'NO HARD FEELINGS'; Browner remains close to former 'Legion of Boom' brothers.

Byline: Jennifer Toland

PHOENIX -- Brandon Browner played in nine games for the Seahawks last season, but while Seattle was winning Super Bowl XLVIII, he was home in California watching the game on TV.

Browner, suspended by the league for violating its substance-abuse policy, missed the last four games of the 2013 regular season and the playoffs.

There he was Tuesday at US Airways Center, during the mania that is Media Day, getting ready to play in Super Bowl XLIX, with the Patriots and against his old team.

"It's awesome, it's a dream come true,'' Browner said. "Just like everybody else, we all dream of getting to this day. It was very difficult watching my teammates play (last year) and I'm fortunate to be here this year and hopefully we make the best of it.''

Browner, signed by the Patriots as a free agent in March, has given the Patriots a physical presence in their defensive backfield this season, and with Darrelle Revis has formed one of the top cornerback tandems in the league.

"The guy is physical, emotional and very demonstrative on the field,'' Patriots cornerback Kyle Arrington said of Browner, "and it's very contagious. He's been very beneficial in helping us get to this point.''

Browner has remained close to his old "Legion of Boom'' brothers. That's why his comments earlier this week in an ESPN interview caused a bit of a stir Tuesday. In the interview, Browner said he would tell his teammates to go after the injuries of Seahawks corner Richard Sherman (elbow) and safety Earl Thomas (shoulder) in Super Bowl XLIX. Sherman and Thomas were injured in the NFC Championship game.

"Those are my brothers and at the end of the day there's no hard feelings,'' Browner said during his Media Day session. "That's like in any game, you have a guy that messes up his ankle and you're going to tackle and make sure you land on his ankle. If a guy messes his shoulder up, then you tackle him and land on his shoulder -- that's just part of the game. You guys know how close I am to those boys and at the time that felt like the right thing to say.

"At the end of the day, I know what I mean by it and my heart is good, my intent is good. They know who I am.''

Browner said Sherman texted him "LOL'' when he heard his comments.

"BB doesn't always say things the way he means them,'' Sherman said Tuesday, "but we know what he means. "We're OK with him, and he's OK with us. He's a competitor.''

In any case, Browner said he is "very excited'' to go up against...