Sherman's Talk Discredits Impressive Play

Richard Sherman is a really good football player. He might just be the best cornerback in the NFL. However, you don't need me to tell you that because Sherman already let you know. He's the self-proclaimed "best corner in the league" and he wants to make sure you know it.

Did you see Sherman's act at the end of the NFC Championship game Sunday? That was Richard Sherman in a nutshell. Sure, he made a great play that won the game for the Seattle Seahawks, but he followed that up by antagonizing Michael Crabtree and then made an absolute fool of himself in a postgame interview. He didn't stop there. His mouth kept running in the postgame press conference.

Richard Sherman is not a thug though.

Sherman is a Stanford graduate who hails from Compton, California. That's the Compton that has become notorious for gang activity and crime, but Sherman escaped all of that. He chose Stanford as his collegiate stop and now in his third season in the NFL he has already earned all-Pro honors twice. That's impressive.

But while Sherman may have made class a priority in life and became a great success story, he knows nothing about having class. He is an idiot with a mouth that won't stop running and he ruins his on-field performance every time he steps in front of a live microphone.

Let's not make excuses for this guy. Let's not say, "Well, he backs up his talk with his play so it's okay." There are no passes for this guy. This is a no-class individual who doesn't know how to handle the limelight. He's the classic rags-to-riches story and he's the kind of guy one would think they could cheer for.

Yet it's impossible to put your hands together for Sherman.

There have been mediocre players who have done so much talking that their play got more attention than they deserved. Sherman's play is incredible, but he does so much talking that his antics overshadow his play. Rather than being known for leading the league in interceptions this season or for being an all-Pro two years in a row, Sherman is best known for his act after the NFC Championship and for his antagonizing of Tom Brady a few years back.

I'll say this about Richard Sherman: bravo to him for making something of himself and choosing a better life than the streets of Compton offer. But shut up Richard Sherman. Shut up. Just play football.  Show a little class, act like you have been there before and stop being a classical idiot for the entire world to see.

He may think he's "keeping it real" but the reality is that he is the realest idiot in sport today. Sherman has a platform, but he uses that platform to talk about himself and to disrespect others. Is that really somebody you want to cheer for?

Not me. That's not somebody I want to cheer for. For two weeks we will have to listen to Sherman talk and then on February 2 he will face the best offense in the NFL. He will go head-to-head with Peyton Manning and he will have a chance to win a ring.

The Seahawks might win the game and Sherman might make a big play. But no matter what happens, Sherman's mouth will be going faster than ever and it will discredit anything he does on the field. So go ahead Richard, yap all you want, but if you lose hopefully you handle yourself in defeat better than you did in victory.

Because in victory you embarrassed yourself.