On Day 2, everyone knows why Marshawn Lynch is there

REPORTING FROM PHOENIX â€”  Beast Mode is in least mode.

In other words, not much has changed with tight-lipped Seattle running back Marshawn Lynch, who again gave reporters the silent — or at least say-nothing — treatment during his NFL-mandated media session.

A day after answering virtually every question at media day with “I’m here so I won’t get fined,� Lynch repeated another line over and over at Seahawks availability Wednesday at the team hotel.

Wearing sunglasses and a white cap bearing his “BeastMode� logo, he set the timer on his phone to the required five minutes and said a few words of introduction to the media clustered around his podium.

“So ain’t nothing changed from yesterday,� he said. “I’m still the same person I was yesterday. And I have the same thing for you that I had yesterday.�

He then answered every question with “You know why I’m here.�

He was asked whether he was concerned about getting fined for his hat.

“You know why I’m here.�

How are you feeling today?

“You know why I’m here.�

You get the picture. After five minutes, he grabbed his phone, said thank you, and left.

From grizzly to teddy bear

If anyone can testify to changes in New England Coach Bill Belichick over the years, it’s defensive tackle Vince Wilfork, who is the team’s second-longest-tenured player after Tom Brady. Wilfork was drafted by New England in 2004, four years after Brady.

“I’ve seen the difference in Bill in the 11 years that I have been here and I tell him he is getting soft,� Wilfork said. “But this is a different era of football now with how the team is shaped up and how a lot of guys are younger guys. You don’t really have that veteran team that he used to have.

“When I first came in the league, he had a veteran team that didn’t take much to get those guys going. But if I have to say anything, I think over the years he got a soft heart. But he’s more understanding now. I think when you get so used to having a certain quality of players and it changes, it’s hard for you to adapt to change.�

Taking the long way

Seattle receiver Jermaine Kearse made the winning touchdown catch in the last two NFC championship games. But he couldn’t catch a break in 2012, going undrafted out of the University of Washington.

“The ultimate goal was to get drafted,� he said. “Everybody, that’s what you work for. That’s what you work hard in college for is to get drafted and play in the NFL. You kind of sit there and you’re waiting for your phone to ring. You’re waiting for your name to get called, and it doesn’t.

“It’s a disappointing feeling, but there’s that undrafted free agent section. I was able to get my foot in the door and be able to just compete, and fought my way up to the team.�

Now, he said, he has a special appreciation for his roundabout route to the top.

“It’s an incredible journey for me,� he said. “It’s something that I really hold dear to myself. Now that I think about it, I’m glad I went this way. I went through this road because I learned a lot about myself pushing through adversity and just making the most of opportunities. It really molded me to the player that I am now.�

Follow Sam Farmer on Twitter @LATimesFarmer