Richard Sherman talks Byron Maxwell, defensive improvement, Colin Kaepernick and more

We know that Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman is incredibly loquacious, but he said more on Wednesday than I think any member of the San Francisco 49ers has in a press conference under Jim Harbaugh. He talked about several different aspects of the Seahawks defense, and also discussed the 49ers offense. He didn't offer anything particularly explosive, but he did talk....a lot.

(On the way Byron Maxwell moves in and out during the game) He's incredibly versatile. He's a very smart football player. He has a great and very unique technique about him that applies both inside and out and I think at the end of the day he's just a great player. I think it takes a tremendous amount of versatility and intelligence to be able to move in and out he does it seamlessly. I think that's a testament to him and we're lucky to have him.

(On Maxwell being a little bit longer versus the smaller guys that play in the slot) Yeah he is. He is. I think that works to his advantage but he is also really quick, he has great feet. He's relaxed, he's calm, and in very tense situations and I think that works to his advantage as well.

(On how Byron Maxwell's technique is similar to his) He's just patient. I don't go into slot that often, I guess we're similar when I go in there but he's just unique. You can't compare two people's style like that. Like no two quarterbacks throw exactly the same. No two corners play - our technique is similar but it's not the same. His footwork is a little different. His stance is a little different. But I'm a fan.

(On if guiding Tharold Simon as a young CB is the only one or if he does the same with other young CBs as well) You try to do it with any corner but I think I saw a little bit of myself in him. I also saw a little Brandon Browner in some of his ways and I think he has the potential to be a great corner in this league and I want him to reach that potential and anything I can do to help him, I'm trying to do.

(On anything that is better right now over the last month or if it is the entire defense) I think it's the whole defense. I think all of us are just playing for each other and having a blast. I think anytime all 11 guys are out there having fun and sprinting around, hitting, and enjoying the moments things like that are going to happen. You're going to have great stats. I'm sure everybody has great stats like that throughout the whole defense. I'm sure you can look at Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright's stats, I think he got a couple forced fumbles and Bobby [Wagner] leads the team in tackles every week. I mean that's nothing new. Kam [Chancellor] and Earl [Thomas] and Byron [Maxwell], you saw them all over the field last week. Our D-line has been playing incredibly. I think we're top three in run defense right now. I think it's a testament to the way everybody is playing I think those things, you're playing tight coverage and doing everything you can but without the team playing as well as they are some of those plays might get in there.

(On his take on Roger Goodell's announcement of changes in the conduct policy) I think it's interesting any time you make changes to a policy that we collectively bargain for and you don't collectively bargain for it. Like the PA was saying before, doing it by the seat of their pants, making things up as they go along. You would hope that anything having to do with the players, especially discipline and things like that players would have some say, so in the policy it be something we could agree on, everybody is comfortable with. Obviously that wasn't what they saw fit.

(On if him or the NFLPA agree that there needs to be a change) Yes, the PA has always been interested in discussing a change with the league and the league saw it fit to make a change without consulting the PA. So yeah, it is what it is.

(On Coach Harbaugh stating that the Seahawks defense is good at diagnosing and how it has improved/sharpened since last year) I don't know if we were sharper than we were last year. I think last year we were pretty sharp. But I think that's something we learned last year as a defense, as a whole. I think certain players were better at diagnosing than others at different points last year and I think at one point we came together as a defense and started recognizing formations as an entire unit. Recognizing what we thought was coming, what plays were coming, what formations dictated certain things, understanding down and distance and not just individuals like I said but as a unit and I think that has carried over to this year. I think that's what's helping us on this journey. This good run we're on as a defense and as a team. It's recognizing the formations, understanding how they're trying to attack you, and that goes back to the continuity I talked about earlier this year. Having Bobby [Wagner] back, getting everybody back, Kam [Chancellor], Byron [Maxwell], having everybody out there because those are the guys who are used to being in those situations. There's a different level of communication with those guys than there are with the young guys like Brock Coyle and KPL (Kevin Pierre-Louis). Those guys play with tremendous effort and talent but I think their understanding is a couple years behind guys like Bobby [Wagner] and Kam [Chancellor].

(On being less prone to thinking about playing so you're able to play faster) Most definitely. Guys go out there and there isn't much thinking at all. Guys understand initial formation and once you get your indicators, guys are believing what they see and are playing fast.

(On Coach Carroll saying that this is ‘fleeting') Yeah that's what he stays on. He's been harping that since we've been here, since we got here in 2011. Its championship mentality every week. There's nothing guaranteed in any given week. I don't care if you've beat a team a bunch of times, the next time they can beat you bad. That's the way this league is. That's why you have to be prepared. You have to prepare every week like it's its own individual match up. There isn't any effect. The scores from last games don't affect this game.

(On the swagger of the defense at this time versus last year) I think we're the same. I think we're pretty much the same. I think we have a different cast of characters in some respects. Tharold Simon wasn't playing last year. Byron Maxwell was playing a different role last year. Obviously Kevin Williams wasn't here but I think the confidence and the energy is coming from trust and belief from one another and also just love for one another and just an appreciation for everybody's job and their contributions. It's something Gus Bradley used to tell us have a genuine appreciation for the contributions that the men next to you make because that's how you come together as a defense.

(On what he thinks of what San Francisco is going through and the impact it has) We don't think about them at all. We don't watch them. Unless we're playing them it really has no bearing on what we do. We have to focus on what's in our building and what we're doing. So that's all that matters.

(On how he's seen Colin Kaepernick change over the past few years playing against him) Not much honestly. He hasn't changed much. Their offense is built around him. They do the pistol formations. They throw the ball down the seam while he throws a seven cut. They're going to run what they run just like we're going to run what we run.

(On the line in the running game from 2012 and the vulnerabilities) Not really. I see the same guys that I saw then. You see [Anthony] Davis, [Mike] Iupati, the center is gone, but Joe Staley is still there. They're the same guys and [Frank] Gore is still back there. You still got Anquan [Boldin], you still got all the pieces still there. You don't see any weaknesses. You know those guys are big time players in this league and I think anytime you have them on the field they're going to play like big time players. They have pride in their game.

(On knowing Colin Kaepernicks tendencies compared to other quarterbacks) To a degree. It's like you know all the teams in your division's tendencies a little better. I'm sure they know Russell's [Wilson] tendencies a little better than every other quarterback. Just from playing them so much -I think this is the third time we've played them in 2014 so you see a team so much you've got to get something unless you're just not paying attention.

(On Bobby Wagner's speed assisting with defense) Well Bobby Wagner is a Pro Bowl player and he's the heart of the defense. It all starts with the D line up front and our backers. Everything starts with them. If they fill their gaps and he cleans up a lot of mistakes made by guys and other guys clean up mistakes like Earl [Thomas] and Kam [Chancellor], we got a lot guys who are like erasers out there and he has such an instinctual game -he believes what he sees, he plays what he sees on top of the immense talent and speed that he has that he makes for a fantastic football player that I hope everybody recognizes, Pro Bowl, Bobby Wagner.

(On what the 12s mean to the team at CenturyLink) To tell you the truth, they've been on the road. The 12s have been on the road. But they mean a tremendous deal to us. They give us a lot of energy and you just feed off of them. You feed off the energy, the noise, during the peaks and valleys of the games, they never have peaks and valleys because they're loud 100% of the time. On the road it's always great to see some familiar jerseys and faces out there in the stands and when we're playing well to see them enjoying it and getting Seahawks chants on the road, it just gives you a different kind of energy.

(On if he thinks it would take away from the rivalry if Coach Harbough wasn't coach anymore) I don't know. I don't think so. I think it would take away from a few story lines but the rivalry would be just the same between the teams and the fan bases. I don't think the fan bases would care who the coaches are on either team. I think they have their own disdain for one another.

(On fans wanting players to make a statement about the Ferguson situation etc...) It's something you talk about, but it's something that everybody has their own choice to make and I think it's our duty as a nation to come together in these times to recognize it. I don't know how much one individual gesture or even a team or a lot of guys making gestures that are very respectable and send out a message. I think that being together and being great role models as players is our duty. It's the thing we can do. Not going out there and doing things that aren't reputable. I think the guys that are making a stand are admirable. They're doing a great job and I think that the rest of us could make a stand  like that and that would be fantastic because everybody should have the rights. Nobody should walk out and be scared when they walk out of their house. If they're not breaking any laws, they shouldn't be fooled with. I think as a nation we have our things to clean up and I think until we get to that point, I think the best thing we can make as players is to be great role models.

(On if he feels compelled to make a statement on game day) I feel like every time I make a personal statement they think I'm being an individual and trying to bring attention to myself so I think an issue like this, attention has been brought to it. Players have recognized it, players have made statements and the biggest statement I can make is be true to yourself, come together. There shouldn't be these color lines and racism and all that everybody thinks it's gone and it's not and I think the moment that we recognize that as a nation is the moment we step forward. The moment we recognize these moments as opportunities to take a step forward and improve our society, but I could say that all day. What difference does that make unless a lot of people change.