Brown admits that he knows the Patriots faithful are watching closely.
''I think Monty and I both put pressure on ourselves to be the best players we can be, but those guys are legends around here for a reason: because they've played [well] and made legendary plays," Brown said. ''We are two different guys trying to play those roles on the team, but we can't pretend to be those guys; we have to be Monty and Chad."
According to the principles involved, the real Monty and Chad have yet to show up.
Thursday night, in a 37-27 win over New England, New Orleans ripped the Patriots for 401 yards, including 187 on the ground. Stopping the run is a priority for any defense, and in the Patriots' 3-4, stuffing running plays is a key responsibility for the inside linebackers.
Clearly, at the point, the Patriots have some problems -- some of it is execution, some of it is confusion, and some of it may well be personnel.
''I can't even begin to judge the team or anybody else," Brown said. ''I'm still trying to figure out what the heck I've got to do and find a way to do it better.
''I'm playing a position that's basically new to me, [with] a whole new style and terminology of defense that they run here, so trying to couple those two together, it's been tough. But I did some things better [against the Saints] than I did last week and I've got to keep building on those and working to get better."
Coach Bill Belichick said the linebacker play is getting better, but is far from where it needs to be.
''I think we're doing some things better than we did a week ago and a lot of things better than we did two weeks ago," Belichick said on a conference call yesterday afternoon. ''We had some errors, especially in the running game, but we had 'em in coverage, too.
''Defensively, it was no all-star performance, that's for sure."
Belichick said the defense's costly breakdowns were a result of not having ''everybody on the same page."
Not only are Brown and Beisel new to the team as offseason free agent signees, but Mike Vrabel, who has been out for a week with an ankle injury, is making the switch inside.
