Raiders’ OC on Marshawn Lynch: ‘He has pleasantly surprised me at every turn’

Oakland Raiders offensive coordinator Todd Downing made sure to specify that he wasn’t offering “the PR answer” to a question about his impressions of Marshawn Lynch during offseason practices.

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SiriusXM Editor
June 27, 2017

Oakland Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch runs during NFL football practice on Wednesday, June 14, 2017, at its NFL football training facility in Alameda, Calif.

Oakland Raiders offensive coordinator Todd Downing made sure to specify that he wasn’t offering “the PR answer” to a question about his impressions of Marshawn Lynch during offseason practices.

Downing’s response wasn’t intended to curry any favor with the running back who, after sitting out the 2016 season, was traded to the Raiders from the Seattle Seahawks.

‘It’s been really neat to be around him’

“This is being as genuine as I can be,” Downing told Jim Miller and Pat Kirwan on Movin’ The Chains recently. “He has pleasantly surprised me at every turn. It’s been really neat to be around him.”

The quality that Downing admires most about Lynch is his passion for the game.

‘He loves talking football, he loves being on the field’

“He loves football; he’s a football junkie,” Downing said. “He loves talking football, he loves being on the field, his teammates. He loves toting that rock. So everything that we’ve seen on him thus far — and, of course, we’ve only been in pajamas out there practicing — but what we’ve seen has been fantastic.

“And I’m as excited as the rest of Raider Nation to see what he’s got.”


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