Don’t Tune Out Richard Sherman Just Yet
By Ben Renner
Richard Sherman might be having his toughest week so far in his six-year career, but don’t tune him out just yet.
Richard Sherman is a difficult man to debate and a difficult man to categorize. There are hard workers in the NFL. Scrappy players who come into the league with little respect yet ooze talent. There are good soldiers, loudmouths, trash talkers, system guys, and undersized players. And then there’s Sherman, a fifth-round pick out of Stanford (born eight days before me).
It’s been a difficult couple of weeks for the Pro Bowl cornerback. First, he blew up at offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell on the sidelines of the Thursday night victory over the Rams. Then, after being peppered with questions about his qualifications for offensive play calling, etc., he lashed out radio talk host Jim Moore with threats of having his press credentials revoked.
Today, Richard Sherman told reporters he wouldn’t be holding press conferences anymore. He said, “It’s a privilege to have me up here. You’re going to miss me when I’m gone.” There’s a Drake song for this. Sherman may have turned off more than a few fans with his latest outburst towards the people trying to cover him and his team.
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Richard Sherman was out of line openly questioning Bevell’s call on the sideline. The decision to throw from the one yard line is above his pay grade. Besides, from a tactical standpoint, you can’t get gun-shy from your opponent’s one yard line because you had a bad experience once. The running game has struggled to stay consistent without Marshawn Lynch, after all. Threatening Jim Moore was also certainly a bridge too far.
But recent frustrations with the media aside, along with Pete Carroll’s public disappointment that Sherman didn’t apologize after his sideline outburst, we’re talking about an extremely smart and thoughtful individual.
It’s Sherman who actually speaks to the issues of the day. After yet another rash of police shootings earlier this season, Sherman dedicated an entire privileged press conference to the subject. He’s demonstrated he knows more about the rules of the NFL than the officials this season. In the 14-5 loss to Tampa Bay, two of the Seahawks‘ five points were courtesy of Sherman’s brain, which convinced Carroll to challenge a holding call in the endzone. It was clear after his evisceration of rabble rouser Skip Bayless on ESPN that Sherm is not one to be debated without intense study and preparation.
Richard Sherman writes well about his experiences in the NFL and took on Roger Goodell about player safety. He represents the Seahawks on the NFLPA Board of Player Representatives.
It’s not easy to ignore Sherman’s recent bout of headlines. To be sure, his actions over the past two weeks have been petty and over-reactive, so call him on it. But don’t count a man like this out just yet. For five years, he’s been one of the most intelligent, most talented, and most thoughtful players in the league. Don’t unfollow him on Twitter, he’s not Kanye.