In the least surprising news of the season, San Francisco 49ers cornerback got into a bit of a war of words with his former teammates up in Seattle. I’ll give you a minute to pull your jaws off the floor.
Two weeks ago, the 49ers traveled to face the Seattle Seahawks and in his mid-week press conference, Sherman referred to the Seahawks as a middle of the road team and it was the end of an era following all the departures. Seattle thumped the 49ers that weekend, with multiple 49ers turnovers setting up a 43-16 rout.
This past week, following Seattle’s critical win over Minnesota, defensive end Frank Clark was asked about being able to clinch a playoff berth this weekend against Sherman and the 49ers. He says it means a lot, and had some thoughts on Sherman’s comments.
“At the end of the day, ‘middle of the road,’ that’s just Richard Sherman being Richard Sherman,” Clark said. “He’s not in this locker room no more, so his opinion really doesn’t matter. They’ve got some problems over there in San Fran that he needs to be worried about. So at the end of the day, this is my team now. This is my defense. Richard Sherman, his era is over here. If he’s got anything to say about our defense, he can say it on the field, at the end of the day.”
Sherman met with the media on Thursday, and he was asked about Clark’s comments.
“It’s like a mouse in a room. It’s like ‘kids say the darndest things’ you know? It didn’t bother me at all. It just seemed like a guy who’s probably tired of hearing the same questions. Like, I wasn’t even part of that game and they’re still asking him questions after the game about me. I’d probably be pretty annoyed too if we won a game and somebody comes after and asks me about a guy who wasn’t either involved in this game or on my team. It’s kind of weird but it doesn’t bother me. The era was over in my mind obviously. I’m here.”
During the week leading up to the Week 13 matchup at CenturyLink Field, he talked about his time in Seattle being a special time but also emphasized that this was just another game. This week, he sort of acknowledged that it was a little more than that and that this week, it becomes just another game.
That being said, this is a big week. The Seahawks have a chance to clinch a playoff berth, and I’m guessing we know that at least Frank Clark won’t be complacent. But with Seattle unable to get more than a wild card berth this year, it will be interesting to see how they come out this weekend. They’re the favorites for a reason, but I’m curious to see if they underestimate the 49ers at all.
At the very least, we can keep an eye out for Sherman and Clark exchanging pleasantries before or after the game!