NEWARK, N.J. -- Marshawn Lynch made it to Super Bowl Media Day in the end. He just didn't speak to reporters for long.
After Lynch wondered aloud to NFL Media columnist Michael Silver whether he would show up at all, the Seattle Seahawks running back was amiable* and* distant at the same time with the media for more than six minutes. And then he bolted. (One intrepid reporter had Lynch's session lasting 6:21.)
"I'm just about that action, boss," Lynch told reporters Tuesday.
His initial media session ended like so:
"I won't be satisfied with all this until it's all over," Lynch said. "That's when I'll be satisfied. But until then, I got work. I appreciate this, but ... (walks off)."
Thankfully, Lynch agreed to a glorious one-on-one interview with NFL Media's Deion Sanders after he left the horde. (The full transcript is here.)
"I ain't never seen no talking winning nothing. Been like that since I was little. I was raised like that," Lynch said. "I'm gonna get it. Don't need to talk about it."
Lynch's quiet off-the-field demeanor is at odds with his running style. Perhaps no running back in the league runs with more joy, and that came out in his interview with Sanders. Lynch sounded like a man who knows the biggest game of his life is on the way. Sanders told the Seahawks running back how much NFL Media's Marshall Faulk appreciates Lynch's style.
"That's big time. Beast Mode love and appreciate that," Lynch said.
After a near-30-minute break, Lynch later returned to the proceedings, standing like a boss in the background with sunglasses and a hoodie on, not saying a thing.
Don't expect the NFL to fine Lynch for the day's adventure.
"Players are required to participate and he participated," NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told Around The League in an email.
The Pro Football Writers of America, however, released a statement saying it was "extremely disappointed" with Lynch's behavior during Media Day.
"Several of our long-standing and high profile members were appalled by Mr. Lynch's conduct and refusal to answer any questions," the statement read, per ProFootballTalk.
Sometimes it's not about quantity, but quality.
"I heard he did a great six minutes," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. "Some comedians make a career off of that."
*We handed out awards for the 2014 coaching class and talked all the latest headlines in the latest "Around The League Podcast." *
