"Guarded" would be a conservative way to describe how Brandon Meriweather felt in explaining winning AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors.

"I just found out today, maybe a couple minutes before y’all came in," Meriweather said. "I’m excited about it. But I know there’s still a lot of work to be done."

OK, so he wasn't going to do cartwheels in the locker room, or shine the plaque as the media walked in. Understandable.

What he was a bit more willing to talk about was Rodney Harrison, the man who mentored Meriweather in his first two years in the league. Harrison was asked who the Patriots' defensive leader is on NBC's Football Night in America, and quickly responded, ""Brandon Meriweather. He's a playmaker. Not only is he a defensive leader but right now he's the MVP of that team. ... I think he and Brian Dawkins are probably playing the best of any safety in the AFC right now."

So how did that feel? "It means a lot," Meriweather said. "But you always gotta take things with a grain of salt. I can’t look at it too hard, because when you start to look at things too hard, then you start to play like it, you fall off, your head gets big. I’m trying to stay humble, and just continue doing what I been doing."

Which probably isn't a bad approach to take, considering how things have gone of late.