Who said Marshawn Lynch doesn't talk to the media?
The Seahawks running back was a veritable chatterbox during a nearly 30-minute sitdown with a Turkish television network last week. Lynch is in Turkey with fellow NFL players DeAngelo Williams and Gary Barnidge promoting American Football Without Barriers, a not-for-profit camp that seeks to grow the support outside America.
(Everything in the previous paragraph is absolutely true.)
Ismail Senol, conducting the interview for NTV Spor, at one point broaches the subject of the Seahawks' final offensive play in Super Bowl XLIX. Pete Carroll has been widely criticized for not calling a Lynch run near the goal line. Instead, Russell Wilson threw the game-clinching interception.
Lynch had been mostly silent on the topic -- until Ismail Senol entered the equation.
"To be honest with you, I would be lying if I didn't tell you that I was expecting the ball," Lynch said. "Yes, I was expecting the ball. But in life, these things happen. Like I told a reporter after the game, it's a team sport."
Lynch didn't put the blame on Carroll, though his ensuing explanation left plenty of room for interpretation.
"I had no problem with the decision of the playcalling. I think it was more of a ... how do I say this? When you look at me, and you let me run that ball in ... I am the face of the nation," he said. "You know, MVP of the Super Bowl, that's pretty much the face of the nation at that point of time. I don't know what went into that call. I mean, maybe it was a good thing that I didn't get the ball. I mean, you know, it cost us the Super Bowl. I have full confidence in my teammates to execute that plan because we've done it so many more times. But would I love to had the ball there? Yeah, I would have.
"But the game is over, and I'm in Turkey."
This is all true.
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