Here are Michael Crabtree’s comments that sparked Richard Sherman’s rant

When Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman forced the interception that effectively ended the NFC Championship Game, he obviously felt a sense of personal victory. Sherman patted San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree on the butt before giving the choke sign. He then acted like a lunatic in not one but two postgame interviews.

So what set him off? What was it that had Sherman so wound up that he was unable to enjoy the victory with class and had to focus the spotlight on himself? Some comments that Crabtree made last Thursday when he was asked if Sherman is the best cornerback in the league could help answer those questions.

“Uh, no, I don’t think so,” Crabtree said at the time, via Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. “I don’t know (anything) about the best cornerbacks in the league. I just know teams. We are playing the Seattle Seahawks and hopefully we come out with a win.

“You study him and you study the defense, the overall defense. A lot of guys play coverages. It isn’t just man-to-man the whole game. So you got to study the whole defense. It is not just one guy. It is the entire defense.”

Crabtree had a point. You can’t focus on one player when preparing for a game, because you don’t even know if that one defensive back is going to shadow you all afternoon. Nevertheless, the comments offended Sherman to the point where he called Crabtree “mediocre” and said he thought it was a “joke” that the Niners tried to win the game by throwing in his direction.

Sherman’s confidence is part of what makes him such a great defender. Still, he could have done a better job of focusing the attention on the team. You know, the one that just punched its ticket to the Super Bowl.