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| | | | | | | |  Tuesday, January 30, 2001
Getting Crazy with ... Tampa Bay SS John Lynch
By Marc Connolly
MondayNightFootball.com
Every week throughout the 2000 NFL season, ABC Sports Online senior writer Marc Connolly interviews one player from that week's upcoming Monday Night Football game on a variety of topics. In Week 16, Connolly caught up with Tampa Bay strong safety John Lynch, who was named to his third Pro Bowl on Thursday. Third on the Bucs ferocious defense in tackles, Lynch is one of the most feared hitters in the league. They spoke on Thursday afternoon as the Bucs prepared for their battle of NFC supremacy with defending champion St. Louis on Monday night (ABC, 9 p.m. ET). Here's what transpired:
Connolly: Is this Pro Bowl stuff getting to be old hat?
|  | | John Lynch might be the hardest hitter in the NFL. |
Lynch: Obviously, the first trip is the one that stands out in your mind and is so special. I'll tell you about the first year -- that night before I was nervous. Our PR guy said he was going to call me so I was waiting by the phone, and he never did call me so I didn't think I made it. The next day he told me I made it and it was a big thrill. I think the biggest thing about it is that it's your peers that vote, and they're telling you that they think you're the best at what you do. That's means a lot because those are the guys you battle against. To have their respect is very important to players and it's a big deal.
On top of that, it's just a great time for you and your family to be over there in a beautiful place and to be hanging with all the NFL people. It's a lot of fun.
Connolly: I might as well get all the details out of you from Thursday's selections. Where were you? Who told you? And who did you call first?
Lynch: Tony Dungy had us out on the field for a little walk-through. Afterwards, he announced that we had a record number of guys (eight) going, and he read down the list. Of course, my name wasn't until the end of the list. I was a little nervous. The first person I told was when I came into the locker room right away, called my wife and said 'Aloha!'
Connolly: Are there any guys on your NFC squad that you're particularly looking forward to playing with when you get down there for the week?
Lynch: The guys in our division that we battle so hard against each year -- the Cris Carters and the Randy Mosses. All of a sudden, you are on the same team. It's a reversal of roles. Same for Kurt Warner. We're going to play against him this week, but over there we'll be on the same team and hanging out together. It makes you realize that even though you battle against these guys, in the end they are pretty good guys. You put all that behind you and just have a good time and get to see that they're all good people. That's fun.
Connolly: What would you tell first-timers like Donnie Abraham and Martin Gramatica to expect?
Lynch: That you end up playing a lot when you're there for the first time (laughing). Everyone wants to play, but the guys who have been there before get a break. It's really hot down there, so the first-time guys will do a lot of playing. You have to be ready to do a lot of sweating. The frustrating part is that when the game is on the line and the competitive nature comes out, they'll pull you out after you played the entire game.
Connolly: Point blank: Are you the hardest hitter in the league? You can include yourself.
Lynch: No, I won't do that just for the sake of it. I play with a guy each week -- Derrick Brooks -- who is just an outstanding player and the best linebacker in the league in my mind.
Connolly: Some have mentioned his name and Warren Sapp's as MVP candidates. Can a guy who doesn't score TDs be MVP?
Lynch: Absolutely. The likelihood of it happening isn't too great, but if you talk in terms of what they mean to a team, a defensive guy can definitely be the most valuable player. Defensive guys, on occasion, can dominate games on occasion, and that's what the award is all about.
Connolly: Yeah, LT dominated every game he played, it seems.
Lynch: Exactly.
Connolly: As a hard-hitter, is there one stick that stands out in your mind?
Lynch: The one I go back to was in the '97 playoffs and it was against Barry Sanders. The reason I mention this one--
Connolly: Because it was Barry.
Lynch: Right. And not because it was the greatest hit of my career. I'm sure other people would remember other ones, but the fact that you can never get a good hit on that guy puts it at the top. He just knew how to spin out of a hit, how to go down, and that was after you had to catch him. There was one occasion where I had teammates on both sides. It's kind of what I call a "funnel shot," and I had the opportunity to come up and put a lick on him. After the season at the Pro Bowl, I heard from him that it was the hardest hit he had ever taken.
Connolly: That's what you tell the kids.
Lynch: Yeah, that was something special and one I'll always remember.
Connolly: How would you describe the ultimate safety, using different body parts of past greats. For example, the instincts of Ronnie Lott might be a good starting point.
Lynch: You started with a good one. You'd want the instincts and the toughness of a Ronnie Lott. You'd probably want the body of a Kenny Easley. I didn't get to see him play too much, but I know a lot about him from my college coach, Bill Walsh. He used to say that when Kenny was going, he might have been not only the best safety he'd ever seen, but the best football player he'd ever seen. Put his physical traits with Ronnie's mental ones and I think you'd have yourself a dominating safety.
Connolly: John Elway was a hero of yours and one of the reasons you went to Stanford to play quarterback. What was it like for you to meet him?
Lynch: It was outstanding. I had an opportunity to meet him in high school. The guy who came to coach our school was his high school coach, so I got to meet him on the field before a Chargers-Broncos game. I'm sure he never would remember it. A couple of years ago when we had a Stanford football reunion, and John approached me. Remember, this was my childhood idol since I played quarterback growing up. I had his posters on my wall. He came up to me and said, "Hey, John, I just want to congratulate you on a great year. We played a lot of similar opponents and I watched a lot of tape, and you were outstanding all year." My jaw dropped. I'd been in the league six years so it's hard to get star-struck, but I certainly was at that point.
Connolly: Did you make him feel old and tell him later how you had his posters up in your room?
Lynch: No, but later on I told him that I wore Mizuno shoes because he wore them. He got a kick out of it.
Connolly: Like Elway, you were a tremendous baseball player. I know you could throw the ball 95 mph, so your arm must have been destroyed after going nine innings. Does it compare at all to the feeling the day after a football game?
Lynch: It's definitely not the overall hurt you get as a football player. When you've thrown a complete game, you're completely drained the next day and your arm is sore. But just imagine that being your entire body. It doesn't hurt from use, it just hurts from collisions. You can't even compare the two.
Connolly: And you don't get four days rest after playing on Sundays.
Lynch: Good point. It's not even close.
Connolly: If you went out on the mound right now, could you even come close to your days of throwing in the 90s?
Lynch: I've always kept throwing the ball since my brother (Ryan) is a pitcher (Baltimore Orioles minor league system), so I always catch him in the off-season. After the season once my shoulder is healed, I could probably get in the 85-90 range. Just not up to 95.
Connolly: That'd still get some guys out.
Lynch: Hopefully.
Connolly: You're a good person to ask since you played with the Florida Marlins -- what's the locker room chatter been about A-Rod and Manny's contracts?
Lynch: Now they really want to know what the heck I was thinking (for leaving baseball for football). It's a good question (laughing). It's a little hard to fathom. You have middle-of-the-road players making more than our top player in the league. It baffles guys. When you see pitchers who aren't even .500 pitchers making $10-12 million dollars a year, and the top-paid player in our league makes eight million. That's a lot of money, but there's no comparison.
Connolly: Speaking of a lot of money, what's the best part of your new stadium?
Lynch: The JumboTrons. A lot of teams have them, but ours are clearly the best.
Connolly: What do you miss the most about the "Big Sombrero?"
Lynch: The field surface. It was unbelievable at the old stadium. We haven't quite mastered it at the new stadium. It's one of the best surfaces in the league, but the old one used to get voted by players around the league as the best surface year after year.
Connolly: Do you still have aspirations to be an analyst on TV some day?
Lynch: Yes, I do. I think it's a great way to stay involved in the league after you're done.
Connolly: Who would be your dream three-man booth?
Lynch: I'd actually love to be in there with that FOX group. They seem like they have a lot of fun.
Connolly: The guys in the back room on the pre-game show?
Lynch: Yeah. But is that OK to say to you since you're an ABC guy?
Connolly: That's fine.
Lynch: But I can say the same about the ESPN guys (NFL Countdown). I've had the opportunity to go up there and do that show. They have an outstanding time too. Either one of those shows. That's what intrigues me. Not only do they get to sit there and talk about football, but they have so much fun doing it.
Connolly: Is there a former player whose style you like particularly?
Lynch: I like (ESPN's) Tom Jackson. He has such a great take, and he's real honest about how guys are playing without being too harsh. I think he's got a great knowledge of the game and communicates it very well.
Connolly: What would Sapp be like in the booth?
Lynch: Oh God, he'd be hilarious. The FCC may have some problems. Maybe he can be an XFL announcer.
Connolly: Your take on our guy, Dennis Miller?
Lynch: I've liked it. I think it has added entertainment. It's been a good move.
Connolly: OK, the last one is a little odd. In the remake of "A Christmas Carol," who would be Tampa Bay's Ghost of Christmas Past, Present and the Future?
Lynch: The Ghost of Christmas Past would be the old Sombrero, when we'd have opposing fans outnumbering our own. The present would be the Rams since they took what they wanted last year, and here we are playing them this week.
Connolly: So we can call that the future as well.
Lynch: Yeah, we can do that.
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Tampa Bay's John Lynch enjoyed every minute of the Bucs' muddy victory.