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Richard Sherman Podcast - 49ers-Seahawks REACTION: Seattle destroys San Fran & Bills-Broncos ends in controversy | Richard Sherman Podcast
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- [00:00]
Podcast Host
This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human new year.
- [00:05]
Richard Sherman
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Richard Sherman
Welcome back to the Richard Sermon Podcast and what an incredible slate of Saturday games. The Denver Broncos pull out an overtime win versus the Buffalo Bills and the Seattle Seahawks demolish, dismantle and dismember the San Francisco 49ers in a dominant performance in Seattle. And we'll start with that game. From literal beginning to end of that game, the Seattle Seahawks dominated. Started off with a 95 yard Rashid Shahid touchdown. The Pro Bowler comes through, breaks a tackle, gets down the field, scores the first touchdown of the game and sets the tone for the entire game. The San Francisco 49ers never score a touchdown in the game, never recover and they have a huge problem. They have a huge Mike McDonald problem. Kyle Shanahan has not historically coached well versus Mike McDonald coach. Teams in the last two games were an absolute master class by McDonald with the pressures that he brought, the disguises, the coverage adjustments. Nick Emman worry, Nick Emin worry a little bit more of Nick Emman Warri and this defensive line gave The San Francisco 49ers fits all game long. And one thing I liked in this game that I saw from Clint Kubak in this offense is they targeted Rashid Shahid deep. They didn't hit on the pass but, but they targeted him. Again. Just put it on tape for defenses to, to, to understand what they're dealing with. But we'll start with the San Francisco 49ers and they just had no answers. I mean they got beat in every single phase of the game. Offensively it, it was inept. Christian McAffrey got got beat up. The Seattle Seahawks defense was swarming and hitting everything. I love great defense. I love great defense. And the Seattle Seahawks defense put on an absolute master class. If you're a defensive player like I am, you would watch that with enjoyment and love because they were running and hitting. Everything else is, is fine. Be a Simon sound and all that. But at the end of the day, imposing your will physically on another team in the playoffs, a division opponent, setting the tone, play in and play out was something you love to see. Ernest Jones with the interception and, and then you got the force fumble. Multiple fumbles in the game for this, for this San Francisco 49ers team and the Seattle Seahawks forced it. They just took the ball from Jake Tonjas early in that game. It, it didn't matter what situation they were put in, they were going to be dominant. They were going to set the tone, they were going to put on a show and that's what they did. They, they talked to talk and they walked the walk. They said it was going, they was going to cut the lights out and it was going to get dark and this was going to be the dark side and, and boy, it got super dark in Seattle that night. It was a joy to watch. You can give credit to a lot of people because it was, it was a collective effort. The secondary covered well. We talked about Nick, we talked about the interception Ernest Jones had in the second half, but the corners covered well. Josh Job just consistent with Witherspoon consistent. Julian Love consistent. Kobe Bryant came back, brought some attitude and some smack out there. The D line. Leonard Williams penetration got him a big sack in a critical moment. I think it was on the fourth down. Jaren Reed consistent in a run game they just would not give and they're so deep. Byron Murphy, DeMarcus Lawrence Relentless effort each and every play, each and every down. It was such a, a great performance, a well rounded performance and, and a stat that you gotta know. Mike McDonald coach. Defenses have allowed a combined zero points in the second half. As a head coach or D.C. obviously this is the first playoff game as a head coach, but even as a DC of the Baltimore Ravens, 0 second half points. This is one of the highest scoring offenses in the league in The San Francisco 49ers, one of the best coordinators, the, the best offensive minds in the National Football League. They played them back to back. That's why I thought this game was going to be close. It it back to back. Both teams got time prepare. Both teams feel, feel good about the game plan. Just battled it out in, in Santa Clara two weeks ago and it didn't matter. It did not matter. Mike McDonald made adjustments. Kyle Shanahan was unable to make the adjustments, unable to. To get his personnel in positions to be successful. They were unable to execute, and it cost him. And you could see the mentality and the mindset of the Seattle Seahawks when they got up there. There were times this season where they would get up really early and really big in a game and they take their foot off the gas, get a little sloppy in the second half, give up a couple touchdowns, couple first downs, some leaky artists, but you could see that there was an obvious effort, there was a concerted effort to keep the foot on the gas, keep a foot on their neck, and that's what they did. They only gave up six points in this ball game. They refused to give the San Francisco 49ers a touchdown, to Lint a touchdown at any point in this game. They. They banged up Christian McCaffrey, they banged up Brock Purdy, and they just set the tone. They said they. They really, really set the league on notice that this. This is the front runner for the Super Bowl. This is the. The. I. There are very few scenarios where I could see them not getting to Santa Clara. They have to play the winner. They get an extra day of rest after a week off. And the whole initial conversation before this game for me, from everybody else was, hey, how's. How's Sam Darnold gonna look? And they didn't ask Sam Darnold to do a whole lot in this game. He only threw the ball 17 times, and he didn't throw it very far. He didn't have to push the ball down the field very often, and they won by 35 points. So that's. That's a. A successful game. When they asked him to. To push the ball down the field and be accurate, there was a play in the game where he took a sack. I think it was second and 17. He drops a dime on the sideline to Cooper cup right after. Beautiful layered football on the San Francisco 49ers sideline to set up the next score. And I think that showed. Hey, he's healthy enough to push the ball down the field. They clearly didn't want to do it a ton. Kenneth Walker had a fantastic game. 19 carries for 116 yards and three touchdowns. And his development and maturation within this system this year has been incredible. And it's been a godsend for this offense because it changes everything. It changes the play, action, game. It changes. It's the way you want to play. If you have a great defense, you want to be able to run the ball. Consistently get three, four yards to pop. Control the clock, not put your quarterback in harm's way. Especially when you know he's a little banged up and may need a little bit more time to heal up. You just say, hey, turn around, hand this ball off. And we'll keep him honest with the pass game. Check it down, get it out your hands quickly when we, when we ask you to. But a beautifully put together game plan by Clint Kubiak and this offensive staff, Kenneth Walker. They're, they're, they f. Found the lanes and the style that he likes to run the runs that, the plays that he likes to have called, and they executed him. Charbonnet only had five carries in this game because they stay with the hot hand and Kenneth Walker showed, hey, this is, this is a Kenneth Walker game. The three touchdowns, I think tied the franchise record for a playoff game for running back. And I think this is going to show the, the, the recipe for their success in the future. Run the football. Continue to run the football. Allow lean on that defense. That creates turnovers, that creates chaos. And allow Sam Darnold to do what he does best. Get the ball out of his hands. Be accurate, be consistent. Don't put the weight of the world. I think that was a, this is a huge weight off his shoulders. His first playoff wind of his career in dominant fashion. Especially after everything that happened last year and the pressure he faced and the scrutiny he faced this allseason to, to return back and have another 14 win season and win the playoff game this time and go to the NFC Championship, take his team to the NFC Championship. It's been incredible season and only in Mike McDonald's second year. I think this leaves the San Francisco 49ers with a lot of questions to answer this offseason. What are they going to do? What answers can you come up with? I Obviously the first thing is getting healthy, getting Nick Bosa back, Fred Warner, Mel Williams back, and then solidifying this offensive line. I still think you're going to have to be able to move first off. It starts with, with, with preparing for this Seattle Seahawks team and they're going to continue to play and you. Everything this offseason is going to be tailored around finding a way to beat this Seattle Seahawks team and Mike McDonald. And if you cannot move Byron Murphy, Jaren Reed, Leonard Williams, you're not going to beat this team. So it's going to start with the offensive line. And I know this happens every year and we talk about it, but invest, invest, invest in offensive line. You can't move them, you can't beat them. On the flip side, if you're an.
- [10:39]
Podcast Host
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- [11:07]
Richard Sherman
In Mike McDonald's second year, the Seattle Seahawks could not have asked for for more, they could not have asked for better, and they could not be happier with what they got. They hired him because of how fantastic his mind was defensively, how much they saw Kyle Shanahan and McVeigh coach team struggle against his defense. And who would have thought in his second year, then the one seed headed to the NFC Championship with as the favorite and and looking like the super bowl favorite in the National Football League. Wow. I mean, when you hire a guy like this, a guy who's never been a head coach, I don't think you could ever expect him in his second year to have this much success, this much impact. But he's done a phenomenal job with not only the the scheme that he runs but the culture of the team, keeping his hand on the pulse of the team, putting the right guys in the building. You got to give John Snyder a ton of credit, probably the exec of the year for this season. The the draft classes he's had over the past couple years, the guys that he's put in place, even the gray zable, how he's transformed this offensive line that that was a lot different and seen a lot differently last year. They have been fantastic this year and played one of their best games and the biggest moment of the season in this game. He deserves a lot of credit and I can't wait to see what they do going forward. I if you look at the playoff field, if you just look at what's left, we still, we still have some games left. We still have the Houston Texans who have to play the New England Patriots and the winner of that game likely is the the super bowl representative of the afc. Not to put anything against the Broncos, but when you lose your starting quarterback within the last two plays of the of the game and you move on, it's tough to see you winning that game. It's Tough to see them going out there with, with Stidham at quarterback and going to the super bowl and getting a win. Even if they somehow beat the winner of this game, it's a long shot to expect them to be able to beat the, the NFC champion. So if the Seattle Seahawks can find a way and, and it looks like they can, it looks like they have every ingredient they. That you need to find a win. This is going to be a very fun road to the super bowl and through the super bowl for the Seattle Seahawks and their franchise and going forward. The future is incredibly bright. Obviously, going into this year, you, you had question marks. How would, how would Sam Darnold be with this team? With a new team and the Minnesota Vikings letting him go? He's been fantastic. He. He's answered those questions. Obviously he's answered them with an exclamation point. The Minnesota Vikings have struggled this year. They. They don't have an answer at quarterback. I don't know if McCarthy is the answer. He'll have another year. They'll figure that out. But the Seattle Seahawks love what they got in Sam Darnold, love what they have in this team, love what their, their future looks like. If he can win the next two games, he goes down in Seahawks lore and so does the rest of this team. This dark side defense isn't going anywhere for a long time. They got a lot of these same guys under contract. They're going to continue to draft well and that has to be a nightmare for, for Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVeigh, the rest of this NFC, the rest of the league really on the back of their great defense, their great running game and their great special teams. The most well rounded team left in these playoffs, the most well rounded team in the National Football League, and they're getting better at the right time. They're peaking at the right time. Everything's working for this team. I can't wait to be at the NFC Championship game and watch this team and this defense continue to just run and hit and play disciplined football. Play with this attitude to keep the city on fire. The stadium was electric the entire game. I just, I missed that. It was just. You could hear it. You could. It's always when your ears are ringing after the game, that's when you know it's not. Has been a fantastic game and energy was right. We got to figure out who the Seattle Seahawks are playing in the next round. That's what we're going to find out today. I really don't know if it matters because the way they're playing right now, I mean, not many teams can, can deal with what they're playing with, but I, I can't wait to see what it's going to be. It's been fantastic NFL football, but now we got to move on to the Broncos Bills game. That was electric. Early on it looked like Denver was, was running away with it there. Was there right before the half, Denver had the ball. They go down and score a touchdown. Buffalo gets the ball back. Josh Allen is a little bit careless with the football late in the second half. There's only, I think 20, 30 seconds to go, you know, but they thought they could get some points. He fumbles the football, gives the Broncos the ball back. They kick a long field goal and they go up 10, 10 quick points before the half. And in the playoffs, that's usually a back breaker. That's usually a back breaker. They come out after the half, they get another three. Now they're up 13 again. Seems like a backbreaker. You're on the road down 13 against one of the best defenses in the National Football League. That's usually a curtain call for most teams, not a team. With Josh Allen at the helm, the Buffalo Bills roar all the way back, get up one point in this game. And then the, the number one seed shows why they're in the number one seed. Bo Nix drives the ball down the field, puts them in position, gives his team the lead. You think, oh, okay, that's, that's the end of the story. That's all she wrote. This game is over. But of course, the Buffalo Bills have Josh Allen, the, the reigning MVP of the National Football League. He does everything he can to will his team to overtime. Now, this game ended with controversy. It ended with controversy and heartbreak for the Denver Broncos. I don't think many times you've seen a team probably deal with the emotional roller coaster that this team dealt with at the end of this game. You find a way to win this game, then you lose your starting quarterback for the remainder of the playoffs. That's about as tough as it gets. And, and you can tell by how somber Sean Payton was after the game. I'm sure you'll hear more about it this week. But in overtime on the, the. The. The what could have been the, the game winning drive for the Buffalo Bills. Josh Allen throws the ball up to Brandon Cooks. He looks like he comes down with it, goes to the ground. The ball gets ripped out by the defender, and the defender comes up with the football. Now, as long as I played in the National Football League, the tie goes to the receiver. I. I mean, as a defender, believe you me, we want to be biased. We want to say, hey, yep, defense with defense. Got that one. Yeah. But I just have never seen it called and, and they've never given it. Called it for. In. In. In my favor. And I talked to a lot of my boys that we're texting a lot of other guys who play DB in the league, and they're like, bro, I've never seen him call that for us. I've never seen them. When a receiver goes to the ground with the football and, and then you give us a chance to pull it out late, it's never happened. So you could understand how frustrated Sean McDermott was after that game. Such a critical moment in the game, a chance for his team to move on to the AFC Championship, and. And it ends on a play that almost feels routine in the National Football League. The tie goes to the receiver. It. It always has. As a defender, I know that, like, it's going to change the way this game is officiated. If, if you're saying, hey, they have to complete. They have to show themselves completing the process of the catch on the ground, and if they don't, that defender can take it from them. That's a different game. That's a whole different game. And I'm sure that's not the way the National Football League wants it interpreted, because if they do, then a lot of plays are going to end like that. Defenders are going to find a way to. To. To. To end up with the football on these contested catches. And obviously this one was. Was a little bit different because it was a quick transition. Once he hit the ground, it looked like his knee was on the ground. And then the defender rolls out with the football. Okay, I hear you, but it was one of the most critical, pivotal plays in that football game. And it really actually probably decided the football game at the end. In the end, it left McDermott really frustrated. Brandon Cook's obviously frustrated. You could see how. How distraught Josh Allen was after the game, saying he had to do more, he had to find a way to do more. And obviously, his teammates defended him vehemently and said there wasn't much more you could do. He had four turnovers in the game. You have to say. You have to honestly acknowledge that. Yeah, two. Two fumbles and, and two interceptions. But again, they're not there without Josh Allen, and they. They're not in overtime without Josh Allen. And I think he gave Brandon Cooks a good ball and a chance to win that game. And it's heartbreaking because they've went out in a divisional four of the last five years and that's his legacy. Right now he's got the most playoff wins of any quarterback in the history of the National Football League without an appearance in the Super Bowl. And that's not a, that's not a statue want to have. That's not a statue want to keep on your resume and your record because that's going to be the conversation the entire off season. Like without Patrick Mahomes in the playoffs, without, without Lamar Jackson in the playoffs, without Joe Burrow in the playoffs, without all these powerhouses in the playoffs with these young quarterbacks and, and really aggressive defenses, Josh Allen was still not able to even make it out of the divisional. That's going to be the conversation, fair or unfair. And going forward, he's played at a high enough level to keep himself in the conversation for top five quarterbacks. But whoever, whichever young quarterback gets himself further in the playoffs and, and helps his team get to the super bowl, there's going to be a new super bowl champion. Unless, unless the Rams find a way to beat the Bears. Then you know, Stafford could, could be a repeat. But if, if the Bears beat the, the Rams, there's going to be a quarterback in the super bowl that's never been there. It's going to be potentially two quarterbacks in the super bowl that have never been there. And for neither of them to be Josh Allen with the way the, the playoff feels shuck out is a disappointment for the Buffalo Bills franchise. And obviously I don't think this is one of the better teams the Buffalo Bills have fielded in recent years. But it should have been enough with Josh Allen to at least make an AFC title game. But they didn't. They beat a really good Jacksonville team. They gave themselves a chance to beat the number one seed Denver Broncos in Denver. They didn't pull it out. And that's, that's going to be a, a tough pill to swallow for a long time for the Buffalo Bills and Josh Allen because who knows the next time they're going to be put in this position. Obviously the, the Chiefs aren't going to be down forever. The, the Joe Burrow and, and T. Higgins and Jamar Chase aren't going to be down forever. This Houston team is only getting better. Jacksonville is going to only get better and it just seems like they're stagnant and I don't think they fire McDermott or do anything crazy like that. Especially this, this Deep into the hiring cycle. But I'm, I, I, I don't know what you do. I don't know where you go from here. If you're the Buffalo Bills, I don't know what decision there is to make to get you out of this, this, this hamster wheel of stagnancy, stagnant behavior for your football team. Do you go all out on defense? I think they've done that before. Do you go all out and get you some elite receivers? Not just one. You had Stefan Diggs for a little while. Do you get multiple elite receivers and say, hey, we're going all in on these elite receivers and that's how we're going to get this done with, with, with our superstar quarterback. You got a great running back in James Cook. He's been Fantastic. He had 24 for 117 in this game. But obviously the fumble that he had early in this game was, was a back breaker. No question about that. He hasn't fumbled often this season, but that was a huge mistake and a pivotal mo moment. But where do you go? Where do you go? And if you're the Denver Broncos, on the flip side, you just lost your starting quarterback. You just lost your starting quarterback, you have one of the best defenses in the National Football League, you're in an AFC championship and you got a week. What do you do? You call Drew Brees. You can't, can't call it. I mean, I don't put nothing past nobody in this day and age. I mean, Philip Rivers ain't played in five years, and he got a call, and he started in the National Football League a week after that quarterback guy. I don't put anything called Drew Brees. Forget it. Sean called Drew Brees. Matt Ryan. Matt Ryan's the president of the Falcons. Call Matt, too. I mean, I don't. Can you trade for James? What can they do? What can they do? Because I don't think you, I don't think you start Jared St. I guess you have to. He's been there. Three is. Tom, stop. I'm not sure what you do if you're the Denver Broncos. I don't think you start situm, though. You, you have to. Right now, he's penciled in as the starter. But if you're Sean Payton, you're on the phone with everyone, everybody who's played in the National Football League in the last two, three, four, five years. Can you find somebody, a veteran, to come in and, and, and give this team a chance? Because I'm not sure they would feel like, they have a chance with Stidham at the quarterback spot with him in the lineup. And let me, Let me, Let me check for availability of some of these guys, because I just. Who would be left? You know, what's incredible is even after Jared Stidham, you have nobody else, like Sam Ellinger out, Bo Nix is out. So you have no backup for Jared Stidham. You have to bring in a veteran to be on a practice squad. Who do you bring in? I'm gonna leave it to the chat. You guys tell me, who do. Who would you bring in? If you're the Denver Broncos, you got a week before you got to play in the AFC Championship game, and you have no quarterback and you have no backup to Jared Stum. Do you bring in an old veteran that you know can play this game at a high level and, And. And try to give him a chance in a very tough situation, or do you let Jared Stum play and. And bring the guy in and see if he can maybe back this guy up? I. These. These are some unprecedented situations that people are being put in, and it's a tough space to navigate. But with what the Indianapolis Colts did with Philip Rivers and, And not to say that he had the ultimate success, but he. He. He did a pretty good job. He did a pretty solid job. And you know that a veteran quarterback would do a pretty solid job. Hey, Fitz. Ryan Fitzpatrick, can you still sn. Can you still loosen it up? Somebody got to loosen their arm up, because I don't think you just go in there with Jared Stum right now. I just don't see it happening. I don't see that being the end all. Be all for the Denver Broncos. I think there has to be Sean Payton, with how crazy he is and how great of an offensive mind. I don't think he just goes quietly into the night. I'm sure he feels like with, hey, Jared, Jared has been here for three years. He knows the system. We can get it done with him. And that's the what he'll sell his team. But there has to be a safety blanket, a security blanket, somebody out there you can call. I wonder who that is. I wonder who that's going to be. That's going to be the question. That's going to be a conversation all week for the Denver Broncos. If they're going to give themselves a chance, there's somebody they need to call. And maybe I'll do another podcast once they do it, or maybe I'll do some. Some deeper, dive into this research and figure that out, but I wonder what that's going to be. But great win for the Denver Broncos. Getting back to the TFC championship is a huge deal. Congratulations to them. Congratulations to my Seattle Seahawks and and what? They've been as spectacular as they've been all season and in their biggest moment, they played their best. And that dark side defense continues to turn the lights out on these offenses and I can't wait to see them do it in the NFC Championship game. I'll be there in the stadium. The late game on Sunday night. They get an extra day of rest. They get another week to prepare. And I can't wait we get to see how these games shake out. I want to see who their opponent's going to be and how they match up and how they measure up. Because right now there's nobody measuring up to the Seattle Seahawks in a meaningful way. And I love it. See you next time. As always, you could be anywhere in the world, but you're here with me and I surely do appreciate it. I'll see you next time. Foreign.
- [29:13]
Podcast Host
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