Cal2GreenBay
Cheesehead
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This was Aaron Rodgers commenting on Lynch's running style/ability
That's from his Freshman year. Think how much better he is now.
Would be a great fit for GB..
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/artic...PGB89UAOF1.DTL&hw=Aaron+Rodgers&sn=090&sc=115
When Cal freshman tailback Marshawn Lynch is carrying the ball, quarterback Aaron Rodgers often has one of the best views in the stadium.
"He never goes down," Rodgers said. "Sometimes you want him to go down so he doesn't fumble. But he never goes down on the first hit. One guy can't tackle him."
Rodgers recalled an early run in the win at Air Force when Lynch broke five tackles. There have been many others. In one otherwise forgettable short- gainer in Cal's win at Arizona, he was hit by two defenders, one at chest level and another wrapping his legs. More players piled on. The play was whistled dead with Lynch in the grasp of five tacklers but still on his feet.
Recently Lynch visited his 87-year-0ld great-grandfather in Oakland. "Stay in school," D.C. Lynch told the youngster. Then the patriarch offered another bit of advice. "It's OK to go down."
Marshawn Lynch is powerless, a prisoner of instinct. "I don't think about it," he said. "It just happens. I'm running to stay up."
Lynch is patiently waiting his turn, backing up J.J. Arrington.
"Whatever they tell me to do, that's what I do," he said.
Coach Jeff Tedford, with a straight face, refers to the pair as "a good one, two punch."
It's easy to make a case for Arrington being the best running back in the nation. He is climbing in the record books, approaching the single-season accomplishments of legends such as Cal's Chuck Muncie and USC's Marcus Allen. He is averaging 6.9 yards a carry, best average among the NCAA's top 40 rushers. He is averaging 157.2 yards a game, No. 1 in the Pac-10.
It's also easy to make a case for Lynch being better. He is averaging 8.5 yards a carry in his part-time role. In last Saturday's 42-12 win at Washington he touched the ball 13 times -- running for touchdowns of 70 and 32 yards and catching a 29-yard scoring pass. He finished with 121 rushing yards, another 51 yards on two kickoff returns and threw a 14-yard pass.
"That's a good problem to have," Tedford said, finally breaking into a smile.
Lynch plays with a pure power that belies his 5-foot-11, 200-pound frame.
"Marshawn is bigger, stronger, faster than most of the guys he goes up against," Rodgers said.
As No. 4 Cal (8-1, 6-1 Pac-10) prepares to face Stanford (4-6, 2-5) Saturday, Lynch is blissfully beyond the Big Game hype.
He never followed the game when he was growing up in Oakland. He attended his first Big Game last year as a recruit from Oakland Tech.
"I pay attention to it now," he said. "I'm playing in it."
To Lynch, football isn't about pomp and pageantry, rivals and revelry. He has a narrowly defined view of the game. After his first Pop Warner championship game, a loss, his mother saw the 11-year-old smiling, basking in the joy of having played. A bit later he came over to her with tears welling in his eyes.
"I asked him why he was crying," Delisa Lynch said. "He said, 'because everyone else is crying.' "
Then Delisa, who says she'd known since birth that Marshawn had a gift, was taken by a mother's intuition.
"I said, 'Marshawn, you're going to have a whole lot of football ahead of you. You will win some, you will lose some. But always have fun.' "
Tedford has marveled at Lynch's ready smile and easy-going nature.
"I don't think he realizes what he's doing or where he's at, which is a good thing," Tedford said earlier this season. "He doesn't see any pressure."
Lynch said, "That's what I'm about. It's fun out there -- the atmosphere, being around the guys, playing the best people in the nation."
His mother won't let him forget that come Saturday.
"He looks for me before every game. 'Where's Mama? Where's Mama?' " she said. "I always say the same thing. 'Have fun, Marshawn.' "
The Lynch file
Class: Freshman
Birth date: April 22, 1986
Height: 5-foot-11
Weight: 200
High School: Oakland Tech
Family ties: Cousin to Cal receiver Robert Jordan (Hayward High) and former Cal recruit Virdell Larkins* (Oakland Tech)
Cal highlights: Scored three TDs and completed a pass to Jordan against Washington, rushing for 121 yards on nine carries ... Averaging 8.5 yards a carry ... Averaging 29.7 yards on kick returns.
*Expected to enroll in Cal next semester
This article appeared on page D - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle
That's from his Freshman year. Think how much better he is now.
Would be a great fit for GB..
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/artic...PGB89UAOF1.DTL&hw=Aaron+Rodgers&sn=090&sc=115
When Cal freshman tailback Marshawn Lynch is carrying the ball, quarterback Aaron Rodgers often has one of the best views in the stadium.
"He never goes down," Rodgers said. "Sometimes you want him to go down so he doesn't fumble. But he never goes down on the first hit. One guy can't tackle him."
Rodgers recalled an early run in the win at Air Force when Lynch broke five tackles. There have been many others. In one otherwise forgettable short- gainer in Cal's win at Arizona, he was hit by two defenders, one at chest level and another wrapping his legs. More players piled on. The play was whistled dead with Lynch in the grasp of five tacklers but still on his feet.
Recently Lynch visited his 87-year-0ld great-grandfather in Oakland. "Stay in school," D.C. Lynch told the youngster. Then the patriarch offered another bit of advice. "It's OK to go down."
Marshawn Lynch is powerless, a prisoner of instinct. "I don't think about it," he said. "It just happens. I'm running to stay up."
Lynch is patiently waiting his turn, backing up J.J. Arrington.
"Whatever they tell me to do, that's what I do," he said.
Coach Jeff Tedford, with a straight face, refers to the pair as "a good one, two punch."
It's easy to make a case for Arrington being the best running back in the nation. He is climbing in the record books, approaching the single-season accomplishments of legends such as Cal's Chuck Muncie and USC's Marcus Allen. He is averaging 6.9 yards a carry, best average among the NCAA's top 40 rushers. He is averaging 157.2 yards a game, No. 1 in the Pac-10.
It's also easy to make a case for Lynch being better. He is averaging 8.5 yards a carry in his part-time role. In last Saturday's 42-12 win at Washington he touched the ball 13 times -- running for touchdowns of 70 and 32 yards and catching a 29-yard scoring pass. He finished with 121 rushing yards, another 51 yards on two kickoff returns and threw a 14-yard pass.
"That's a good problem to have," Tedford said, finally breaking into a smile.
Lynch plays with a pure power that belies his 5-foot-11, 200-pound frame.
"Marshawn is bigger, stronger, faster than most of the guys he goes up against," Rodgers said.
As No. 4 Cal (8-1, 6-1 Pac-10) prepares to face Stanford (4-6, 2-5) Saturday, Lynch is blissfully beyond the Big Game hype.
He never followed the game when he was growing up in Oakland. He attended his first Big Game last year as a recruit from Oakland Tech.
"I pay attention to it now," he said. "I'm playing in it."
To Lynch, football isn't about pomp and pageantry, rivals and revelry. He has a narrowly defined view of the game. After his first Pop Warner championship game, a loss, his mother saw the 11-year-old smiling, basking in the joy of having played. A bit later he came over to her with tears welling in his eyes.
"I asked him why he was crying," Delisa Lynch said. "He said, 'because everyone else is crying.' "
Then Delisa, who says she'd known since birth that Marshawn had a gift, was taken by a mother's intuition.
"I said, 'Marshawn, you're going to have a whole lot of football ahead of you. You will win some, you will lose some. But always have fun.' "
Tedford has marveled at Lynch's ready smile and easy-going nature.
"I don't think he realizes what he's doing or where he's at, which is a good thing," Tedford said earlier this season. "He doesn't see any pressure."
Lynch said, "That's what I'm about. It's fun out there -- the atmosphere, being around the guys, playing the best people in the nation."
His mother won't let him forget that come Saturday.
"He looks for me before every game. 'Where's Mama? Where's Mama?' " she said. "I always say the same thing. 'Have fun, Marshawn.' "
The Lynch file
Class: Freshman
Birth date: April 22, 1986
Height: 5-foot-11
Weight: 200
High School: Oakland Tech
Family ties: Cousin to Cal receiver Robert Jordan (Hayward High) and former Cal recruit Virdell Larkins* (Oakland Tech)
Cal highlights: Scored three TDs and completed a pass to Jordan against Washington, rushing for 121 yards on nine carries ... Averaging 8.5 yards a carry ... Averaging 29.7 yards on kick returns.
*Expected to enroll in Cal next semester
This article appeared on page D - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle
