FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Cornerback Josh Norman wore a wrestling mask and got into a heated debate with Hall-of-Fame-player-turned-television-analyst Deion Sanders about a regular-season incident with New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham.
Quarterback Cam Newton turned a towel into a bandanna. And when asked if he was the LeBron James of the NFL, Newton said, “Why can’t LeBron be the Cam Newton of power forwards?”
He also defended a comment made the previous week about his success as an African-American quarterback because it “may scare a lot of people because they haven’t seen nothing they can compare me to.”
This was the NFC champion Carolina Panthers at Super Bowl 50 media night a year ago.
Don’t expect the same type of colorful comments from New England and Atlanta at Super Bowl LI’s media night on Monday, particularly from the Falcons.
Second-year Atlanta coach Dan Quinn tried last week to get ahead of the media circus his players will face in Houston by simulating some of the crazy questions they may get.
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As he reminded them, “the media can only jam you up if you allow it too.”
“We want to make sure our responsibility is to each other, and that’s one of the fun parts of our team,” Quinn said on Wednesday.
In other words, he wanted no bulletin board material and no quotes that will take the focus off the team’s preparation for the game.
Judging by the comments players made at the practice facility, Quinn’s message came in loud and clear. You couldn’t have found a more polite — or boring — group.
“You don’t want to be that guy [who] gives bullets and bulletin board material,” Atlanta defensive end Tyson Jackson said. “You’ve got to understand the question that’s asked, and if there’s anything you don’t feel comfortable answering, you can pass.”
“You just want to keep it as even-keeled as possible.”
Jackson doesn’t think the Falcons intentionally were boring last week as much as they were careful. He still believes players can show their personality without saying outrageous things or dealing with outrageous topics.
“Everybody will have their own way to approach the media,” Jackson said. “But looking back at past Super Bowls, there are some insane questions being asked out there. You’ve got to be prepared.”
Jackson admitted it was fun coming up with questions to anticipate, although there were none he wanted to share.
“The questions that have been asked in previous Super Bowls you are [thinking], ‘Wow! Why would they ask that? It has nothing to do with the Super Bowl,'” he said. “I’m pretty sure all 63 guys in the locker room are prepared for what’s out there for us. I know I trust them.
“The Super Bowl is a media circus, so you’ve just got to get ready for it.”
