Super Bowl Match-up to Watch

One of the most entertaining Super Bowl match-ups to keep an eye on is that between Patriots coach Bill Belichick and Seahawks RB Marshawn Lynch. I am not talking about the battle to win the running game; I am referring to their battle for the title of the Most Arrogant Man in the NFL.

Lynch strengthened his case for that title with his performance at Tuesday’s media day, when he refused to say anything other than several variations of the phrase, “I’m here so I won’t get fined,” which he said 29 times. The league had threatened Lynch with a $500,000 fine if he did not participate in the mandatory event.

Lynch’s interview lasted less than five minutes, while his coaches and teammates made themselves available for over an hour. At last, people are finally seeing through the charade that was Lynch blaming his useless interviews on social anxiety disorder. Anyone who has ever met Lynch knows that’s a crock.

The truth is Lynch is a low-IQ attention whore. And if you feel that is a cheap shot, remember this is the same man who once stole $20 out of the hand of a police officer’s wife at a TGI Fridays.

Lynch has now found a way to make his ignorance work for him, as his refusal to assemble coherent sentences has allowed him to snatch more headlines than anyone else this week. He’s even parlayed it into a new Progressive Insurance commercial, which shows off his “expanded vocabulary.”

While it is hard to take Lynch’s place on the top of Mount Arrogance, Coach Belichick is also a strong contender. His ability to deny any knowledge of “Deflate Gate” with a straight face (OK, the only face he has is a straight face, but you get the point) is amongst the most arrogant things the league has ever seen.

Belichick is the most controlling, micromanaging coach in the league today. It is literally impossible to believe someone was tampering with his team’s footballs and he had no idea about it.

Want further proof Belichick knows he’s in the wrong? Check out the following quote from media day, where he gives a “technical” explanation for what might have happened:

“That process of creating a tackiness, a texture, the right feel, whatever that feel is — let’s just say it’s a sensation for the quarterback — that process elevates the psi approximately one pound based on what our study showed which was multiple balls, multiple examples in the process…. That’s done in a controlled climate. The footballs are prepared in our locker room, they’re delivered to the officials’ locker room, which is a controlled environment. Whatever we have here is what we have there. When the footballs go out onto the field in the game conditions, whatever those conditions are whether it’s hot and humid, whether it’s cold and damp, whether it’s cold and dry … that’s where the footballs are played with and that’s where the measurements would be different than what they are in a controlled environment, and that’s what we found.”

This man is so arrogant he thought if he spoke in science terms everyone would go, “Oh, yeah, that makes perfect sense!”

First of all, the simple length of his answer shows his desperation. There are more words in that one response than in his 10 previous press conferences combined. Secondly, his argument is as useless as a Marshawn Lynch interview unless Belichick can explain why the Colts’ balls were not affected despite sharing identical field conditions.

The question should not be, “Did the Patriots purposely deflate those footballs?” That’s easy — they did. The question should be, “How long have the Patriots been doing this for?” Has it been going on all season? If so, that might explain how the 2014 Patriots just became only the third team in the last 25 years to not to lose a single fumble at home.

But that’s probably just because Coach Belichick preaches ball security better than anyone else, right? Oh, the arrogance.

Seahawks Defenders Heap Praise on Quinn

Not only is Sunday the last game of the season for the Seahawks, but it is their last game with defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, who will be named the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons shortly after the Super Bowl.

Seattle’s defenders have already come to grips with this and believe Quinn will have immediate success in Atlanta.

Linebacker K.J. Wright called Quinn a “defensive mastermind” and said his arrival in Atlanta will make the Falcons an “automatic” playoff team next season.

The critics suggest Quinn is overrated and that inherited his dominant defense rather than building it. To be fair, Seattle’s defense emerged as an elite unit under former defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, whose success in that role landed him the head coaching job in Jacksonville.

But current Seattle players scoff at the notion that Quinn is the product of Seattle’s system.

Said safety Earl Thomas: “I think if he stays with that boxing type of mentality, he’s going to have success wherever he goes.”

Roman Introduced in Buffalo

The Bills introduced new offensive coordinator Greg Roman on Tuesday. The team also introduced new defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman, but that’s less exciting, because we already know Buffalo’s defense is going to be outstanding. The questions lie on the offensive side of the ball, particularly at quarterback. And judging by Roman’s first press conference as a Bills coach, he is well aware of that.

Roman hammered home three main points: 1) he wants to establish a dominant running game; 2) he wants offensive lineman that are equally adept at run blocking and pass blocking; and 3) he wants to be flexible and design a system around his personnel.

Translation: We are going to have to move the ball on the ground and get really creative in order to make plays in the passing game.

Said Roman: “I think part of that is being smart, tough and making Buffalo a place that nobody wants to come in December, January, etc.”

A lot of people questioned how Rex Ryan would fit in Buffalo, as the Bills have the same quarterback issues that led to his downfall in New York. Now it seems clear: he’s not here to turn around the Bills’ passing game — he’s here to win in spite of it.

Ryan won a lot of games in New York by running the ball and playing dominant defense. He’ll have to follow that same formula if he hopes to help the Bills snap their 15-year playoff drought.

Want to talk more about these and other headlines? Join Michael Lombardo for his weekly NFL Chat on Friday at 2pm EST. But you don’t have to wait until then … ask your question now!