FOXBORO, Mass. — The New England Patriots are adamant they’ve put 2014 in the rearview mirror, but the elation of being a Super Bowl champion hasn’t quite worn off for Brian Tyms.
The wide receiver’s 2014 season was filled with ups and downs. He was cut by the Cleveland Browns after the NFL suspended him four games for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy. The Patriots picked him up, he had a stellar training camp and preseason and stuck on the roster after his suspension concluded. He caught just five passes for 82 yards with a touchdown but climbed up the depth chart as he became more comfortable with the offense.
“That’s the best feeling in the world, next to my kids,” Tyms said Wednesday about seeing his Super Bowl championship ring Monday night. “Out of everything anybody said about us, especially me coming from a suspension, people telling me I wasn’t going to make the team and I wouldn’t play, to looking at that giant ring. That thing was huge. It’s a blessing.”
No. 84’s ring probably won’t be put in storage anytime soon, either.
“(I wear it) every day. Every day,” Tyms said. “I got fitted to put it on my pinky ring, and I let my daughter wear it when I get home. I wear it every day.”
Tyms admittedly didn’t have his greatest practice Wednesday, but he didn’t let his spirits get too down. Tyms dropped a couple passes during team drills and fumbled after he made a grab down the sideline.
“Me personally, I don’t feel I did as best as I could have done or should have done,” Tyms said. “I hold myself to a really high standard, and I feel as though when the ball is thrown my way, I have to make a play. So, when I don’t make it, whether it’s whatever, I feel bad. I have to look at the film, and I have a lot of stuff to work on after this minicamp.”
The Patriots canceled Thursday’s final minicamp session, so Tyms will have nearly six weeks to think about his last practice of the offseason training program.
“You have the good days, you have the bad days,” Tyms said. “You just have to go back, look at what you did wrong, focus more on the fundamentals and move on to the next.”
Tyms is used to hearing from quarterbacks Tom Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo when he messes up. One signal-caller is just a little more vocal in his criticism.
“Jimmy’s not as — Tom’s more verbal,” Tyms said. “Jimmy will just walk up to you, he’s more quiet with it. Even (Matt) Flynn’s the same way. We were running with the last group with him, and he’s the same way. He expects you to make the same play. He’s not a rookie, so he knows what it’s like to start, he knows what it’s like to play in big games, make big plays, so it’s intense, period, with everybody. Everybody holds each other accountable.”
Thumbnail photo via Doug Kyed/NESN
