11 games for the Packers last season. There were some enormous bumps in the road. A week after making his NFL debut against Buffalo, he was penalized for taunting at Detroit, even though the Packers were losing 24-8. A week after that, with less than 2 minutes to play in a 30-30 tie against San Francisco, he was flagged for unnecessary roughness – a penalty that could have cost the Packers the game.

Who would have blamed general manager Brian Gutekunst if he had released Brown during the bye week following that 49ers game? It would have been a strong statement from the first-year general manager. Instead, Gutekunst saw the bigger picture with a player with an obvious skill-set that just needed to be harnessed. By season’s end, Brown had taken playing time from Jackson, the team’s second-round pick.

After a rough start to training camp this summer, Brown has gone a long ways toward solidifying his spot on the 53.

“One thing about Tony is he’s going to compete,” safety Adrian Amos said. “He’s going to compete every single play and he’s going to go hard every single play and he’s going to give it all he’s got. I love that in a corner. He’s got a short memory; that’s what you’ve got to have as a corner. You make the play, you don’t make the play, ‘I’m coming back next play to try to make that play.’”

A player who’s never been lacking for confidence, each victory over Rodgers has given him just a bit more of an edge. He hasn’t been perfect – he lost leverage on a short pass to Geronimo Allison that resulted in a huge gain on Tuesday – but he’s put himself in position to be a factor for what might be a strong defense.

“I call it a point-of-attack play, and that’s when the ball is coming your way,” Brown said. “I feel like any time a corner is in man-to-man and he comes out on top in a point-of-attack play with good competition, I feel like every time that that happens in a situation when there’s 11 men on the field, you gain just a little bit more confidence. This is my second year – this isn’t my 13th year – so I feel like I’m still ascending. I feel like I haven’t gotten to the best of my game yet at all.”