← The Herd with Colin Cowherd
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
Richard Sherman Podcast - Seahawks-Patriots Reaction: Darnold Silences Critics, Seattle Defense Wins Super Bowl LX | Sherman
00:56:59
Loading summary
Transcript45 lines
- [00:00]
A
This is an iHeart podcast.
- [00:02]
B
Guaranteed Human RingCentral knows that businesses run on communication and juggling separate systems for team collaboration and customer service creates confusion, missed opportunities and frustrated customers. RingCentral changes everything with RingEx and Ring CX. One powerful platform that connects your entire organization. RingEx keeps your team connected with seamless calling, messaging and video meetings, whether they're in the office or working remotely. Meanwhile, Ring CX transforms customer experience with AI powered contact center capabilities that root calls intelligently and provide real time insights. The magic happens when they work together. Your customer service agents can instantly collaborate with experts across your company to solve problems faster. No more transferring customers between systems or losing context. With over 500,000 businesses trusting RingCentral and 99.999% uptime reliability, you're in good company. Visit RingCentral.com that's RingCentral.com RingCentral Voice of.
- [01:03]
A
Your Business welcome back to the Richard Sherman Podcast and I just want to say I appreciate you guys. You can be getting your NFL content from anywhere, but you're here with me. I'm thankful for you. So hit that sub button so you can get the notifications when I'm dropping a new episode. All love. Hope you guys are having a great New Year's, accomplishing all your New Year's resolutions and staying healthy. Welcome back to the Richard Sherman Podcast podcast. And guess what Mitchell. The season is over and the Seattle Seahawks have won the Super Bowl. Who could have predicted it? Who could have saw that coming? This guy, this guy, this guy thought. This guy thought of that chance. An incredible game. An incredible game Plan by Mike McDonald from start to finish. I got so much to talk about, so many details. I sat there after the game, got to talk to some of the coaches, some of the players, got some insight. No names associated with these quotes and information. But wow, did they take their time dissecting these New England Patriots. Mitchell from the hand signals to the, to the, to when he lifted his foot to offensive line stances. And these are all things that all teams study and all teams, teams try to understand. But the way in which the Seattle Seahawks understood the New England Patriots was. I mean they understood them like they, they've known them their entire lives. I'm, I'm guessing they understood what they had for breakfast that morning. The probiotics they take. Mitchell, I'm talking about how much apple juice they had that week. I'm talking about to the screws. And that's why you cannot give Mike McDonald's this kind of time. He's obsessive compulsive. He is obsessed. And when they, when they talked about how he prepared and the things he's studying, like, I don't think fans truly are understanding the time he's putting in to understand. To put his guys in position to understand the other coordinator as if it's his brother and understand what he's going to do in these situations so he can put his guys in the exact perfect position to be successful, not putting pressure on his players to perform and understand and recognize. Although you got really smart and talented players who can do that, who are out there doing that and doing their jobs at a high level. But Mike McDonald is putting it on himself to, to call the perfect play, you got to give Devin Witherspoon a ton of credit. I mean the, the, the story all week was can Nick Emin worry play how bad's the ankle? Is he going to be 100? He's so important to this defense it did not matter. Mitchell Nick Amen Warrior was fine, but the way they attacked Will Campbell throughout this game, the way they attacked the B gap in this game with, with Devin Witherspoon with, with games. And, and then you got to take it a step further and, and look at the history between Derek hall and Will Campbell because I had a conversation with him and he was like, I knew this guy from college. I, I had no mis. Misgivings, misunderstandings about who I was dealing with. And I had a great plan. And he did. He had great plan. He ended up with two sacks in a game. Byron Murphy, incredible story goes from first rounder and they're, they're, they're talking about he's not getting the stats. He's a bus. He's a bus. This is, this is a message to all the fans out there. Don't be quick to judgment, especially with certain positions because sometimes it takes a second to get it. Sometimes you need a little more veteran presence, a few more reps. Figure out your move now. He's one of the most stout defensive linemen in the National Football League. Two sacks in the, in the super bowl and played a plays an enormous part in this run, in this great run stopping defense, allowing those two safeties to play deep and. And them to stop still stop the run. There were so many guys that played really well in this game. Uchina Nuwosu got the interception off the, off the Witherspoon what looked like a force fumble, but they called it an interception. Didn't matter either way because he caught it and scored it but they were in control the entire game. And Julian Love said from the opening drive, they knew how this game was going to go. Mitchell, so did I. So did I. In a great defense, you know, Mitchell, you know, soon as you punch bow like all these guys, these guys are soft. They're not built for this. And I think the Seattle Seahawks came in with such an aggressive mentality. Defensively, they were a buzz saw. And I said this a couple weeks ago, when a buzz saw is going, Mitchell, it doesn't matter what's in the way. It's getting shredded. It's getting shredded. A buzz saw is going. It does not matter what's in the way. And the New England Patriots just happened to be in the way. It was nothing personal with them for, from the mob and them have a rivalry with the, with the Patriots. I'm sure, you know, getting your lick back is great and we wanted our revenge and those guys got our revenge. But they didn't care if it was the New England Patriots. The, the, the, the. The 85 bears, the. The Dolphins that were undefeated. The New England Patriots would. And Tom Brady's coming back in his prime. Mitchell, this defense did not care. And Mike McDonald said it after the NFC championship game, we do not care. We do not care about what y' all saying, what y' all doing. And that's the scariest part about this team. They're not going anywhere. They're going to be great for a long time. And. And they're sitting there, they're so locked in, they're like, man, I wish we had another game. You just won a Super bowl and you talking about, I wish I had another game. That's psychotic, Richard.
- [07:14]
C
It's wild. And just from my perspective, this is one of the more dominant performances in a Super Bowl. It kind of was similar to your guys beating up the Denver Broncos years ago. Richard, this defense, it is high flying. They're prolific. They're obviously top of their game. Any debate that there might have been that this team wasn't the best team in the league, they shut that down during the Super Bowl. This team definitely is the best team in the league. I don't think there's any questions about it. The New England Patriots to me, looked like they were shocked at how good the Seattle Seahawks were, especially defensively on the offensive side of the ball. My boy, K9 Richard, who I'd like to humbly admit I called a couple weeks ago, would win the MVP of this game. Sure enough, Richard, he was a heavy dose of K9 early and often was all the Seattle Seahawks offense really needed to get going, and we saw it consistently throughout this game. Richard, how impressed with you? I know you were very impressed with the defensive effort out there, but what you think of the, you know, the, the game plan from an offensive standpoint in this game?
- [08:21]
A
Well, I thought it was incredible. I, I knew they would need to lean on the, the run game to, to have success against New England Patriots. I thought that'd be a tough task. But the best players play their best when their best is required. And K9 played his best football the last probably five, six weeks of the season. After Zach Charbonnet goes out with an injury, he, he steps up in a big way, gets a heavier workload and, and just locks in in this game was his swan song, was his creme de la creme. He got it done at a high level. You could see him manipulating the, the, the, the, the defensive lineman, setting up his blocks in a really cool way, accelerating around the edge, just having a great feel for this scheme and what's expected of him. And I, I, I, the new, the New England Patriots had no answer for him. They had no answer. I don't think they had missed that many tackles and in any game this season, I don't think they had given up that many yards after contact in any game this season. K9 played at a different level that they were unprepared for and unprepared to respond to. And then I know everybody's like, oh, Sam Darnold didn't do anything crazy. You lose Jackson, Smith and Jigba in this game to, to what I believe was a concussion and, and shout out to the Seattle Seahawks training staff, stricken those guys for doing the, the things necessary to protect him even in the biggest games. Because sometimes you run into situations, Mitchell, where a player, your best player, player, especially offensive player of the year type player, is maybe has concussion symptoms. And there might be a conversation where you look at each other and you say, hey, you sure? You sure you want to walk away right now? But they didn't do that. They took him in the locker room, got him checked out, did what was best for him and his future and, and the team still able to win. That's an organization doing things right. And I appreciate that. Sam Darnold did a great job. I thought he did a phenomenal job trying to push the ball down the field. I love the, the throw to Rashid Shahid. I saw it happening live and I knew soon as they got the isolation on Christian Gonzalez, I was like, hey, Ball needs to go up. It's a foot race with the fastest guy on the field. But shout out to Christian Gonzalez. One of the most unbelievable performances in a Super bowl for a defensive back that I've ever seen. He got three targets and three forced incompletions on three different players. One was on jsn. JSN gave him a post move, doubled him up as a corner. Great corner. He showed so much patience and all. He showed a litany of. Of strength when, when he was defending these guys that, that's what was beautiful about it. He played three different guys three different ways and had success against all of them. He pressed Cooper cup on. On what looked like a little basic route pbu. He played off versus jsn, who's a phenomenal route runner, offensive player of the year. He doubled him up. He didn't fall for it. Stayed in his hip pocket, drove the ball, probably should have intercepted it. Then you go to the Shaheed play where he made a split second decision that was. That could have been a difference in that game between them winning and losing the Super Bowl. That plate potentially being a touchdown at full speed. He made a decision to go up, and at that point, you have no more jurisdiction over anything. Mitchell, you're. You're guessing this is, this is all guesswork because the trajectory of the ball is already coming down. And what you've decided is, this is what I have to do in this situation, this. To make this play. And if he misses it, it's over because you can't recover. Balls in his hand. He skates off, it's a touchdown. It ended up being an incredible play for him. And I always like to tip my hat off to performances like that. His team may have lost, but if they would have won, he would have had a great case to be the MVP for that team. Because of how he played and the stops he made. I think he saved two potential touchdowns in that game and allowed the New England Patriots to stay in that game for, for a good majority of it. I mean, they held him to nine points at halftime. That score could have easily ballooned early on in that game. But let's go back to Sam Darnold and, and just doing what's necessary. They didn't. He didn't get impatient. He didn't do anything where that you expect. You know, I think everybody expects him to turn back into a pumpkin. That's been the rhetoric. Hey, he's gonna see ghosts eventually. He's going to turn back into the old Sam Donald. No, he's not. No, he's not. Sometimes you have that, that light bulb moment. Sometimes you have that epiphany where you figure things out. Some, sometimes it happens immediately. Sometimes for some guys it happens a little later on. And it seemed like it happened for Sam Donald when he got to Minnesota and then he had a little hiccup in the playoffs. You know, he got some pressure. He was sacked nine times by the Rams, didn't play well to the point where the Minnesota Vikings thought it'd be a good idea to move off of him after a 14 win season and, and go with JJ McCarthy again. A move that I think sets their franchise back 10 years. But new Minnesota fans wanted to argue with me all season long about how I was wrong and they were right. But seems like the ownership group thinks I was right too. Seems like Kevin o' Connell thinks I was right too. Seems like a lot of people thought I was right that actually know football and not the fans that are just trying to, to, to make themselves feel better about a quarterback that, that, that just isn't the guy. You know, maybe they can get Mac Jones, maybe they can get somebody else to go into that spot to, to sustain them until they can get another franchise quarterback. Maybe Mac Jones is the answer. But that's the story for a different day. I think Sam Donald has elevated himself. He's changed the narrative about himself. It's a beautiful conversation. The first Quarterback is a 2018 class to get a Super bowl in a class that, that has three MVP trophies to two different guys already to their names. They haven't made it past the, the, the championship games, the AFC championship, either one of them. Both of them have had chances. Lamar Jackson had a chance with Mike McDonald as his defensive coordinator. So I think Baltimore was the number one defense that year. Wrecking shop. They, they had a great game against Brock Pie that season. I want to say he was in the MVP race and, and I was, you know, jump standing on the fence for him. He throws five interceptions, I believe against, against the Mike McDonald coach Baltimore Ravens defense in Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara. And, and then of course they get to the playoffs and things don't work out that way. They don't run the ball like the Seattle Seahawks do in this super bowl and they find a way to lose. You cannot take anything away from Sam Darnold and what he's done this playoff run to help this team get here. You've gone through division rivals, arguably the second best team International Football League in the Rams and some all season long. We're calling them the best team in the National Football League. So you can't make the argument that he's gone through some easy schedule, some cake schedule. He didn't have to perform. He had to throw for 300 yards against the Rams, a defense that he struggled with both with the Minnesota Vikings and with the Seattle Seahawks. But when it mattered the most, he played at a high enough level to get his team to the super bowl to and win that game. This team isn't going anywhere and I can't wait to see how they continue to evolve. They're going to get guys healthier, they're going to get more weapons on offense. I don't think they're going to let K9 out of that building. Obviously he's a free agent. They're going to do what they need to do to keep him. The, the franchise tag for a run running back isn't restrictive and I think that's something that, a weapon that they will use if, if they can't figure out the negotiations.
- [16:01]
C
Richard, this Sam Darnold story is a wild one. Who was once viewed as a bust, right? A top three pick by the jets now looks like he warranted that top three selection. And like you said, for him to be the first quarterback out of that draft class to hoist the Lombardi Trophy is unbelievable. The Seahawks are the first super bowl champion to go their entire postseason without committing a turnover for a quarterback. And Sam Darnold, who was top three in the league and picks coming into this, like, how important was that to his maturation, to his development? Richard, I mean, this guy, like you said last year, he's playing one of the toughest divisions in the NFC north this year, is playing in arguably, probably easily the hardest division in the NFC West. And to do that and have that experience with top tier competition to go into the playoffs and not commit one turnover, how, how wild is that in your eyes?
- [16:53]
A
I, I don't, I can't even describe how incredible that is. That's, that to be the first team in the history of the National Football League to not turn a, turn the ball over at all during the entire playoffs. It's hard to, to really, to really express how difficult that is because there's so many things that are out of your control. So many times the quarterback's arm gets hit and the ball gets tipped up in the air and, and you know, who knows what can happen and, and you know, things that just can happen that change that stat immediately, even for really good teams. And so for him to, to have 20 turnovers this season and then to have zero in the playoffs. That's what, what they needed. That's what they had to have to be super bowl champions. And that's what he delivered. Again, this narrative about the elite quarterbacks and the top quarterbacks in the top five. And who's this? It's Patrick Mahomes and everybody who's not Patrick Mahomes, honestly. And that, and I don't, I don't care about arm talent. I don't care about, about how athletic these guys are. I care about winning in Super Bowls. And the only guys who have Super Bowls are, are Jaylen Herz, Patrick Mahomes, now Sam Darnold, Aaron Rodgers. If he keeps playing, you know what I mean? There's only so many quarterbacks that are still playing today that have Super Bowls under their belt in the last couple years. It's, it's Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts and Sam Donald there. It's not Josh Allen, who had every, every opportunity this year to, to be in that conversation, every opportunity to take his team to the big game. And not to say that it was on him necessarily, but he didn't play his best game. And when, when you're held to that standard and to that level, you have to play your best and in those games to help your team get to a championship, to be considered one of those guys. And we keep putting these guys in these conversations. They don't deserve to be in because their play and their, their resume doesn't have trophies on it. Their shelf doesn't have trophies on it. So why are we giving them this credit that they have trophies? Because they're, they're uberly talented, they have great regular seasons. Lamar has had phenomenal regular season, could have easily had three MVPs, doesn't have a trophy. Josh Allen has had phenomenal seasons. Could have had an MVP the year before. He actually won it, I think, but he won one. Doesn't have trophies, Josh. Joe Burrow. Joe Burrow, one of the most talented armed talents in the National Football League, took the Bangles, you know, from obscurity to a Super bowl against the Rams. And, and wasn't Aaron Donald sack away from, from potentially winning that game, but again, at the end of the day, doesn't have a trophy. So when we have these conversations, at some point the trophy has to matter. Success has to matter. Being able to play your best when your best is required has to matter. And I think that's the conversations we're going to start to Have. I'm tired of hearing about how talented Herbert and, and, and, and Trevor Lawrence and, and all these. And Josh Allen and, and Lamar and how, how great they are because they are great. But maybe if we're doing a, an analysis of the big picture, the bigger picture, we need to take the full scope to rank these guys. Like, at the end of the day, if we're not taking the full scope, then what are we ranking? Because Patrick Mahomes has played his best when his best is required. Has it happened every single time? No, but he's, he's won multiple Super Bowls. He's won multiple Super Bowl MVPs. He's won multiple MVPs. Like his resume speaks for itself. Postseason success matters. And yes it is. Is when or wins a quarterback stat. I don't think they should be, but that's the way a lot of people compute it. And so if they're a quarterback stat, then the losses are quarterback stat too. Whether. Whether it's fair or not, if you take it one way, you got to take it the other way too. So without them having that success, you have to give Sam Darnold his Credit. He's taken two teams, different franchises, to 14 wins in the National Football League back to back years. That has to matter. And then he made up for the things he was unable to achieve the year before. He, he came up short. His team came up short in Minnesota. I have yet to hear him make an excuse to, to, to, to blame anybody to say anything other than I could have been better. I, I let my teammates down and I'll be better next time. Well, this was the next time, Mitchell. This playoff run was the next time. And what, what did he do? He played better for an entirely different city, entirely different franchise, and didn't have a bad word to say about anybody that, that any place he was before. I love that and I love that. And I think he's going to get everything he deserves. He's getting. Hopefully he gets the praise he deserves. He was a number three pick in the draft. And when you pick a guy number three in the draft, you expect them that one day hold that Lombardi Trophy up. And he's one of the few that have.
- [21:54]
C
It's rare that you find a guy who's drafted third overall that has a chip on his shoulder. But I'm sure Sam Darnold does. With everything that's been talked about him in the media and the way he doesn't, like you said, Richard, he doesn't really let it define him whatsoever. He's letting his play do the talking now and he's turned in. I don't even want to call him a game manager because at one point I said, you know, hey, he just needs to be a good game manager and let the defense do their thing. Richard, they were taking shots downfield. I mean, he was getting Cooper cup involved, AJ Barner involved. These weren't dink and dunk. You know, let's not turn the ball over plays like he's setting up the ability for K9 to run by taking these deep shots and holding the defense accountable. Speaking of the running game a little bit, you talked about how the Seahawks are not going to let Kenneth Walker out of the building. If you're John Schneider, how important was it the run game in this game? Because it seems like it really defined their offense and loud Sam Darnold to play freely out there as well.
- [22:50]
A
The run game was the most important part of this game. And I think that set the tempo, that set the pace, and that set the tone. Kenneth Walker set the tone. All mo majority of their explosives came from this run game. And their biggest play of the night got called back because of a Jaylen Sundel.
- [23:06]
C
Hold on.
- [23:07]
A
On the linebacker. 14.
- [23:13]
C
Spain.
- [23:14]
A
Spain. Spain. On the holding call on Spain. But that would have been the Swanson. That would have been the replayed over and over and over because of how Kenneth Walker, you know, set up his box, popped it out. I think that would have ended the, the, the debate about who was an mvp. Obviously people were saying Jason Myers deserved consideration, and I thought that was true too. He set the record. He broke the record for field goals in a game. You know, he, he, he did his part, but the level of difficulty was it there, how many plays is he playing during the game? Those things matter. When you talk about super bowl mvp, maybe there should be an award for special teams because I think the punter Dixon had an incredible game. He was a weapon in this game. Pinned them inside the, the five yard line multiple times. I think he averaged 40, almost 48 yards a punt. It was just, it was magnificent. And I. And that just goes to how complete the Seattle Seahawks team is from top to bottle bottom, defensively, offensively, every man mattered in this game and every phase matters. And they, you could see the, the energy and attention to detail that they put into every phase of this team. And that's why they have the ultimate success of winning a Super bowl and making it look easy. Everybody said the game against the Rams, the NFC Championship was the super bowl, and that's the way it looked. That's the way it looked after watching this game. You know, people were like, oh, this is so boring. It was not boring. It wasn't a boring game. It was a team that was well coached and uberly prepared for this moment, playing against a team that was less prepared, playing against a team that was not ready for the, the, the, the issues that they were going to have to deal with. And I don't like that narrative because it, it, it, it motivates the league to create more rules and, and things to help these offenses have success that they don't deserve. Like, this game is about running and hitting and being physical, being detailed, like doing your job effectively. And every time they make another rule to, to, to handicap the defense and, and pump up the offense like you cheapen the game. And so I don't, I don't like fans saying, oh man, it wasn't enough points. But, and, and we didn't see touchdowns and big plays. You didn't see sloppy defense. You seen two well coached defenses and offenses that were trying to manipulate them and trying to dictate the pace that could not. The plays that were there were made. The plays that were not there were not going to be made. This New England Patriots offense has not been anything special during these playoffs. You didn't, I didn't expect him to be anything special this week. I thought they should have lost multiple times. They deserve to lose multiple times. And, and that defense kept them in a game. You talked about the Houston Texans game. I mean, if C.J. stroud doesn't have those turnovers, I don't think they, I don't think they're in that game. I don't think their offense did anything to say. Man, they, they really got the Houston Texans defense, Peg, because they didn't. I don't think they did anything really extraordinary against the Chargers. I thought the Chargers defense beat him up. That's why Drake May's been sacked, was sacked 15 times in those three games in the Seattle Seahawks exposed that Will Campbell, he was set. I don't, I don't know because I don't know offensive line talk. But from what I'm understanding, he wasn't getting his feet set. He wasn't shooting his hands early enough and that led to him getting beat multiple times. But he's been beat like a drum this entire playoff run. When your first round pick, top four pick is a, is a fish out there and that's the way they see him on tape. Regardless of how you feel it feel about it. It's a chess game, and if one of the pieces is consistently getting taken, it's not about personnel and personal attacks or anything like that. When the Seattle Seahawks prepared for this game, they saw a weakness and they exploited it. They isolated him versus multiple defenders. They thought Derek Hall's power could overwhelm him. It did. They thought Boyer mafe speed. They thought DeMarcus Lawrence's speed and power. They thought these things would be an issue for that young man. And then even the, the left guard, you got a rookie left side of your offensive line. I think they gave up nine of the 19 pressures that, that the Patriots gave up and they gave up three sacks because it's youth. You know, will they get better? Will they get stronger? Will they understand the game more? No question about it. Could they be all pros, all world players in the future? No question about it. But in this game, it's very unfocused for unforgiving. If you feel a weakness, you see a weakness. That's where you go. And it's not about making anybody feel good or feel bad. It's about winning the game. And that's what the Seattle Seahawks did consistently. That's what this defense did consistently. They prepared really well and they showed up in the biggest moment in the biggest ways. And that's Witherspoon, that's Julian Love, played a great game. Kobe Bryant, big hits all over the place. Ernest Jones, all over the place. Byron Murphy, Leonard Williams, the list goes on. They played the classics, they played the hits, and they played them over and over and over like a great 90s club.
- [28:17]
C
They sure did, Richard.
- [28:20]
D
This month, iHeartRadio is celebrating the stars of the 2026 Winter Games. Scottsdale, Arizona produced Austin Matthews, who headlines a star studded roster as NHL players return to the Olympics. One of the most lethal goal scorers in the world, Matthews brings his elite wrist shot and MVP pedigree to Team usa. For the first time in a decade, the world's best pros are facing off for national glory. And Matthews looks to lead the Americans to a miracle finish in Italy. For more Winter Games gold, search olympics on the iHeartRadio app.
- [28:51]
E
With CarGurus discover, you can skip the filters and describe what you're looking for in your own words. Simply type what you want and Cargurus Discover instantly surfaces real listings that match your exact needs. It's no wonder Cargurus is the number one most visited car shopping site according to SimilarWeb's estimated traffic data. Buy or sell your next car today with CarGurus@CarGurus.com Go to CarGurus.com to make sure your big deal is the best deal. That's C-A-R-U-R U S.com CarGurus.com.
- [29:23]
A
Today's show is brought to you by our presenting sponsor, Hard Rock bet Florida Sportsbook. I know it's tough with no football, but like the song says, I bet I will survive.
- [29:34]
C
With Hard Rock Bet. There's always something to bet on every night. Hoops, hockey, and so much more. Plus all the great same game parlay, live betting and player prop options you're used to.
- [29:45]
A
And did you know Hard Rock Bet is the official sports betting partner of the Miami Heat and the Orlando Magic? So they know their basketball. If you haven't signed up with Hard Rock Bet yet, there's never been a better time.
- [29:59]
C
New signups can double their winnings on their first 10 bets max $50. That's right. If you would have won a hundred bucks on your bet, make that 200. The hard rock Bet Sportsbook app is the only legal sports book for whenever you're in Florida. And it's also live in Arizona, Ohio, New Jersey, Indiana, Tennessee, Virginia, Illinois, Colorado, and my home state of Michigan. Coming soon to more states too.
- [30:26]
A
And look, Mitchell. I played Corner my whole life and even I can't stop what Hard Rock Bed is doing. They're letting promos run wild. You'll find new ones on the app every single day. Download the Hard Rock Bet app and make your first deposit today.
- [30:45]
C
This year, I'm focusing on a small shift that makes a huge difference. Effortless presence. It sounds counterintuitive, but for me that means planning ahead so I can truly live in the moment, especially when enjoying a few drinks. My simple trick for staying balanced is taking ZBiotics pre alcohol before I start ZBiotics pre alcohol probiotic drink is the world's first genetically engineered probiotic. It was invented by PhD scientists to tackle rough mornings after drinking. Here's how it works. When you drink, alcohol gets converted into toxic byproduct in your gut. It's a buildup of this byproduct, not dehydration, that's to blame for rough days after drinking. Pre alcohol producing is an enzyme to break this byproduct down. Just remember to make pre alcohol your first drink of the night. Drink responsibly and you'll feel your best tomorrow. Every time I have pre alcohol before drinks, I notice a difference the next day. Even after a night out, I can confidently Plan on going to the gym to get a morning workout in without even worrying. Ready to try it? Go to zbiotics.com forward slash Richard Sherman now. You'll get 15 off your first order when you use the code Richard Sherman at checkout. Plus it's backed by a hundred percent money back guarantee, so there's no risk. Subscriptions are also available for maximum consistency. Remember to head over to zbiotics.com richardsherman and and use the code Richard Sherman at checkout for 15% off.
- [32:18]
A
A well built wardrobe is about pieces that work together and hold up over time. That's what Quint does best. Premium materials, thoughtful design and everyday staples that feel easy to wear and easy to rely on even as the weather shifts, Quinn says.
- [32:36]
C
The everyday essentials I love with quality that lasts organic cotton sweaters, polos for every occasion. Lighter jackets that keep you warm in the changing seasons. The list goes on and on and on.
- [32:49]
A
Quince works directly with top factories and cuts out the middleman. So you're not paying for brand markup, just quality clothing. Everything is built to hold up to daily wear and still look good season after season.
- [33:07]
C
Plus they only partner with factories that meet rigorous standards for craftsmanship and ethical production. The cashmere pants I got from Quince are really helping me stay cozy during these cold weather here in Michigan. They're warm, well made and look much more expensive than they actually are.
- [33:22]
A
Cashmere, huh?
- [33:23]
C
Very much. Very much so Richard. They are straight 100 cashmere and they look freaking awesome.
- [33:31]
A
I love, I love a little cashmere myself. Get your wardrobe sorted and your gift list handled with Quint. Don't wait. Go to quint.com Richard for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns now available in Canada too. That's Q-U I N C E.com Richard free shipping and 365 day returns. Quint.com forward slash Richard, you know what.
- [34:01]
C
There was so many bright spots defensively. Who stood out to you the most? I mean I know Nick Ammon, warriors had this incredible run this playoffs, but Devin Witherspoon, man, I mean the way he came off that edge for the sack, the way he was playing so aggressive. You see why they valued him so high in that draft to take him or the fifth overall, right? So to take him top five and see something in a product out of Illinois, Richard, who did you like most defensively? Who stood out the most to you?
- [34:28]
A
That's impossible to say because yes, I love Devin Witherspoon. I mean he plays like A maniac every game. He plays with a relentless effort and attitude, really plays way bigger than his, than his weight and size says, and he does it consistently. But if you looked at Derek hall and the impact he had in this game, huge. If you looked at Leonard Williams, even if the stats weren't there, the impact was huge. Byron Murphy impact was huge in the back end. You look at Josh Job and the, the, the game he had just quietly, Josh Job has had an incredible season. As quietly, quietly, quietly quiet of a great season as I've seen in this league. And if he was a free agent, we'd be talking about a lot of money being paid to him and his family. So I think the Seahawks are going to do something to extend him. He's very important to what they do defensively. Again, Tariq Woolen played a, played a really good game. Had the 1, 1 play against Matt Collins where I think the entire defense fell asleep. They got him on the same play that the Rams got him on the, the week before. They saw. He saw number two going across, which, which means, hey, two, two across, one in. And all the, all the receiver does is stutter, you know, show that he's gonna break to the dig. You break. As soon as you break, he goes up and they, they had a touchdown. That's what happens against Puka Nakua. That's what happened in this game. But again, he played a good game. Nick Emin, Warrior. I think the entire defense could have got an mvp. They could have gave the MVP trophy to their entire defense and, and nobody would have really batted an eyelash at that because of how impactful all of them were. And I think that's the reason none of them got it, because you couldn't figure out who to give it to.
- [36:07]
C
Quite literally, you have to give it to the entire defense. Richard, we got to talk a little bit about the Patriots. You know, we talked quite a bit throughout this season about how much of a cakewalk their schedule was. And then they get to the playoffs and they play a beat up Chargers team. They were very fortunate. And obviously, I don't want to say it wasn't to their credit, but obviously CJ Stroud had a horrendous showing. And then ultimately they play the Broncos without Bonex. What does this say about the afc? Is this just a down year for the AFC or the Seattle Seahawks just that dominant?
- [36:44]
A
Well, it's, it's not a down year. I mean, yes, yes, it's a down year. Let's not go crazy about that, because if you Walk into the playoffs without Patrick Mahomes there, without Lamar Jackson, which, who, who could have easily made the playoffs with, you know, the missed kick changed all everybody's trajectory in that game. But without those guys in the playoffs for that side, they're so top heavy, so quarterback centric, pretty much anybody you, you put out there after that was going to struggle with this defense. Now the Denver Broncos had a defense that they felt really good about Vance Joseph and his scheme. They, they've done a really good job all season long. I thought they could. That would have made a really fun defensive game had they made it. Unfortunately, Bo Nix gets, gets injured I think second to third last play of the game. Otherwise that would have been the, the super bowl rematch that everybody was looking forward to. Two really good defenses going at it. We saw the way the Seattle Seahawks battled against the Houston Texans in that ferocious defense. They, they found a way to make that a dog fight in Seattle. So that would have been a good matchup. But unfortunately though, it didn't work out that way. So you don't want to say anything's luck because it's not. They won those games. They won. They didn't tell Sean Payton not to kick the field goal. They didn't do all that. They, hey, they won the game that was in front of them. So they earned their way to be there. I did not think anybody on the AFC side would be able to beat the Rams or the Seahawks, if I'm being honest. Regardless of who, who it was and in the playoff field that, that was, that made it this year. So I don't, I don't. It's, it's just one of those years. You know, there are other years where you look up and the Kansas City Chiefs look like the class of the, the the NFL and you look like, hey, who on the NFC side is gonna, gonna be able to battle with them? And you know, usually it's the Niners or the Eagles and, and then it's a dog fight and Patrick Mahomes may pull it out, he may not, but without him in it, the AFC just didn't seem as formidable. And, and I'm not saying this game was, was, wasn't ever going to be close, but I called it being a two touchdown game and it was a two touchdown guy.
- [38:51]
C
You did it sure was. And their quarterback, Drake May, I mean listen, he was in this MVP conversation whether you thought he deserved to be or not. And it became a lot closer of a race for that MVP than I think a lot of folks anticipated Matthew Stafford narrowly won it. In fact, he received 24 first place votes to Drake Mays 23. Richard Drake May struggled this game. I think the entire New England Patriot offense struggled this game. But obviously with loss comes opportunity to grow. What, what do you think that Drake May needs to focus on most in order to take that next step and be an MVP in this league?
- [39:30]
A
Well, it's, it's a lot of things. It's not all on Drake May. Not all the things are in his control. They need to, they need a more talented team. He needs more protection. You can't, you can't get sacked. I think he was sacked 22 times in these playoffs, you know, 22 times a lot. And his shoulder was, was hurt and you can't play that that way and expect to have a ton of success. You got to protect him. He has to do a better job getting the football out quickly. But Josh McDaniel has to give him some hot reads. They have to give him answers when, when there's blitzes coming and you got deep, developing routes and nobody's hot, nobody's looking. When it's time for him to, when the pressure's on the way and he needs an outlet, you, you have to give him an outlet. So you have to set him up for success. And I think that's a effort that includes the entire coaching staff to say, hey, we got to be able to recognize these, these pressures, recognize who we're playing against and give him answers that he can get to really quickly if pressure gets home. And I think that's a big part of it. I think getting in more talent at receiver. I like Kon Booty, I like Douglas. Obviously Diggs is a veteran who, who does it well, but I think they need to continue to invest in that position. I don't. Matt, Matt Collins is the, is the one who makes the big play in the Super Bowl. Like he's the one who scores a touchdown for you to, to, to. To kind of get going. I, I don't think that's what they expected when they signed him. You need a big time receiver, but that can go get it. Do they make a trade for AJ Brown or a receiver like that who's, who's a real bonafide number one receiver? I think that's what's going to have to happen. You're going to have to see some growth from Trayvon Henderson. His, his opportunities were limited because of how bad he was in the pass game. He couldn't pass protect. He, they couldn't trust him. In pass protection so you can't be out there. So Randre Stevenson who isn't as good and as explosive as Trayvon Hendrickson in a pass game has to be out there because he's more reliable in pass blocking. They know he's going to pick up the right guy, he's going to be where he's supposed to be and be, and not be a liability out there. So that's some on the personnel and the players just getting better at their job but I think you have to surround them with more talent. I didn't think it was a close race for the, for, for the MVP at all and I think that's what I hate about the voting now is there justification for things is like hey this guy's team is worse and, and they're doing better than you expect him to so he's the mvp. Like that's not, that's not, that's not it for me who's playing better. And if, and this goes both ways. If, if Drake May had had thrown for what, what was it, 40, 46 touchdowns and had eight interceptions then we'd be screaming the same way that Drake May should be the mvp. But you're not going to say a guy with, with double digit less passing touchdowns is better than the other guy. I'm sorry, that's not the world we live in. And, and I, and I don't even like the discussion. They're like well you don't understand the full scope. Yes I do. I understand that I watched Matthew Stafford playing them most competitive division in the National Football League and put up those numbers. I watched him play against this same Seattle Seahawks defense that Drake May struggled royally with during a regular season and throw for 474, 70 and five touchdowns like that. That was the end of it right there. That should have ended it, ended the conversation. I did not say see a signature performance like that from Drake May against a really top defense. And is that, is that his fault that they didn't go against one of the great defenses? No, it's not. But if you're, if you're not going to put up those kind of points and everybody points to Matthew Stafford's 1 yard touchdowns or whatever the case may be. I think he had a double digit of those with, connecting with Devonte.
- [43:26]
C
Devonte.
- [43:29]
A
Devonte Adams. But at the end of the day stats are stats baby. Stats are stats. Numbers are numbers. And he's out there playing like this in the biggest games. They lost that game to the Seattle Seahawks that he Threw. And it wasn't garbage time. They were battling. It's an overtime game. He scored in overtime. He gave his team a chance. They scored, got the pat. The Seahawks just went for two and got it. Only reason he loses that game is because he doesn't have another chance. He left. He left the field with the lead. And so as a quarterback, he did everything you could to put your team in position. Yes, he has Puka Naku and a great team around him, but that's what happens. Rarely are you going to have a great offense without great players around you. Rarely are you going to see MVPs without Pro Bowlers on their team. It's rare and sure it happens, but it's only happening more nowadays because there's some weird fixation with, with saying, hey man, these guys, it's a feel good story. Like, man, they shouldn't be here. Like, this is a National Football League. Guys like numbers have to matter. If numbers don't matter, then let's stop, let's stop having it and just give it to whoever you feel good about. You know, hey, who's the, who's the most unlikely hero this year? That's the mvp. That's not how it works and that's not how it worked before. And so if, if they would have not gave it to Stafford with 46 touchdowns to eight interceptions, I mean, that this probably would have been the last time I had any respect for this award. This probably would have been the last time I even thought about it.
- [44:57]
C
I, I'm right there with you. I mean, not only did it beat him statistically, but more obvious to me was the eye test. And I think it's just got to be simple. Who would you want to face less? I would far less like to face Matthew Stafford than I would Drake May. Matthew Stafford's got that killer instinct and he showed it all season long. Richard. For the Seattle Seahawks to take care of him both in the division and in the playoffs is a remarkable testament to how good this team is. Richard I'm looking at this roster and this Seattle Seahawks roster is young. They've got a lot of cap space going into this offseason. I'm just going to rattle off some names here for you. Nick Eman Worry 21 Byron Murphy 23. JSN 23 Tori Horton 23. Ray Zable 23. Devin Witherspoon 25. Charles Cross 25 Charbonnet 25K9 25. Kobe Bryant 26. Ernest Jones 26. Reek Woolen 26. Rashid Shahid 27. Your boy Julian Love, 27. And Sam Darnold who's under team control, 28. Do we have a dynasty in the making here in Seattle?
- [46:09]
A
I don't know. I don't know. But it feels like it. I hate getting. Getting up the cart before the horse, but they won the first one and they won it in convincing fashion. And you feel good about the team coming back. You feel good about the scheme and the coaching staff. Will Clint Kubiak going to the Raiders matter? Yes, it'll matter. Will there be continuity? You have a veteran quarterback who knows how to navigate this offense, who knows. You know, that's why quarterbacks are so important, because the offensive coordinator is great but. But a quarterback who also understands the scheme, understands what they do well and that's not leaving. And so I think having Sam there for another year and you got to remember this is his first year with these guys. They lost Tory Horton early in the year. They lost some of their weapons earlier in the year and they'll get those guys back and I think they'll invest even more on the offensive side because they feel great about what they have on the defensive side. I don't think they're going to try to draft more D line and even though, I mean you can never have enough, I think guys are more up to. To take team friendly deals because of how successful and how great this staff is, how great this team is, how great the culture is. And I don't think they want to go anywhere else. They know they have something special here. I don't think they're going to lose a lot of coaches to, to Clint Kubiak staff because it's. That's such an unknown, you know, in such an unstable organization. They've fired multiple coaches within the. After the first year coaching. So do you want to leave a potential dynasty to go somewhere that. Where your, your staff could be fired if things don't go well and you don't have. You're not inheriting a really talented team to begin with. So I don't think that he's going to take a lot of the staff with him, but we'll see how that goes. But I think this is a sustainable model with the way they have it constructed and I look forward to them using Shahid in a more aggressive way and working hard. They have a lot of cap space, but they have a lot of guys they have to retain and I think they're going to work to retain them and you know, I think they're going to work to retain Kobe Bryant and Josh Joe to start Tariq Woolen. I think there, there'll be a conversation, but I expect him to go out and get a lot of money. You know, I think he, he's going to be a highly sought after free agent, especially for man centric teams. And will the Seahawks be able to match him? Will they be able to convince him to stay? I think Josh Job will be more of a, a discounted price because he's undrafted. This is his first year. Was he a full time starter? He didn't have the, the, he doesn't have the, the baggage that, not, not necessarily baggage, but he doesn't have the, the, he doesn't have necessarily the success that Tariq Woolen has shown. Tariq Woolen was a pro Bowler. He's gotten a little bit of accolades. He's shown successful success in this league, the ability to take the football away. So I think they'll work hard to, to retain Josh Joel, but it'll still be double digits. It'll still be 10/4 million dollars that they have to spend per year to retain him. Kenneth Walker is obviously the biggest name on this list, the super bowl mvp. He has to be retained. How he played at the end of this year, almost made was like the light popped on. Like he, he gets it, he gets it more now than he ever has. So you have to work hard to retain your guys. And how much is it costing to, to retain a running back nowadays? It's going to be 13 million, 14 million. The cap's just gone up. You're not paying your quarterback top of the market. That's why you're able to retain these guys. But you have to. That's an important part of these dynasties, is being able to retain the guys that helped you get there.
- [49:40]
C
Well, it's safe to say John Schneider's on an absolute heater. The way he's been drafting Richard, his draft picks, his succession of drafts kick started the lob era. Right when you Cam Bobby, you know, obviously they got the quarterback and Russell and to get Sam Darnold and pluck him out of free agency then to have a draft with Nick Ammon, Worry Gray, Zable, you know, obviously Byron Murphy, jsn, all these guys coming in recent drafts, you know, now it's time to turn the page to the free agency. Out of all those names that you just listed, which one do you think is most important that they secure and bring back next year?
- [50:18]
A
Well, it's Kenneth Walker. It's Kenneth Walker. You just saw Zach Charbonnet was A very important part of this season and when he was injured, I think there was a lot of uncertainty for a lot of people because they've done it by committee for so long this season. You know, they split carries because you don't want to put all the workload on one running back. They K9 hasn't was, was a little beat up throughout his career when he, when he had to take those kind of carries consistently. And what he showed over the last five games is he could carry the workload once the end of the season came. Like, hey, maybe throughout the season he does need some by committee, you know what I mean? Help to take some of the pressure off of. But when it's money time, you can, you can lean on him in that way and expect him to have success. And I think that's important. The continuity there is important. So to allow him to walk away with what he just did, this playoff run would just be silly to me. And I don't think he wants to go and I don't think the team wants him to go. So I think that's the most important piece and I think the rest of the pieces fall in place after you get him secured.
- [51:20]
C
You're spot on. I mean, it's very unfortunate what happened to Zach Charbonnet with the ACL injury, but no one benefited from it more than Kenneth Walker. Like I said, I witnessed this firsthand when he was at Michigan State. He was alone back in that backfield, was carrying the ball 30 plus times a game to know with no problem wearing down defenses. I think the rest of the world got to see that on Super Bowl Sunday. Kenneth walker taking over 27 carries over 130 yards rushing. I'm with you. I think he's very vital that they bring back. Obviously Kobe Bryant has come on here this year. You mentioned Josh Job, Reek, Woolen. But they have gotten an embarrassment of riches on the defensive side of the ball. I too agree. K9 is a must bring back for this team. Richard, it's been a hell of a run. You were one of the few I would say that called this from training camp and go ahead because I want.
- [52:16]
A
To address this thing because they're going to keep doing it unless we address it. Address away, my friend, the whole comparison thing, this lob mob comparison thing that they want to continue to do and who's better now? I love, I loved what they, they did this season. It was fantastic. But we live in a day and age. Everybody feels the need to compare, compare, compare. Is this better than that? Is this better than that? Is this person better than this person who played this time? Like, we don't know. We don't know. But sometimes you don't have to compare. You know, it's like great art. Mitchell, do you. Do you compare, like, a Van Gogh to a Picasso? Like, no, you just appreciate they're both beautiful. You know, you appreciate that they're both incredible pieces of art by incredible artists. You don't need to say, well, Picasso was better because of abc or Van Go was better, or Michelangelo's was. Was better because of this. No, you don't need to do it. You don't need to do it. Just appreciate the art. Appreciate the incredibly dominant super bowl champion team that you just got to witness. These guys are incredible in their own right. They don't need to be associated with us or compared or how, you know, 2.0 or 2. They are 1.0 original, unique versions of themselves, and they did an incredible job, had an incredible season, and they deserve all the shine and credit. Y' all don't need to. To tie them into us in any way to take away their shine. Let them shine, baby. They went out there and did it. We. We didn't have nothing to do with it. You know, we talked to the guys a little bit, try to. Try to answer questions and support them and in the ways any veteran and any old guys would. But at the end of the day, these guys went out here and did something incredibly special. Had a dominant season in an incredible way when the odds were really long. I think they were 60 to 1. I think it was the. The. The most improbable super bowl champ in, like, the last 20 years, which. Which is a testament to the guys in the building. And I thought, again, when I went in training camp, when I went to training camp, you could feel it. You could feel the attention to detail. You could feel the hunger. You could feel the. The. How locked in everybody was and how much they cared. And that's why I felt good about them winning the division and potentially winning the super bowl, because that. You don't have that everywhere. Everybody doesn't take this series, and everybody doesn't have that. That cohesiveness, that togetherness, that brotherhood. I could feel the brotherhood starting with the offensive line. And what's crazy is Gray Zable was at the heart of that. Gray Zable was at the heart of the. The. The jailing of the offensive line coming together throughout training camp. And I think he's a big reason they have the. The. The success they do. I Mean, obviously, him and Sundarrel played together at North Dakota State, but the way he and Charles Cross had a relationship. Charles Cross was in training camp, like, hey, man, I can't miss practice because I can't let my guy down. This is training camp. And sometimes you guys are so quick to be selfish in training camp for, see, ah, I got to do what's best for me, and that's fine. You know what I mean? Nothing wrong with that. But when you're trying to win Super Bowls, it's we over me. And when you try to get paid and have a long career, sometimes those things don't align the same way. Sometimes it's me over we, because I got to make sure my, my family's fed. I got to make sure my body sustains for a long time. But when I started to hear those things in training camp, I said, oh, this team might have the makings of something really cool. Because it's not always about talent level. When you got guys that'll play for one another, when you got guys that will sacrifice for one another, when you got guys that'll go out there and put their body in harm's way, not for selfish gains or selfish needs, but because they care about the guy next to them, that's when you have special teams and then you get into situations where things get adverse, things get crazy, things get out of hand, and instead of attacking and, and each guy, you know, I mean, imploding, you do like a family do does, and you, you overcome it together. And I think that's what I understood about this team, and that's what I saw in training camp along with Mike McDonald's scheme and how much he cares and how detailed he is and how much humility and how humble of a man he is. His. His confidence and his trust and everything that he's built comes from the work he puts in, the work that his staff puts in there. There's no fluff about it. There's no, no fluff about who they are and what they put out there. It's the work that they're putting in. They don't. They don't. It's no guesswork involved. They want to put their guys in the best position possible and get the best guys out there to go out there and do the job. It's nothing personal. It's all business. And those guys ran an incredible business, incredible team, incredible culture. And congratulations to them.
- [56:58]
C
The Seattle Seahawks are taking over modern day football right now. Richard. Since 2002, they have 10 division titles. They got four Super bowl appearances. They got two Lombardi trophies hanging in their trophy case. Now they're starting to make some other fan bases envious. I mean, they've turned into a juggernaut. I. I don't see it stopping anytime soon. I. I think that this team is going to go on a little bit of a run here, Richard. Whether they can replicate this year or not, they're going to be highly competitive going into next season. The 12s in Seattle, congratulations. You guys deserve this. Rocking the Seattle Seahawks hat and support. Richard, it's been a hell of a year. Love sitting down with you numerous times a week down the stretch. You've been committed, your work ethic is unmatched, and it was an awesome time being able to spend on radio row in San Francisco with you BET this past week, my man. I will let you sign us off as we welcome home the Seattle Seahawks, super bowl champs. Congratulations again.
- [57:57]
A
And I would say the same thing about you, Mitchell. I appreciate all the hard work and sacrifice showing up every single week for. For us, for the fans, even when sometimes your Detroit Lions did not. They let you down a little bit. But you. You know what, Mitchell? You weathered to storm. You showed up, and we surely do appreciate that. We appreciate every one of you fans for joining us every single week, for tuning in, for hitting that sub button, for hearing what I have to say and what Mitchell has to say about the National Football League and what's transpired. You could be anywhere in the world, but you're here with us. And nobody appreciates you more than we do. 12s. Seattle Seahawks fans, enjoy this moment. Enjoy every second of it, because this is what it's about. The trophy is coming back to Seattle and the parade is on Wednesday. Hopefully, we'll see you there. Enjoy it. Get bragging rights, all the nonsense. Write the stuff on Twitter you've been waiting to write. Find those receipts, put them up. It's time to celebrate because your Seattle Seahawks are world champions once again. Appreciate you hit that sub button if you know. This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.