Despite being fairly tired of the Richard Sherman drama, I can't keep from touching on it. First of all, I've known of Sherman as a talented football player since his first season at Stanford. I've known of him as a bright young man with a less than ideal Compton childhood. As a Cal fan, I watched Sherman as a receiver with potential. I saw him get injured and lose an entire season. I saw him comeback as a cornerback with even greater potential. He was at Stanford for all of Jim Harbaugh's four years as head coach. Harbaugh had Sherman as a receiver and likely made the final decision on the football player's transition to the defensive side of the ball. I saw Sherman get torched in one of the college all-star games. He looked like a talented corner that was still learning the position. His two years playing corner in college, his rough all-star game, his modest 4.54 40-time likely meant a second day selection in the NFL Draft. His raw talent and 6'3" size was going to get him drafted. Richard Sherman, knowing that he's great, felt that he should be taken at the top of the draft. Certainly among the first corners selected. None of what Sherman clearly thought of himself was going to be evident to anyone making draft day decisions. The Seattle Seahawks selected Sherman in the fifth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. There's a real long line of football players that didn't get drafted as high as they thought that they should be drafted. Sherman is in that line. He made a quick impact with the Seahawks, starting 10 games and making the Pro Football Writers All-Rookie team. He only got better in his second season, earning All-Pro honors. This season did nothing but prove that his quick rise was no fluke. He's among the best corners in the game. It's pretty clear that he's as great as he always thought that he was. He's also an ass.
It's my understanding that Richard Sherman and Jim Harbaugh don't talk much. I couldn't possibly know the entirety of the relationship but it strikes me as odd that a player and his college coach aren't on speaking terms. It's especially odd when that coach has shown nothing but undying support for all of his football players at every coaching step. It was Harbaugh that was in charge when Sherman was switched to the position at which he now excels. He could have kept Sherman at receiver. Sherman's present would be a whole lot different right now. If Sherman blames Harbaugh for his fifth round selection, it seems misguided. The entire draft is a gamble but the first few rounds are still reserved for the players that have at least three years of college excellence on film and terrific measurables. Sherman had two years of learning cornerback on the job and, except for his size, modest measurables. A lot of teams passed on him through four rounds, including four times by the Seahawks. So, Richard Sherman plays football with a chip on his shoulder. A lot of football players do. I don't hear many of those football players rip other players every chance that they get. Sherman never shuts up. He was mic'd up against the Minnesota Vikings this season. He was an ass on pretty much every play shown except for one. Vikings receiver Jarius Wright completely turned him around on a deep pass. Touchdown. Sherman was strangely quiet on that one. Other than that one play Sherman was a non-stop, insult machine. Perhaps all that chatter gives him the juice to play like he does. Who knows? I can't imagine that it lines up friends across the league. He claims to be a different person off of the football field. Maybe he speaks with less rage off of the football field but he's still real quick to criticize opponents. When he talks of opponents, he rarely has anything positive to say. He recently mentioned how he and his teammates feed off the criticism of others. Well, he never stops giving opponents their own ammunition. Finally, I get the impression that Sherman believes that he's never committed pass interference in his three year career. He sure is shocked every single time that he's flagged. He plays the cornerback position more like Mel Blount than the rules of this era allow. Basically, he's highly critical of everyone not wearing a Seahawks uniform. That's a lot of people.
I admire the goal-driven path that took Richard Sherman from Compton to Stanford. I respect his great off-field work. I love watching him play football. I just wish that he didn't soil all of that with the extremely disrespectful words and actions that he brings to his game. The extra stuff. He claims that his success in Seattle's defensive backfield is made possible by the front seven. Yet he singles himself out when he pops off constantly. He was upset that San Francisco 49ers receiver Michael Crabtree disrespected him. I was surprised that troubled Sherman as he has shown no restraint in disrespecting pretty much every receiver lined up opposite him. Well, except for Jarius Wright. I guess that Richard Sherman can dish it out but he just can't take it. I think that's what bothers me most about Richard Sherman.
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