S John Lynch is known as one of the league's most ferocious tacklers
At the conclusion of Thursday's Fan Chat with Buccaneer QB Shaun King, on-line fans submitted questions for the next Player of the Week, S John Lynch. Lynch, who was recently named as the NFC's Pro Bowl starter at strong safety, sat down on Saturday after the team's final walk-through to answer 20 questions selected from those submissions. Fans will get the opportunity to ask Lynch questions directly on Thursday, December 30 at 5:00 p.m. when he appears as a guest on Buccaneers.com's next live chat session.
(Questions below are not necessarily worded exactly as they were submitted)
Q. All I want for Christmas is for the Bucs to go to the Super Bowl. What do you want?
A. That feeling is mutual!
Q. What kind of game do you think it will be against the Packers, a running game or a passing game?
A. I tend to think it's going to be won by whoever runs the ball better. After what happened to us defensively last week, with Oakland's success running the ball, I think Green Bay is going to attempt to run the ball. Our success in stopping that, and on the other hand our success running the ball on offense will go a long way towards deciding who wins.
Q. Do you think you can K.O. Brett Favre for all of the Bucs' fans?
A. I'll try! No, of course I'll play hard, but we're not out there trying to hurt anybody. Plus, he has taken some hard hits from us before and gotten right back up.
Q. What do you feel are the Bucs' chances of making it to the Super Bowl?
A. I like our chances. They're as good as anyone else's out there.
Q. Where do you get your killer instincts for your great hits, since you were a quarterback in high school?
A. I don't know...I think quarterbacks can have killer instincts, too. I'm just a football player.
Q. Can you give a good workout program for a lineman?
A. What I try to do in the off-season is a lot of cross training. In California, we have a lot of hills, and I work the hills a lot. I work on the beach, in the sand, doing sprints. A couple days a week, I'll do some distance work. I have a thing that's like an obstacle course that I do to put myself in positions that I'm going to need to have strength in.
Q. Why does it always seem like our defense drops back in coverage on third and long instead of keeping pressure on the offense? It seems like the defense is better at stopping the offense on third-and-short rather than third-and-long?
A. I think typically, we're rushing four just like we always do. I think we do pretty well on third-and-long. I think there was one earlier in the year against Green Bay, third-and-26, but since then we've responded well.
Q. Are you looking forward to playing against your brother-in-law (Chicago TE John Allred)?
A. I always look forward to playing against him. It's fun playing against family, and it's kind of a unique situation.
Q. If the opportunity exists, are you going to pop him one again?
A. Sure, and I'm sure he'll try to pop me if the opportunity presents itself!
Q. How fast do you think you could throw a baseball these days?
A. That's a good question. I do keep my arm in shape in the off-seasons because my brother is a minor-league pitcher and I catch him. So I do throw quite a bit. But I don't know how fast I can throw now.
Q. Did you have an NFL hero when you were a kid?
A. I was a Chargers' fan growing up, so guys like Dan Fouts, Kellen Winslow, John Jefferson, Charlie Joiner...those guys were my heroes. And then, later on, since I was a quarterback, John Elway was the guy I looked up to.
Q. Do you live in Tampa during the off-season?
A. Parts of it.
Q. What's the secret to hitting someone hard?
A. Well, ninety percent of it is just the willingness to stick your head in there. Then there's a lot of timing to it, knowing when to explode through someone.
Q. Does anything about the Packers worry you?
A. I don't know about 'worry', but they're still a very good football team with great players on it. Brett Favre, in my mind, even though he hasn't had as much success this year, is still probably the best player in the league. Any time you have a situation where that guy's at quarterback, you have a chance to win, so it will be a great challenge for us.
Q. Since the Bucs will be in the Super Bowl from the NFC, who do you think will make it from the AFC?
A. I like Jacksonville a lot.
Q. What do you think you will do after your football career?
A. Broadcasting is one interest that I have. Other than that, there are some other business opportunities that I'm involved in now that might turn into a post-football career.
Q. Do you have any interest in coaching?
A. That's something that my wife and I have talked about. I think I would certainly enjoy it, but I see the hours that our coaches work, and we have one kid right now and hopefully many more to come. I don't know if that fits into that lifestyle for us.
Q. Who has been the single biggest influence on your life?
A. I think my parents, both of them together, have been the biggest influence on my life?
Q. I've been a Bucs fan for a long time...were you frustrated early on in your career when they tried to make you a linebacker?
A. I certainly was. They weren't really trying to make me a linebacker...they were trying to find a way to get me on the field. For that, I was appreciative, but I would have much rather been playing safety. But as a young guy in this league, you've got to earn your way on the field. It didn't happen right away, but I stuck with it and all the hard work paid off.
Q. Who's the toughest receiver in the NFL to defend?
A. I think Randy Moss.
