PHOENIX — En garde!
Six days before Super Bowl XLIX, the verbal fencing between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots has started.
New England cornerback Brandon Browner raised eyebrows Monday when an interview with ESPN started making the rounds. He said Patriots players should try to worsen the injuries of Seattle defensive backs Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas.
Sherman suffered a sprained elbow and Thomas had a shoulder dislocated in last week’s NFC Championship.
“I’m gonna tell my teammates ‘go hit that elbow, go hit that shoulder,’ ” Browner said. “Hit it, yeah. Try to break it if you can. You can be my best friend after the game but, at the end of the day, I know you want the Super Bowl just as bad as I do.”
Seahawks receiver Doug Baldwin didn’t take umbrage to those comments.
“I’d expect nothing less,” he said. “This is the Super Bowl. I understand that fans want everybody to stay classy and be politically correct. But that’s the truth of the matter.”
Browner, who played for the Seattle last season, wasn’t the first player to raise eyebrows in the past two days. Sunday, Sherman said the NFL would go easy on the Patriots for allegedly deflating footballs in the AFC Championship because of the cozy relationship between the NFL commissioner and the team’s owner.
“Will they be punished? Probably not,” Sherman said. “Not as long as Roger Goodell and Robert Kraft are still taking pictures at their respective homes. I think it was just at Kraft’s house last week before the AFC Championship, you know. Talk about conflict of interest.”
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll backed away from Sherman’s comments Monday.
“Richard has an outlook that Richard owns,” Carroll said. “I don’t think he knows the commissioner or Mr. Kraft very well, but he has an opinion about that. Whether I talk to him about it or not, he still has his opinion.”
Kraft comes to the defense
One day after the Seahawks landed, the Patriots arrived in Phoenix.
Monday, owner Robert Kraft gave an impassioned defense of coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady amid the lingering “deflate-gate” scandal.
The NFL has hired attorney Ted Wells to lead an investigation into whether air was purposely let out of footballs used by the Patriots in the AFC Championship.
“I believe unconditionally that the New England Patriots have done nothing inappropriate,” Kraft said. “Tom, Bill and I have been together for 15 years. They are my guys. They are part of my family. … It bothers me greatly their reputations and integrity — and by association that of our team — has been called into question this week.”
Kraft went on to blast the NFL and the media for the leaks and reporting about the issue.
“If the Wells investigation is not able to definitely determine that our organization tampered with the air pressure in the footballs, I would expect and hope the league would apologize to our entire team and in particular coach Belichick and Tom Brady for what they have had to endure the last week,” Kraft said.
The first four questions posed to Belichick at his press conference each were about the deflated balls. He answered each the same: “I appreciate the question, but our focus is entirely on preparing for the Seattle Seahawks.”
Media day awaits
One of the biggest spectacles of Super Bowl week is Media Day. The event Tuesday is an exercise in coachspeak, cliché answers, repetitive questions and absurdity.
Still, you never quite know what will happen. Past events have included marriage proposals and “reporters” dressed in costumes.
Many eyes will be on Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch, who is the NFL’s most-fined player this season largely because of his reluctance to talk to the media. Sherman has pledged to help his friend out, which should be entertaining and combative at the same time.
The NFL Network will broadcast the event live. New England begins its session at 9:30 a.m. followed by Seattle at 11:15 a.m.
The “Gronk” threat
From linemen to defensive backs, most Seattle defenders have been asked about one Patriots player — “Gronk.”
Tight End Rob Gronkowski is one of the best in the NFL, having led the Patriots in touchdown catches (12) and receiving yards (1,124). At 6-foot-6, 265 pounds, he presents matchup problems both in pass coverage and blocking.
“I think we need to be physical back with him,” Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner said. “He’s not going to shy away from contact and neither are we. We’re going to have fun with this matchup.”
