Richard Sherman may be a lot of things, but there are very few who would argue that the Seattle Seahawks cornerback is timid. Sherman is cockier than any player in the game, and that confidence has allowed him to dominate his position. But if you ask San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, he would tell you Sherman is “afraid.”
Afraid of what exactly? Kaepernick went off on Sherman in an interview with Bart Hubbuch of the NY Post on Thursday. The Niners signal-caller said Sherman fears San Francisco’s receiving corps and was one foot away from being the “goat” in the NFC Championship Game.
“I’ll take that matchup every day,” Kaepernick said. “I feel like he’s afraid of our receivers, and that’s something I look forward to [exploiting] next year.
“I had Crabtree one-on-one with half of the field to himself, and I’m going to take that every single time. He made a good play on that ball, but if I throw it a foot farther, it’s a touchdown and now you’re the goat, Richard Sherman. It’s a game of inches. The inches were in [Sherman’s] favor in that case, but this game will humble you very quickly.”
As you might expect, Kaepernick’s hostility was fueled by Sherman’s verbal assault on Michael Crabtree and the choke gesture he made toward the Niners.
“Did that make you feel better about yourself? Then go ahead,” Kaepernick added. “Because I’m not worried about you. … As my dad has always told me, if you have to tell people how good you are, then how good are you really? If you have to go on national TV and try to say you’re the best cornerback in the league, then you’ve got your own insecurities.”
I’m never a fan of playing the “if” game, because there are a lot of “ifs” throughout the course of a game that could have changed history. Kaepernick is right — if he put more air under that pass we would be talking about Crabtree beating Sherman. But he didn’t, and Sherman made an incredible play on the ball.
Sherman has since apologized for the way he went after Crabtree, but the damage is obviously done for Kaepernick. The rivalry between the Seahawks and Niners should be one of the best in football for years to come.
