Originally published January 30, 2014 at 2:00 PM | Page modified January 30, 2014 at 11:51 PM
Marshawn Lynch Q&A: ‘I get to run into a lot of people’
Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch had his third and final interview Thursday before the Super Bowl. His answers are direct and succinct — just like Lynch.
Seattle Times staff reporter

STORIES
JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Running back Marshawn Lynch has been one of the biggest stories of the Super Bowl because he hasn’t talked enough.
But on Thursday, the final day for players to speak with the media before Sunday’s game, Lynch reached a compromise with the Pro Football Writers of America to answer only football-related questions from selected journalists.
Lynch spoke at a table for 7 minutes, 25 seconds, which is only slightly longer than the two previous days. And Lynch answered every question before he asked if it was OK for him to leave, then got up.
He was joined, as usual, by fullback and friend Michael Robinson, who again stepped in and answered a couple of questions on Lynch’s behalf.
“I’m like a prop,” Robinson said as he took a seat.
Lynch’s brief question-and-answer sessions have dominated talk about the Super Bowl this week. He didn’t talk during the season and only agreed to speak once the NFL threatened to fine him in the playoffs.
The Pro Football Writers of America released a statement Wednesday that said the organization was “extremely disappointed in the lack of meaningful access” with Lynch.
Here are some of the highlights:
Q: How nice is it to have this be your last media session?
Lynch: “It’s going to be good to get back to football. Very good.”
Q: Some of your best games have come in the playoffs. What do you attribute that to?
Lynch: “I’m not sure, man. It’s not like I prepare any different. Couldn’t tell you.”
Q: When you see defenders around the NFL, in the offseason, what do they tell you about how to stop Marshawn?
Robinson: “What I hear is he’s the best in the league. He’s the hardest to bring down. There are a lot of good backs out here, but just from a straight physical standpoint, the guys I talk to don’t believe there’s another guy in the league doing it like that.”
Q: A lot of guys who have played in this game have said the hardest thing to do is deal with all of this and then get where they need to be mentally. Are you there yet? How hard is it going to be for you to get where you need to be mentally?
Lynch: “I’m S.R., bruh — stay ready. So there ain’t no getting ready.”
Q: So, if it’s a game on Sunday where we have a grind-it-out, 2 or 3 yards per carry, would that be acceptable for you?
Lynch: “That sounds like a fun day.”
Q: Those are the types of games where you like to grind it out?
Lynch: “I mean, I get to run into a lot of people.”
Q: What did you think of coach (Tom) Cable when he arrived?
Lynch: “Well, being from Oakland, all I knew about him was that he punched people. That’s my type of person.” (Cable, who was the coach of the Oakland Raiders at the time, reportedly broke the jaw of an assistant coach after punching him.)
Jayson Jenks: 206-464-8277 or jjenks@seattletimes.com