Seattle’s Sherman has been quieted
Talkative DB and his team have struggled for most of year
During the peak of the rivalry between the Seahawks and 49ers, Seattle cornerback Richard Sherman called Michael Crabtree a “mediocre receiver,” celebrated an interception of Colin Kaepernick by dancing with cheerleaders — the Sea Gals — on the sideline, triumphantly munched on a turkey leg at midfield at Levi’s Stadium and took several jabs at Jim Harbaugh, his coach at Stanford.
After the Seahawks won 29-3 in 2013, Sherman ran to Harbaugh, patted him on the rear end and later feigned surprise when Harbaugh didn’t return his good-game greeting.
“I guess sportsmanship doesn’t go both ways,” Sherman said.
Sherman’s unique talent for fanning flames probably explains why the Seahawks’ media-relations department has kept him from Bay Area reporters over the years. Before each NFL game, beat writers can select a member of the opposing team to interview on a conference call. And the requests from the 49ers’ scribes to speak with Sherman had consistently been declined … until this week.
On Wednesday, Sherman broke his silence, but the mouth that has roared barely purred. The All-Pro talker delivered mostly banal statements instead of bulletinboard material in advance of the 49ers’ visit to Seattle on Sunday.
Some representative quotes? Here’s Sherman on the key to stopping the 49ers: “We have to play disciplined and understand assignments and we’ll be fine.” And he offered this on the rivalry between the teams: “It’s another game. It’s another division game. At the end of the day, you’re always playing for something, so that’s why guys come out.”
Zzzzzzzz.
Sherman, who has a communications degree, probably was being purposely bland. However, there is another acceptable theory for his cliche-filled interview: The threetime All-Pro doesn’t have quite as much to boast about these days.
The Seahawks, the two-time defending NFC champions who averaged four losses from 2012 through ’14, will arrive Sunday with a 4-5 record. And Sherman, who had 24 interceptions in his first four seasons, will arrive without a pick this season. Finally, the Seahawks are coming off a 39-32 home loss to Arizona in which they surrendered their most points since 2010 and their most passing yards (334) since 2012.
Sherman wasn’t overly interested in discussing reasons for Seattle’s nosedive. When asked why they had five losses, Sherman said: “Because we didn’t score more points than the other team.” He also rebuffed a follow-up attempt, saying the Seahawks were 4-5 “because we didn’t score more points than the other team.”
He finally caved and referenced Seattle’s close calls. It has squandered a fourth-quarter lead in each of its losses, which have come by an average of 5.4 points.
“Sometimes you get the breaks and sometimes you don’t,” Sherman said. “Guys have played hard, they’ve done everything they’re supposed to do, and you win some and lose some.”
The Seahawks’ issues have more to do with their 18thranked offense than a defense that ranks second in yards allowed and seventh in points. Seattle still has the Legion of Boom, the decorated secondary trio of Sherman and safeties Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor. Still, some of the aura has evaporated.
Seattle has four interceptions, which is tied for fewest in the league. In addition, quarterbacks have an 87.4 passer rating against the Seahawks, which would be the highest figure against them since 2010, when Sherman was still at Stanford.
Sherman said quarterback Carson Palmer and the Cardinals were sometimes simply better Sunday.
“We played well for a while,” Sherman said, “and every now and then, you had some plays that they made and you have to give them credit for.”
After meeting Arizona (7-2), the Seahawks figure to face a less daunting task against the 49ers (3-6), who will have quarterback Blaine Gabbert making his second start in place of Colin Kaepernick. Gabbert helped lead the 49ers to a 17-16 win over the Falcons in his first start in 25 months.
“He made some great decisions in terms of running and passing the football,” Sherman said. “Obviously, there were some mistakes in there as well. But I think to come off the bench, and do what he did and beat the Falcons, it was a great performance.”