San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman called the Seattle Seahawks a "middle-of-the-road" squad before the first matchup this season between the two teams.
"It's not like they're 8-1 or 12-1," Sherman said on November 29. "If they were that, I'd be very surprised. But kind of middle-of-the-road. They're fighting every game. They've won some close ones. They've lost some close ones. Kind of expect that."
That "middle-of-the-road" team went on to rout the 49ers by a score of 43-16.
Sherman will have another shot at beating his old squad on Sunday when the 49ers and Seahawks clash at Levi's Stadium. After Seattle's Monday-night win over the Minnesota Vikings, defensive end Frank Clark was asked about Sherman's earlier comments.
"At the end of the day, 'middle of the road,' that's Richard Sherman being Richard Sherman," Clark said via The Seattle Times. "He's not in this locker room anymore, so his opinion really doesn't matter. At the end of the day, this is my team now. This is my defense. Richard Sherman and his era is over here."
He's not wrong. The Seahawks released Sherman in March, and the division-rival 49ers signed him the next day. As soon as that happened, the Sherman era in Seattle was indeed over.
"If [Sherman's] got anything to say about our defense, he can say it on the field," Clark continued. "We're 1-0 against Richard Sherman right now, and we're 1-0 against the San Francisco 49ers this year. Our plan is to be 2-0."
A reporter asked Sherman on Thursday about Clark's comments. The veteran cornerback didn't seem too phased by Clark's rebuttal.
"Kids say the darndest things," Sherman said. "It didn't bother me at all. It just seemed like a guy who is probably tired of hearing the same questions. Like, I wasn't even part of that game (Seahawks vs. Vikings), and they're still asking [Clark] questions after the game about me. I'd probably be pretty annoyed too. We won a game, and someone comes after with a question and asks me about a guy who wasn't either involved in this game or on my team. It's kind of weird.
"It doesn't bother me. The era was over in my mind, obviously. I'm here."
