A week after the Green Bay Packers avoided Richard Sherman like the plague, the Seattle Seahawks cornerback finds himself under fire for being "exposed" by the San Diego Chargers.
Keenan Allen’s comments on Richard Sherman reignite best cornerback debate
San Diego Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen called out Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman, reigniting an old debate in the process.
Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports
San Diego players were understandably riding high after their 30-21 upset of the defending champs. In particular, Chargers receiver Keenan Allen took the boisterous Sherman to task:
“He’s just a normal guy,” Allen said of Sherman. “We can go at him. We took some shots at him. We are not going to shy away from him. He’s not really a shutdown corner. We definitely wanted to come out and show we could go any way we wanted to and that we were in control of the game.”
Allen's teammate Malcom Floyd backed up his talk, saying, "Keenan was lighting up Sherman."
This isn't the first time Sherman, a two-time All-Pro selection, has come under scrutiny by NFL players. During the offseason, he battled Arizona Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson over Twitter for the title of "Best Cornerback." Just as he did then, Sherman responded to his critics with cold, hard statistics.
Lmao Exposed? .... Complete 3 passes 0 touchdowns 0 explosive passes.... These guys make me laugh
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) September 15, 2014 The debate over Sherman usually leads to one of two camps -- those who favor corners that opposing quarterbacks are afraid to challenge, and those who believe a real shutdown corner follows the opponent's top receiver all over the field. Quarterbacks like Aaron Rodgers avoided Sherman entirely, which may have contributed to the Packers' 36-16 loss to the Seahawks. However, other teams have found success by working primarily to the left where Sherman does not play.
Diving further into the numbers from the weekend, Sherman outplayed Peterson by a sizable margin. ESPN estimates that the Seattle corner gave up five completions on as many attempts for 60 yards, a performance Pro Football Focus gave a 0.9 composite grade. Meanwhile, Peterson gave up more yardage and a score to New York Giants receiver Rueben Randle. He earned a -2.7 score from Pro Football Focus for his efforts. Based on their Week 2 performances, Sherman is getting the last laugh.
While Sherman and Allen duke it out through the media, the fact remains that their matchup was merely one of multiple factors that decided Sunday's game. Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers spliced up the Seahawks all over the field with tight end Antonio Gates operating on Seattle's linebackers and safeties to the tune of 96 yards and three touchdowns. The San Diego defense held Russell Wilson and the Seahawks' run game in check, with only Percy Harvin totaling more than 40 yards on the ground.
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