Super Bowl Report: Tuesday’s talk
Tuesday was Super Bowl Media Day and all the fun and games it brings. As usual the scrum of journalists trying to get that all exclusive soundbite and maybe catch some new type of breaking news such as what is Peyton Manning’s favourite after shave, or Russell Wilson’s all-time must see TV show. The smallest and most trivial things are often brought up by the hundreds of media guests that wouldn’t normally set foot anywhere near an NFL sideline.
We are here however to sort through the nonsense and bring you the real highlights from this frantic frenzy.
John Elway doesn’t need much of an introduction, the former Broncos quarterback who won back-to-back Super Bowls to end his career, is now of course the executive vice president of football relations on the team, and largely responsible for assembling the best offensive team the NFL has seen. So how important would it be for him personally to win one more ring? “It would be a huge feather, but that is why I came back to work for the Broncos. I want to compete for world championships,”
The Seattle Seahawks have gotten this far without the services of one of their star players. Percy Harvin sat out 15 of 16 regular season games this year recovering from hip surgery, made a brief comeback against New Orleans in the playoff divisional game before leaving with a head injury. Now though he says he is back and ready to go this Sunday. Deion Sanders caught up with Harvin and posed the question that if he starts on Sunday, will he finish the game? “Absolutely,” he told Sanders. “I think I can. Those injuries, the concussion and the hip, those were definitely unfortunate situations I wish didn’t happen. But I’ve played football a long time, so I’m not worried about that at all.”
Seahawks running sensation Marshawn “The Beast” Lynch grabbed some attention, even if he didn’t want it. He was reportedly close to not attending the session and then when he did he was gone in pretty quick time. One reporter had it down to just 6 minutes and 21 seconds on his podium. After bristling his was through some questions he ended the session simply with this, “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).”
Now, it’s hard to find anyone who dare utter a bad word about Broncos QB Peyton Manning, after the season he’s just had, and the career that is coming to a close soon, rightly so. There is however always one. Seahawks defensive tackle Tony McDaniel had this to say about the future Hall of Famer. “When the quarterback makes his reads, he’s got one, two, three,” McDaniel said. “And if (Manning) don’t see them guys open, he’ll start dancing and getting real antsy and just throw the ball.” Somehow you think that quote will find its way back to Manning somehow, and lets hope for McDaniel’s sake it doesn’t come back to haunt him.
Last word today goes to Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Remember yesterday when he hinted strongly at retirement if the Broncos win on Sunday, well it seems his agent may have had a quiet word in his ear, “They misunderstood what I’m saying. I’ve got a one-year deal,” Rodgers-Cromartie said. “There’s been plenty of times when guys get a one-year deal and it doesn’t pan out and that’s it. That motivates you to go out there and play hard and stuff like that,” he continued, before noting that he wasn’t talking about “giving up.”