PHOENIX
There is a convenient picture of Marshawn Lynch to paint with one brush stroke, and that is of a young man with far less intelligence than he truly has.
Admittedly, Lynch makes it easy to do that, with his one-sentence answers to questions from the media -- from "I'm thankful" earlier this season to "I'm just here so I don't get fined" during Super Bowl XLIX Media Day on Tuesday. Dig no deeper and one can easily come away from the scrum thinking the Seattle Seahawks running back isn't smart enough to realize he's only making this worse on himself by refusing to entertain basic questions.
But putting aside the argument about whether Lynch's tactic is a wise one, know his coaches and teammates believe he's a much brighter guy than his interviews would have one believe.
As Pete Carroll told me when we went 1-on-1, despite perceptions, "there's a lot of thought" that goes into Lynch's actions. And Lynch's intelligence goes beyond his own actions, and is an asset in the locker room.
"Everybody is always so intimidated by Marshawn, and he looks like an intimidating guy, I agree with you, but Marshawn is a real cool dude," wide receiver and NFC Championship Game hero Jermaine Kearse said. "Just being able to talk to him, he gives good life lessons."
Kearse paused, sighed and sort of grimaced before continuing.
"I wish he would express that," he said, "but I think if he doesnt want to talk he doesnt have to."
The sentiment is similar with many of Lynch's teammates. They wish he would talk. Not because his media boycott has a negative impact on the team. Not because they're worried he's always toeing the line of getting fined by the NFL. And not because they feel they have to defend him from the public backlash. It's because they know the guy who went to college at Cal has so much to offer.
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Away from media, no Seahawk speaks louder than Lynch