Remembering Beast Mode

With Marshawn Lynch “announcing” his retirement this week, it’s appropriate to look back at his overall impact on the Seattle Seahawks.

Is anyone surprised at the way Marshawn Lynch told the world he was stepping away from football? If his cryptic Twitter post during the Super Bowl on Sunday struck you as odd, or ill-timed, or just plain weird….. well then, you don’t know much about the now former Seahawk running back.

"✌"

Lynch always did things his own way, on the field and off. Some of his methods were confounding and annoying. Mostly, he was just plain awesome. I didn’t always agree with how he conducted his business, but if the Seahawks were willing to live with his idiosyncrasies then so was I. But only because it worked. Somehow, the work ethic with which Lynch attacked football resonated with his teammates. They were always willing to have his back and go to war with him (and sometimes for him) because they knew that when the whistle blew he was willing and able to leave every single ounce of his soul on the field.

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And that’s the one thing about Marshawn Lynch that I think gets lost in his legend. You can talk about his persona, his quirks, his unique style, but it’s his soul that makes him the player that he was.

And it’s his soul that changed the culture of the Seattle Seahawks at a time when they needed a horse-needle sized injection of it.

When John Schneider was able to acquire Lynch in a trade with Buffalo on October 5th, 2010, it was the culmination of months of dogged attempts to pry him away from the Bills. Because he knew. He knew what Lynch was made of, and he knew his team needed exactly that. 2010 was the beginning of the Pete Carroll era and the end of the Matt Hasselbeck era. Future stars Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor and Golden Tate were just pups going through growing pains. Justin Forsett was the starting running back.

And then Beast Mode arrived.

If first impressions are key, then a glance at the box score of Lynch’s first game with the Seahawks wouldn’t impress you; 17 rushes for 44 yards. A 2.6 yard average per rush. Not awesome. But what stuck in my head, what’s indelibly burned into my consciousness and sticks out above nearly all of my Seahawk-colored memories is the way in which he GOT those 44 yards. For all of the beauty and splendor of the Beast Quake run against the Saints later that year in the playoffs, and his nearly-as-awe-inspiring sequel last year in Arizona, there were runs that went for NO GAIN against the Bears that day in Chicago which were were nearly as impressive. The way he battled, and fought, and stiff-armed his way through a then-outstanding Bears defense just to get back to the line of scrimmage is impossible to forget.

At a time when the team, and indeed the new regime, was looking to form a new identity, Lynch broke through the door and introduced himself that day Beacon Plumbing style! Never before have I seen a 1 yard run and thought to myself, “Man this guy is good!”

And that’s about all we would get from Lynch that year, signs of potential. There wouldn’t be a single 100 yard rushing performance that season, until the Saints game. And then there was that Beast Quake run. The “get off me!” stiff arm of Tracy Porter, and with one singled backwards-diving crotch grab the potential of Marshawn Lynch became a beacon of hope. His intensity and sheer will permeated the Seahawks locker room, and as the years went on, and that young core began to take shape around him, they did so in his mold. Tough, doggedly determined, and…..angry. It was as if Lynch channeled every negative thought he ever had growing up underprivileged and poor in inner-city Oakland and unleashed it every time he was handed the football.

And there was another side of Lynch I came to love and appreciate. Say what you will about the crotch-grabbing, but nearly every other time he scored a touchdown (57 as a Seahawk) he would simply hand the ball to the referee, shake his offensive linemen’s hands, and jog back to the sideline. He was the anti-Cam Newton, only choosing to celebrate demonstratively when the moment called for it. When he grabbed his cup, he meant it!

Do I wish he had done things differently off the field? Absolutely. Just once I wish he had given a straight-up interview when it was required. Be short, be curt even, but just answer the question. Even if he had shown up at Super Bowl Media Day in New York in 2014 and answered “yes” and “no” to what was being asked, there would have been no controversy. As time went on, I think he brought more negative attention on himself, and consequently the team, by his refusal to acquiesce to the demands of the league.

And in that sense, the timing of his retirement is appropriate and proper, for him and the team. Approaching his 30th birthday, Lynch is aware of the physical toll his running style has taken on his body, and he’s taken as much care to prepare for life after football as any player of his generation. He just opened his first brick and mortar Beast Mode apparel store, and it was reported this week that he’s not spent a single penny of his actual playing salary. That’s nearly $50 million sitting in the bank waiting to be lived off of. It’s that kind of prescient discipline that  points out what an enigma Lynch can be, and in some ways seems contradictory. But you can’t help but admire how well Lynch has meticulously planed for the next phase of his career.

There are some who are resenting Lynch today, who have the audacity to call him a quitter for walking away from the last year of his contract, of “abandoning” the Seahawks. And there seem just as many people who are critical of the team today for not doing more to convince him to change his mind. Know this; the moment Lynch signed his 2 year, $24 million extension the intended result was always to milk just one more season out of his aging legs. Lynch himself admitted as much, perhaps slipping unintentionally in an interview on Conan after signing the deal, saying he couldn’t say no to getting $12 million for one more season.

And then there’s the reality of the modern day NFL, and also the inner workings of an evolving Seattle team dynamic. The time is right. Lynch himself proved he wasn’t immortal this year, having to undergo his first major surgery and missing as many games as he played in. Meanwhile, the Seahawks showed they can survive and in fact thrive in a Lynch-less offense. Furthermore, this is Russell Wilson’s team now. In some ways, the end of the Lynch era reminds me a bit of when Ken Griffey Jr. begged his way out of town back in 2000. At the time, he was a transcendent baseball player in his prime but one who required special treatment; two lockers, a recliner in the clubhouse, prima donna acknowledgement. When he was traded to Cincinnati the Mariners missed his bat, his talent, but it was addition by subtraction in terms of clubhouse chemistry. Players all felt equal, on the same page, held to the same standards. The resulting 116 win regular season in 2001 wasn’t wholly coincidental.

Now that Lynch is a full-time apparel salesman, the Seahawks may feel a similar weight lifted from their shoulders. No more coddling or special treatment for such a crucial player. Publicly, his teammates always passionately backed him, but privately you have to wonder if there was some resentment, or at least annoyance.

I’ll miss his dreadlocks, the stiff arms, the highlights, and the way he never ran out of bounds. Marshawn Lynch was the anti Shawn Alexander. Supremely talented but in possession of an intrinsic quality that didn’t just make the Seahawks a better team because he was good at running with the football. His effect on the entire organization was dramatic and profound. And just because he won’t be wearing a Seahawks uniform anymore doesn’t bring his era to an end. His impact will indeed continue to be felt as long as the basic core of this team is intact. That’s the size of the impression he left.

Next: 7 round Seahawk mock draft

Beast Mode isn’t just a player. Lynch himself used to say it’s more of a state of mind. That won’t leave just because the #24 has hung up his cleats.

He’s the best running back in team history, a future ring of honor member, 12th man flag raiser and hall of famer. He will never be forgotten.

Thank you Marshawn Lynch.