Sherminator: "I'm the best corner in the game. When you try me with a sorry receiver like Crabtree, that is the result you are going to get. Don't you ever talk about me."
Andrews: "Who was talking about you?"
Sherminator: "Crabtree. Don't you open your mouth about the best, or I'm going to shut it for you really quick. L...O...B*."
Please note that Sherman is saying "LOB" an abbreviation for "legion of boom" a nickname for the Seattle defense. He is not saying LL Bean as commonly thought on the f-book.
Sherman's epic manic diatribe has been the subject of endless commentary, twitter battling and punditry. If we are really want to add something meaningful from the sporting nerd side we have to break it down into two aspects:
PART 1: The Fact Check
Anytime someone comes in talking all that noise...ya gonna get a fact check. Fact in question: Richard Sherman is the best corner in the league. Quite a claim! Sherman is a fairly young, third year player. However in each of the past three seasons Sherman has intercepted the ball 4, 8 and 8 times respectively. Good for the most in the league this year, second most last year and also the most total interceptions in the NFL over the span of his career. This is also the first time that any player has had 20 picks in the first three years of their career since Ed Reed did it over a decade ago. Snap!
Now naysayers will appropriately point out that interceptions only tell part of the story. Perhaps a better stat is passes defended, defined by the NFL as each time a defender successfully deflects a pass thrown to a player he is defending. Well Sherman has amassed 61 passes defended over his career, ranking him...you guessed it....number 1 among players over his career.
Prior to Sherman bursting onto the scene Darrelle Revis was unequivocably considered the best corner in football, with his 2009 season one of the best statistical seasons ever. Though Revis also had an outstanding 2013, this is his first year back from ACL repair. Directly comparing the two corners this year is tough as Sherman had more talent around him and Revis is likely still regaining function in his knee. Perhaps the better comparison is a head-to-head look at their sophmore seasons:
Revis Vs. Sherman — Sophomore Seasons
| TA | REC | %CT | YDS | YAC | INT | RAT | |
| D. Revis | 84 | 49 | 58.3 | 510 | 204 | 5 | 59.1 |
| R. Sherman | 87 | 41 | 47.1 | 634 | 135 | 8 | 41.1 |
TA= targets — REC= receptions allowed — %CT=percentage caught — YDS= yards allowed — YAC= yards after catch allowed — INT= interceptions — RAT= opposing QB rating when passing into his coverage
Comparing and analyzing corners is notoriously difficult as the better corners get thrown to the least. Many years the highest INTtotals are collected by players that QBs like to go after. Both players were targeted equally, Sherman picked the ball more, allowed a lower completion percentage and held QBs to lower rating. In the argument of Revis Island versus Optimus Prime (Sherman's self-nominated nickname after shutting down Megatron) it would be hard to argue against Sherman.
Best corner in the league. Fact Check.
Part 2: Is this tight?
Most critics of Sherman's rant cite a lack of class and an unwillingness to win with grace. Tom Brady commented that "we win with graciousness." Justin Verlander even said that Sherman would get a fastball "high and tight." (YAY Detroit matters!). And its hard to argue with that sentiment. Any time a player is brash and arrogant in victory it definitely does not look classy. (Maybe brady is still mad though.)
But "is it classy?" is a different question from "is it tight?" Sherman's rant though decidedly not classy is mos def tight. Its tight in the way that this is tight and this is tight. 99.9/100 post game are completely uninteresting: We gave 110%, we had a good game plan, gotta thank my teammates, much respect to [opponents]. DONT CARE! If this is anything it is definitely interesting. It is the best corner in the game (see above) throwing it in your face like an aggressive WWF-style hype man and it is awesome. The major caveat here is that if you are a Niner's fan then you had to suffer through a game with rough officiating, where your probowl linebacker has a career threatening injury...only to have Sherman take away your trip to the Superbowl and then throw it in your face. So yah you probably hate him then. Sucks.
"Both teams played hard...goodnight and godbless."
