Lavar Arrington (2:22)

Super Bowl Championship. That should always be the exp. Expectations.

Richard Sherman (2:25)

I ain't mad at you. Go ahead. Welcome back to the Richard Sherman Podcast, presented by our friends and partners over At Breitling. Always getting us right, always got us shining. I got my San Francisco Breitling, but my Seattle Seahawks one is on the way. Way. I can't wait to see it. Mitchell, a great week for your Detroit Lions and the Seattle Seahawks, but the San Francisco 49ers Mitchell disaster. And this was literally worst case scenario.

Mitchell Schwartz (3:10)

Totally was. I mean, we talked about it going into this game. You called it a must win game for San Francisco. This division looked like it's starting to slip away. I mean, there's still only two games out, but we see CMC come up with another injury here. You got to be concerned about that. And Richard, I'm sure you're concerned about the overall trajectory of this team for the rest of the season. What were your thoughts after this game?

Richard Sherman (3:37)

Well, it went, it went. I mean, about how I thought it would go if things went bad, especially under the conditions when it started to snow. I thought this is going to be a tough game for the San Francisco 49ers to go into Buffalo and miraculously pull out a win. I thought the only way they could is if Buffalo made the kind of mistakes The San Francisco 49ers did. You know, fumbling the football, slipping and sliding, uncharacteristic. Josh Allen maybe throwing an interception or two and Aaron pass. But unfortunately, the San Francisco 49ers just could not pull it together. And it was bad. It was everything that could go wrong. Kyle Huscheck, you know, doesn't fumble the ball very much at all. It was good play, good play call by Kyle Shanahan. He gets there. You think, hey, this touchdown is going to kind of get us back on track. He fumbles the football. Debo Samuel just trying to make a play on special teams, obviously kickoff return. It had two huge returns in the game. Trying to spark this team, trying to spark this offense and just, just give this team some life. Fumbles the football. They're unable to recover it. Brock can't, can't get a touchdown pass, can't catch his. You can't get a grip of the football. Empty hand forward fumble late in the game and that was just a dagger. It just never looked like they, they were right. You, you, you see uncharacteristic things throughout the game. George Kittle dropping a pass on a screenplay that, you know, likely could have probably had some life, but it was obviously tough conditions. Fred Warner goes out early in the game to get an IV's cramping. It's the first quarter of the ball game. Just uncharacteristic things that you don't expect to see from this team and you frankly have never seen from this, this team. This San Francisco 49ers team blown out by 25 plus points. Back to back games. The Green Bay one was not really explainable. This one you can kind of understand. The conditions got to a team from California and they got behind eight ball and they just couldn't find their way. It wasn't like Josh Allen did anything incredibly special. He was a victim of the conditions as well. 13 for 148 yards. But the two touchdowns, one of them being tool himself, a really, really, actually incredible play. He completes the slant route behind Amari Cooper, who catches it with one hand. It's kind of in the grip of the defender. He laterals it back to Josh Allen, who continues throughout the play. And it was just a story of the way the game went for the San Francisco 49ers. Like even when they get a stop, they didn't get a stop. James Cook has a huge run. I think it was 67 yards or 64 yards early in the game where, you know, the safety Jair Brown takes a bad angle, he gets out the gate and nobody's catching anybody in this kind of weather, you know, everybody's legs are frozen, everybody's feet are frozen. I feel like you're running on stilts out there. So it was a great play from him. But yeah, it's just, just, you know, just a sad game if you're a San Francisco 49ers fan. Not a ton of positives you can take from it. You know, obviously the division is still tight, a tight race and, you know, maybe they can make a run and beat some of these teams late and beat the Rams and beat the Cardinals and find a way to make it competitive down the stretch, but they definitely don't control their own destiny anymore. And that's the frustrating part. Even if Nicholas John Bosa returns and Trent Williams returns and all that, it may be too little too late. Christian McCaffrey with the injury, they're saying it's a knee injury. I thought maybe it was just irritation of that Achilles, you know, but they're saying it's a knee injury that, that concerns me a lot more than if it was the Achilles, because a knee injury, non contact in that way, is usually pretty serious, especially for a high functioning, high caliber athlete like he is. Oh, it's, it's, it's hard to find any positives from that. You know, they go to play the Bears next week and the Bears aren't a bad team, obviously. They just fired Eberflus and just elevated Thomas Brown, you know, from, you know, to coordinator and now to head coach on the interim basis. And they're said to be giving him a real true look at it. But I don't know. I don't really know what Kyle Shanahan says to his team after this. You know, I know how he is in these meetings and how honest he is and how serious he takes this game and how serious he takes, you know, these losses. And he's going to take it hardest. You know, this is going to be a very, very, very, very, very, very. I can't say enough, varies long flight from Buffalo back to San Francisco for this team, they'll have to land in San Francisco instead of San Jose because San Jose airport doesn't stay open that late. So not only will you have the long flight, but you have the long drive. And Mitchell, this is coming from experience. I'll tell you what, this is probably the worst flight and drive that they'll have outside of the Miami Super Bowl. That one probably was not a fun ride at all either. But this one's going to hurt. And, you know, this is going to be tough questions later on in season. You know, what are you going to do with some of these guys? You start wondering, you know, whose salary you eat next year, who's, who they're moving on from. You know, that's when this comes in, who you draft in, what draft position you're going to have. I don't think they're going to tank the season by any means. But, you know, do you. Do you try to get, you know, if Christian McCaffrey injury, hopefully, fingers crossed, isn't serious, do you still play him or do you just say, you know, you know, mail it in, you know, settle him down, hey, we'll see you next year when you're healthy and you're 100%. Let's get ready for next season and take another shot at it, because this one seems like it's already in the books. You're going to have to pay Brock Purdy this off season, and you got to figure out what that looks like. So there's so many questions that this kind of game, this kind of kind of beating, really, really put into perspective for this team and for this fan base who have had a tremendous amount of success over the last six years. They've been in the NFC Championship, been in multiple Super Bowls, and this season, it just wasn't their year. The balls didn't Bounce their way when they needed to have it. There was three or four games there where they could have had the ball bounce their way. The record would be different, the mindset would be different, and the approach would be different down the stretch. But unfortunately, that's not how it happened. That's not how it happened. So, you know, obviously they're going to have to do some inventory about on this team, on this coaching staff, see what they're going to do going forward. But it's just unfortunate. You know, every season you're not going to make the super bowl, every season you're not going to make the playoffs. But when you have as talented of a team as this, it's just really disappointing when it doesn't happen. And then you have games that just end in this fashion. You know, these aren't just losses. You know, you're Green Bay beach bad and Buffalo just whoops you pretty bad. And it's hard to coach off this tape.

Mitchell Schwartz (10:24)

Well, Richard, I'm going to ask a tough question, and it pertains to the future of the San Francisco 49ers. It's been gut punch after gut punch after gut punch this season. Between the tight losses and the injuries, the key players. Now we see CMC's injury, now the looming questions of having to pay Brock Purdy and what that does to the salary cap space. You know, we talked about this championship window for the last six, seven years. Do you think this game will be the dagger and The San Francisco 49ers future championship aspirations in terms of this talent base that they have in house right now, these key role players that are all having to get paid now?

Richard Sherman (11:07)

No, I don't know if this is going to be the end of it. It's going to be a real, real challenge going forward. And it's going to be up to the scouting department and the front office. A front office in which they've lost a lot of people. You know, they've lost Adam Peters, they've lost Martin Mayhew. They've lost so many guys to become GM's other places. And that's. That's really cool when you think about it. You know, you're like, hey, man, look at this. What a franchise. You know what? How great do you have to be to lose talent to be GMs elsewhere? But it also affects the quality of the staff that you have. And they've elevated and they've tried to, to continue that. And this is going to be their greatest challenge this year to find some young guys to fill Those gaps. You know, you're going to have to find some young offensive linemen that have to play at a really high level. They found a right guard that in puny. I think that's going to going to be around for a while, but you're going to have to find likely another center. I'm not sure Brenda was the answer. Long term, you're probably going to have to find another young left guard to compete at that spot. You're going to have to find heir apparent for Trent Williams whenever he decides to retire and hang it up. And that person will probably likely compete for the right tackle spot until Trent Williams calls it a career. But I think that's what it's going to have to be. I don't think the windows close. I think this is too talented of a team and I know everybody wants to just say either you're super bowl or bust or you're not super bowl. But there's too much talent on his team to be that way. Now they do need to find more depth. They need to find more below the superstars in order for this team to be more consistent because they're so top heavy. When you lose a guy or two, it just falls off the rail so fast on both sides of the football. If you lose Christian McCaffrey, you lost him for a while. You know, you found Jordan Mason, so that kind of got kind of helped out and that was fine. But then you lose Brandon Iuk and then you lose a huge part of your offense pushing the ball down the field. Now it looks like you don't understand how to push the ball downfield. Who's going to push that spot? What you lose Trent Williams and your whole offensive line looks different. Obviously in this game they didn't get a ton of pressure on him, but it's because nobody can move. But in the Green Bay game, there's a ton of pressure on Brock Purdy. Every game this season outside of this game, there's been a ton of pressure on Brock Purdy from the interior offensive line and from that right tackle spot. So I think they're going to have to show that they can develop and draft more depth in order for this team to get back to where they need to be next season. But I don't think it's over.

Mitchell Schwartz (13:32)

Let's talk about the Buffalo Bills a little bit. I know their record is not the best in the afc, but if you're looking at the eye test, I think the Buffalo Bills are the class of the AFC right now. They are surprising a Lot of folks. What do you think the Bills chances are here? Do you view them as the top team in the afc? I know your power ranks suggest otherwise, but I mean, just looking at games like this, how do you not put them above KC at this point?

Richard Sherman (14:00)

Yep. And for that, let me. Let me look at something, Mitchell, because I want to make sure I'm telling everybody the complete gospel about this. Yeah. So. All right. Depending on how this season shakes out, you know, they could be playing the Denver Broncos or the Buffalo Bills if the. Or the Baltimore Ravens if the season ended today. Do I think they could win that game in the, in the wild card? Potentially? Sure. I'd say yes. How about that? I'd say yes. But then you go and you potentially have to play a Pittsburgh team. Am I totally confident that they, that they bully a Pittsburgh team with T.J. watt and these boys and Cam Hayward playing some of the best football of his life. Russell Wilson, if he plays like he did last week, can they go to Buffalo and get a win? You know, under. Under less than ideal conditions? Maybe, you know, maybe I just. I wouldn't feel. I don't. I want Buffalo. They played really incredible football. But I've seen that. I've seen this movie before. So when, when it comes to certain teams, I fully respect what I'm seeing on tape and what they're doing. And every season is different. I understand that you got to look at everything in that scope, but I have seen them in the playoffs and they repeatedly find a way to lose to Patrick Mahomes and the boys. They find a way to underwhelm in a game they should not underwhelm when they lose to. To teams they shouldn't lose to. So until that changes, I know no. Kansas City is the class of the division. And I don't care if they're getting lucky or good or slipping by or stumbling through. They're 11 and 1. They're back to back super bowl champs. And until they're not, I mean, The San Francisco 49ers are showing you how difficult it is to come back, albeit they lost the super bowl in overtime. But it has an effect on you. You know, playing that deep into the season every year, win, lose or draw, it has a toll on you. It takes a toll on your body, your mind, your psyche, everything, your family. And so they're going to try to do it again. Man, if you tell me Buffalo has to go to Kansas City. I watched Kansas City go to Buffalo last year and went get the win. So it's hard for me to, with a straight face say, man, I think the Buffalo Bills are going to beat the Kansas City Chiefs when I've never seen it happen in the playoffs.

Mitchell Schwartz (16:15)

I, I get you. I mean Buffalo was able to take care of him the other week. It seems like the tides might have turned a little bit. Josh Allen also, before we leave this game is putting on a MVP caliber season. It doesn't seem like much can stop this guy. Do you think that Josh Allen deserves MVP at this point?

Richard Sherman (16:36)

I just don't think that like, like always saying people get upset with me. The numbers aren't there. The numbers aren't there for Josh Allen. He's going to be, he's not even top five in touchdown passes. I don't think he's, he's not top five in yards. He's not top five in any of the categories that you have to be to be an mvp. And obviously guys that are our top, like Joe Burrow, he's not going to get consideration. His team isn't going to be in it. You know, he'll probably have the best numbers going away. Geno Smith leading the league or tied for the league lead or up there in passing yards, you know, the Seattle Seahawks, I don't know if they'll be high enough for him to get consideration. And then the touchdown passes and things like that aren't there for him. So Lamar Jackson has the touchdown passes, has the interceptions, but the Buffalo, I mean the Baltimore Ravens aren't playing at the level they were earlier in the season or I'd say it be his going away. The numbers say it should be his going away. But that's when it gets, it gets wonky because if, if the, that's when somebody like Saquon Barkley could mess around and stumble into a win because how well the Philadelphia Eagles are playing late in the season. He's having tremendously impactful games. His numbers are going to be there. He's going to lead the league in rushing. He's going to have a silly amount of all purpose yards. He's going to have a silly amount of touchdowns. Even with Jalen Hurts taking away some of his touchdown pass, I mean touchdowns with the tush push from the one yard line. I think he's lost three or four touchdowns for, from that alone. So that's where I don't know if Buffalo has a 2, 3 seed with the numbers that Josh Allen, unless they get substantially better over the next couple games where they could give it to him. But I mean like I said this last year about Lamar Jackson and they gave it to him. I said the touchdown passes aren't there, the numbers aren't there. But float. Bills were. I mean, but Baltimore was clearly the best team in football at the time and records said that their defense was playing well. It was hard to dispute that. So maybe if the Buffalo Bills end up the number one seed, then the numbers won't matter and he's the quarterback on the best team in afc, then they'll give it to him. But you know, right now, if the Eagles are the one seed and Buffalo's the one seed, I think you got to give it to Saquon.

Mitchell Schwartz (18:50)

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Richard Sherman (20:32)

Another game that I was really excited about, Mitchell, because the Seattle Seahawks are playing fantastic football right now, but a tough road game? Well, every game in NFL is tough, but they had to go to New York, different time zone, early game, all the theatrics. And they went out there and got a win and it did not look like it at times. It looked like Aaron Rodgers and Devonte Adams found their groove. It looked like the jets defense found some energy. But insert the big cat, Mitchell. Leonard Williams, the last couple weeks has been incredibly dominant. And in this league, it doesn't matter how you start Mitchell, it matters how you finish. And he's finishing the season in an all pro way. He had two sacks, the interception, 91 yard interception, touchdown return. Devin Witherspoon with the pressure. Devin Witherspoon just seems to be the reason everybody scores touchdown. Because he shows a different kind of effort every single, whether it's run, pay, pass, play, turnover. He's making sure he does everything in his power to make sure his teammates get to the end zone. He was leading the way along with a number of his teammates. Tyrese Knight had a really good game. Fumble recovery in the ball game. That was a really pivotal turnover in that game. Geno Smith continues to steady the ship. I know it wasn't the craziest game, but behind this offensive line that has struggled consistently this season, he's played really good football. Sacked three times today, but didn't turn the ball over. Did not turn, throw, throw an interception in this game. Continued to manage the game. Jackson, Smith and Jigma, another solid game for him. And DK Metcalf, three in a row for the Seattle Seahawks, now 7 and 5. Defensively, it looks like they found their groove and their rhythm. Offensively, they're doing enough to win football games. This is a talented jets defense. Hasn't necessarily played incredibly well this season. Had ups and downs. I don't know what happened to them. Maybe they lost their coach five games into the season because the owner thinks he knows better than everybody and he knows nothing. But it's one of those things that I think is going to be really, really fun to watch down the stretch. How the Seattle Seahawks continue to grow as A team. Mike McDonald continuing to figure this out. Ernest Jones, another really, really good performance for him. Starting to, I mean, can't say. Starting to find his legs. Has found his legs, has found his. His home in Seattle. And hey, consider me impressed.

Mitchell Schwartz (23:05)

You gotta love to see it. And Richard, this game started off disastrously for the Seattle Seahawks. Thank God this defense stood and held the line. And Leonard Williams had that pick six because the Seattle Seahawks were about to go down. Three scores in the first half. And the New York jets you know, despite their record of three and nine now, they are a team littered with, you know, former superstars and current superstars, and they can upend you at any time, and you're going on the road in a cold environment. A lot was on the line for Seattle here, and it couldn't get much worse. But they battled Rich and you showed that they're, they're hungry, they want to win. They impressed me today. You know, kudos. You already brought him up. But letter Williams, I mean, this guy is. Our players in prime time. Brought to you by our friends and partners at Breitling. Richard, I got to show the Honolulu Blue. I know you're going to be waiting for my.

Richard Sherman (24:01)

It's in the mail.

Mitchell Schwartz (24:02)

Hey, it's, it's, it's in the mail, my friend. And you're going to be able to showcase this, that this week. But shout out to Leonard Williams. You know, this team needed a big play and he delivered. He shined there for Breitling. Richard, you. I know you spoke highly of him, but how good do you think this defense was when they needed the most?

Richard Sherman (24:22)

They were as good as it gets. And they continue to shine, and it just seems like the more reps they get, the more games they get under their belt, the more consistent they get. And another thing, like you said, this game started disastrous. And when you have that kind of adversity, you have unexpected, really unforced errors. You usually can see what a team really is. You know, do, do you see start, you know, things start pulling at the seams, you start seeing guys point the finger at one another. You didn't see any of that this game. I think they've done a great job of putting those fires out, having those difficult conversations that need to be had, and really understanding that we're all going in the same direction. Guys aren't trying to make mistakes. Guys aren't trying to. And sometimes you need a little adversity. You know, sometimes that's what our defensive coaches would encourage us. They'd be like, hey, let's celebrate. The offense just threw a pick and we'd be like, I don't know if we quite celebrating, but I hear what you're saying, you know, it's another opportunity to show how great you are. And I think that this defense is starting to find that groove and starting to really take ownership and take pride in their ability to go out there and get stops when stops are needed, get stops in really tough situations and make turnovers and impact this game week in and week out. And they really have Kobe Bryant last week, this week, Leonard Williams. So I'm excited. I mean, the jets are what the jets are. Lost 8 of 9 since firing your head coach. Oh, be whoa Nelly. I guess how crazy is it that when you fire your head coach, things don't go great? I hope Woody Johnson is getting a hint, but something tells me old dogs don't learn new tricks and he's going to continue to do this until he's no longer the owner of the New York Jets. Unfortunately, jets fans, I'm sorry, I don't have a lot of positives to report on that. Ian Aaron, you know, two touchdowns, the interception to Leonard Williams that we talked about, Breeze Hall, I mean, just not, not a great game for this team. And they had opportunities to win it, opportunities to make plays. There were some calls throughout this game that I don't necessarily agree with, but that's how football goes. The Seattle Seahawks though, on the other hand, have a chance to go to Arizona next week and really, really make a statement in this NFC west and really pull away. This is, this is what makes these late division games so exciting that you got the Arizona Cardinals who were in the lead at the Division 2 three games ago. Now they've fallen behind, just took a loss to the Minnesota Vikings in a very hard fought game. Now the Seattle Seahawks go there with a chance to really increase their lead, playing their best football of the season. It's an exciting. What a time. What a time and what a turnaround. This NFC west is so unpredictable right now. I really can't call it.

Mitchell Schwartz (27:11)

It's awesome. It is awesome. And there's another battle brewing up north in the NFC North. I mean, despite the Detroit Lions 11 and one record, they still have the Minnesota Vikings right at their heels at 10 and 2. This NFC North's going to be a wild one. And Detroit hosted Chicago on Thanksgiving. Richard, I was there, you know, not a whole lot of folks expected anything crazy out of this game. Chicago has been on, on a slide of recent. Caleb Williams has looked so, so, you know, their offensive line looks incredibly suspect. Detroit dominates early injuries come defensively for them. Bears fire back in the second half and it comes down to the final possession and Matt Eberfluce. I don't know what he's thinking, Richard, but Jalen Johnson apparently went off of him. Adam, in the, in the Bears locker room. I mean, first off, what in the world is going through this guy's head? And second half is a competitor like Jalen Johnson, friend of the program. Put yourself in his Shoes. How do you respond when a coach makes a boneheaded move like that in the locker room after a passionate performance out there?

Richard Sherman (28:16)

I'm pissed because it's, it's uncalled for. This isn't like, hey coach, we need you to make some genius call to get us out of here. We need you to have some high level football intuition to make this a great game or help us win this game. We just need you to do the basics. We just need you to call a timeout so we can kick through, so we can kick the field goal, get out of here with a win. We don't need you to do anything crazy. We need you to have a plan. We need you to have a plan. They play you a lot of money just to have a plan. Not, not do anything crazy. When, when players aren't situationally aware, we get punished for it. When players aren't understanding, hey, this situation, a receiver catches the ball, he doesn't understand that it's two minute drill and they don't have timeouts and, and he's celebrating after the play or spiking it. He's going to get criticized. So Eber Fluss should get criticized, should get all the things that are coming his way, all the things especially after doubling down on it in the press conference after. And I think the Bears just had enough at that point because they allowed him to do another press conference I think to give him the opportunity to say something else and then he didn't and they said, oh no, that's it, that's it, get rid of him. But, but, but, but this is on Bears leadership too. This is on Bears leadership because way to waste a really talented team. Way to waste them. You know, way to, way to draft a receiver when you didn't need him. Like in this game you had D.J. moore 8 for 97, a touchdown, Keenan Allen 5 for 73, two touchdowns. What did you need another, what did you need another great receiver for? Roma Dunes is probably going to develop into a really, really good receiver in National Football League. This isn't about Roma dunesay. This is about a team that needed offensive line help going and having a, picking a luxury pick going for luxury and then keeping Ebert Fluss after the season after he's shown what he's shown, after what he's shown, after what he's shown, he's continued to show incompetence at times and you continue to say, hey, we're going to give him another shot and another shot and another shot. I thought, hey, they're Getting Caleb Williams, fresh quarterback, new quarterback, fresh start for the team, fresh head coach. But now you wasted a talented team, a really good defense that played really good to finish last year, really good to start this season. And even in these losses, most of these games, they played really solid, you know, but it's hard to play good when you don't have a chance. You know, we talked about the chaos that ensued when they were saying there was potential chatter about benching Caleb Williams. Obviously, some good conversations, some positive things came out of that. They were in this game with a really good chance to win. If coaching is the reason you lose and this coach has shown a propensity to make bad decisions over the last few years, he deserves blame. But there are other people. Whoever allowed him to keep coaching after last year, you deserve some blame, too. You knew who he was. You knew that this could happen. And this wasn't the first time it happened this season. That's on you. Bears leadership, whoever is in control. I don't know if it's the gm, the president, the owner, everybody has a different power structure. I'm not in those buildings. But in a division game that you kind of earned, you came roaring back. This was a team. This was the kind of win that brings a team together, that really gives them confidence to make a nice run at the end of the season. And a loss right here is what tears a team apart and kills the team going down a stretch. And so congratulations to your Detroit Lions. Don't. Mitchell. 11, 110 straight again finding ways to win each and every week, showing that, you know, division games, like I always say, they're a crapshoot in a dog fight. I don't throw the records out the window because they will not matter. These teams know each other so well. It's going to be a dog fight. And at the end of the game, it's usually going to come down to the last few possessions, who doesn't make a mistake, who wants it more, et cetera, et cetera. Amon, Ross and Brown, really good game. Jameer Gibbs, nine rushes for 87 yards to two receptions. Seventeen. And then what? What about the what. What about the reporter trying to get my boy Gibbs in trouble? Like, don't. Don't do all the messy nonsense. Don't try to. Don't try to bring drama into a franchise that doesn't have it. Don't try to inject some nonsense and storylines into there. The kid didn't mean anything by it. He didn't mean to show anything. And what was on the Board wasn't that important. Like, don't do that. I really. And I know Dan Campbell just, just did what a coach has to do in that situation. Understood the question, said he didn't know about it, so didn't comment on it. But stop that.

Mitchell Schwartz (33:00)

And for those that don't know what Richard's referring to, there was a recent social media post that the Jameer Gibbs made one of his teammates in front of a whiteboard with a bunch of the Detroit Lions offensive play calls on it. So he was being dragged in social media. But yeah, Richard, to your point, it was, it was a non. Event. I'm gonna let you know something back.

Richard Sherman (33:24)

To the if if I gave a team the first 15 plays for another team, Mitchell and I, or, or I just gave you game film, I mean practice film from that week, there are teams that could not stop you anyway and so don't let it confuse you. People are like, oh, they're good. Even away their secrets if they know the calls. Like, it's not like the NFL is rocket science. It's not like they're running some really complicated new offense that's never been had. You have to know when they're running it, what they're running, how they're blocking it, and then call the perfect defense to stop it. That. That's why I say people are like, oh man, the spy gate and all this with the, with the Patriots. I understand they were cheating or allegedly. But even if you're cheating, you got to still go out there and execute it. And not everybody's able to execute it to the, to the degree that you need to execute it. But. And we're watching film every week. We know the plays that run it, we know the plays they're running, we know the plays. We know when Jameer Gibbs is in. What they're running is probably going to be to the outside when. When David Montgomery's running is probably between the tackles. When you know, Amon Ross St. Brown's route tree looks very, very specific. If you really study it and break it down. So they're still going to do it and they're still going to beat you. That's what makes them great.

Mitchell Schwartz (34:36)

You're not wrong about that.

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Mitchell Schwartz (35:10)

But in terms of the Lions Richard, they've got some issues coming unfortunately in the in the form of the injury bug. Yet another player goes to IR and Malcolm Rodriguez they they've got some 12 players on their initial defense that is now on the ir. They've signed Jamal Williams, they've signed Quan Alexander, they've signed a couple other guys off Seattle's practice squad and the Ramses practice squad this this past week. If you're the Detroit Lions, how concerned are you about this rash of injuries that they are facing right now?

Richard Sherman (35:46)

I'm slightly concerned but not, not overly concerned because they'll get a lot of guys back before the playoffs and at this point they're pretty much into the playoffs. They're going to get in. I know they want to play in front of Detroit fans and they're going to have to pretty much win out. You know how tight the NFC north is to to do that obviously starting with this weekend. But the way you combat injuries especially in a secondary and linebacking core is a great front and the front eaten and DJ Reeder to two sacks this last game. Zedarius Smith got a sack and a half are really starting to come into their own. Zedarius finally, you know, getting his chance to show Detroit fans what he can do and he's a really talented pass rusher and great against the run as well. And I think, I think it'll be fine. They won't be able to be as aggressive in a secondary with man coverage. They'll likely have to play a lot of bend but don't break defense. So as fans you're going to have to just work with them and understand that this is what the way they're going to have to play. Unless you want guys to get beat. And you know, if, if you want them to play man all the time and you want Aaron Glenn to do that and these young guys get beat, then good luck to you. But I think he's going to come up with a really good plan to mask these deficiencies that they have and weather the storm. Obviously a really talented team in Green Bay, but a team that again it's a divisional game, it's going to get ugly, it's going to get nasty, it's going to be scrappy. They're going to have to run the football, manage this game, control that clock so that this defense isn't on the field as long. And that's the biggest, the biggest way you manage this, the biggest way you overcome these injuries, especially on the defensive side of the ball, is the best defense is a great offense and great run game. And you get up and you. You give them some cushion, you let them be able to rush the passer. And these young guys are going to have to step up. You guys have done a great job in Detroit developing young players, developing the culture. And the guys that they picked up are players. Alexander, I mean, he's going to be a spark plug if nothing else. He's going to be running like his hair is on fire. He's going to play hard. He's going to uphold the standard that they set in Detroit. And Jamal Williams, I mean, Jamal Adams is a guy.

Mitchell Schwartz (37:56)

Jamal Adams.

Richard Sherman (37:56)

Jamal Adams is a guy that, that will likely help with the linebacker situation if he's come to the understanding that he's not going to be able to help at safety like he's accustomed to. You know, I mean, you. At some point in your career, you have to understand everybody's saying the same thing. You're going to have to adjust. So I think they'll. They'll have him in a hybrid role if they. If they have that role for him, but I think they'll be fine. It's time for this week's tastiest matchup in a segment we're calling Sunday night Food Ball, brought to you by Uber Eats.

Mitchell Schwartz (38:27)

Richard, let's take the Philly and Baltimore. This probably was the game of the weekend. We saw two juggernauts face head to head, and ultimately Philly comes out on top. This team right now, the Philadelphia Eagles are so balanced. They did this without Devonte Smith. We saw Saquon Barkley continue his impressive streak of games, and I'm thinking he's firmly putting himself in that MVP conversation right now. Richard, this is Lamar Jackson's second loss against an NFC foe in the last 25 attempts. Believe it or not, the last loss was against Daniel Jones and the New York Giants a few years ago. How worried are you of the Philadelphia Eagles in the nfc? Their defense is coming together. These rookies on the defensive side of the ball are just absolutely playing lights out. Richard, what are your thoughts on Philly?

Richard Sherman (39:20)

Well, I like them. I like everything they're doing. It's just outside of Saquon. It's concerning right now. That's what I'd say because the games I've watched against the Commanders, the games you just watched Baltimore, when Saquon doesn't take over, even, even the New Orleans game early in the season, you know, it was a dog fight back and forth. Ended up 13, 15, I believe they got a lot of yards, but the game didn't really break open until Saquon literally broke it open and had a huge play, explosive play. And they're living and dying by that now. He's having an incredible season. So sure, maybe you can ride that all the way to the super bowl, but in the playoffs you got to kind of expect for your superstars to have an off game or have not have the same game that they had. He had 23 carries for 107 yards in a touchdown. I'm not saying Saquon isn't, isn't having an MVP all pro season. He definitely is. But in the playoffs somebody will play for the run. Somebody will play eight man box football all day long and say, hey, Jalen hurts. Beat us, A.J. brown beat us. Now. A.J. brown is one of the best receivers in the National Football League. Devontae Smith, I think is a really good receiver. Dallas Goddard had a, had a really good game in this game, especially in crucial situations when they had to have it. But 11 for 19 for 118 yards, one touchdown. I just not impressive. Just not impressive. Even with Saquon's 23 carries for 107 yards, this Baltimore Ravens secondary was, isn't considered great. You know, I mean right now I'd say Marlon Humphries is having a really good year getting turnovers, interceptions. But statistically overall as a past defense and rankings wise they're not not playing that great. So to be held for 100 to 118 yards as a quarterback with the weapons that I just told you about, including Saquon in a receiving game is what's. What is concerning to me. Obviously that defense like you said, Jalen Carter has really stepped up in a huge way as a leader and obviously continues to thrive as an impact player. Everybody's going to be scratching their heads later why he fails so so far in the draft. You know, we heard the nonsense that was that came up draft day and all that. And I'm sure the Eagles are very ecstatic that he fell there because all these Georgia Bulldogs are starting to play. Nolan Smith got another sack. This game are starting to play like they're capable of starting to show. Nicole Dean really starting to show what they're capable of. He had the interception to end the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars a few weeks ago. So I think that's also a part of it. Vic Fangio, I mean, I don't know if they have an assistant of the year award, but if they do, he's going to have, he's going to have a real good chance at it. If it's not him, it's Cliff Kingsbury or some of these other guys that are, have really been awesome at their jobs this year. But the concerning thing for the Baltimore Ravens is this was one of those ones that, I mean, you could say several times if Justin Tucker makes his field goals, they win the game and he's been so automatic for so long that it's almost like a foregone conclusion when he lines up, he's going to make it. And now it's gotten to the point where you're like, I don't know if I want him to kick it. I mean from, from 30. I know it's been really frustrating for Baltimore Ravens fans because as great as he's been for his career and I mean 2016 to 2023 was 91%. He was 265 for 290. Great. This year he's missed 10 field goals. He's 19 for 29, 70%. That's awful for a kicker. And if he wasn't the hall of Famer, future hall of Famer that he is, and Baltimore shows the kind of loyalty they should to a Hall of Fame kicker, a guy who's been lights out for a long time, I think they'd be trying out kickers this week and trying to replace him, but I don't think they'll ever do that. I think they have too much respect and regard and he's earned it. He's earned grace. But this is another game that you look at and you say, come on now, these weren't hard kicks. These weren't tough, crazy kicks. These are ones that you have to have. And Justin Tucker has been one of the most deadly long range kickers for a long time. If he does this in the playoffs, I don't know what they're going to do this off season with him.

Mitchell Schwartz (43:43)

It seemed to be this season's the year of the kicker. You know, we've seen so many kickers that have had issues and they're impacting their team's outcomes left and right. And here's another one for Baltimore. This surprised me even more that this was at home for them. I thought for sure they would take this game from The Eagles so impressed with Phillies defense and you got to give them credit. The Ravens go on a bye week this upcoming week so they can get their act together. And then the Eagles face the up and coming against Carolina Panthers who have proven to be a bigger challenge than most expected. That's this week's Sunday Night Football brought to you by Uber Eats, the official on demand delivery partner of the NFL. Uber Eats has the best game day deals all season long. Order now for game day. Let's go to the game of the weekend. In terms of just total style of play. I mean this was a wild one in Cincinnati against the Pittsburgh Steelers. It was the most points scored in a first half and 131 meetings between these two teams. Joe Burrow continues to impress. I mean the guys had a dynamite season and yet they cannot win a game. What is going on with Cincinnati? Because this guy could potentially lead the lead the league in passing yards, passing touchdowns and they're four games below.500. What in the world is wrong with Cincinnati?

Richard Sherman (45:03)

They can't play defense. They're not stopping anybody and it's, they have decent players but you're not going to just like Trey Hendrickson can't do it by himself. He's, he's their leading pass rusher but they have very little outside of him. Cam Taylor, Britt the pick six off the, you know, controversial non call call. I don't care. I mean these receivers get enough calls. It's, it's every now and then you deserve to not get a call and the defense benefit. I mean I'm tired of people complaining about stuff like that. But Joe Burrow and this offense are literally doing every single thing they can to score 38 points, three touchdowns. He did have the interception, but in a losing effort. I mean that's, I've never seen a team score this many points in losses. I mean they scored 33 plus enforced four losses this season. I mean it's only happened once to any other team in the National Football League. One time. They've had it happen four times. That's awful by the defense. And I guess clearly you see where you need to invest next season, your money and your capital and all that. But you're going to have to pay these receivers and you're going to have to draft defense. You're going to have to pay these receivers or you don't pay the receivers and your offense takes a step back and then your defense steps up and you're in the same boat because you're, you're not Scoring the most points. So I really don't know what you do. I know it's frustrating to be in that locker room. If you're Joe Burrow, you. You got to be saying, what more can I do? What more can I say? Jamar Chase, what more can I do? T. Higgins, what more can I do? Because no matter what they do, they continue to lose ball games. And I watched them lose to the Baltimore Ravens when he had 400 yards, five touchdowns, no interceptions. It's got to be frustrating, but you got to give the Pittsburgh Steelers, Mike Tomlin, Russell Wilson. This is the second highest yardage total of his career, probably his best game as a pro. 29 to 38, 3 14. I mean, 4 14. My apologies. Three touchdowns, the one interception. That was very. It was controversial to say the least, but he just really performed at a high level when they needed it. Obviously, this defense isn't great, but he's taken advantage of it just like everybody else has. He executed, got the ball to George Pickens when he needed to. He had three catches for 74 yards to touchdown, had some huge plays. Pat Farmuth, six catches for 68 yards, but they continue to show a balanced attack. Najee Harris, 16 carries, 75 yards. They're just doing what they need to do to win these games. And Mike Tomlin, with his 19th straight winning season, our 18th straight winning season without a losing record. What more can you say about him? It'd be really. I know Dan Campbell obviously has. Has a case for coach of the year. I think Tomlin is right there with him. Sirianni. With what. What the Philadelphia Eagles are. You know, fans were calling for his job early in the season. Here he is at the number 2 seed, 10 and 2. At this point in the season, he's going to have a. Have a case for it. Kevin O'Connell with a. With a. With a Minnesota Vikings team that I don't know is as talented as their record is. But you are what your record is, I guess. Pittsburgh Steelers deserve a ton of credit. Their defense, which has been really great this season, was not great this day. But the guy who's always great, no matter what Everybody else does, T.J. watt, he had two sacks. The force fumble on Joe Burrow. I love the way he plays. I love the way he plays. Because on that play, most guys would have went to wrap up or for a tough, tough hit on a quarterback and to knock him to the ground and gave the quarterback the ability to cock his arm back and throw. All T.J. watt did was slap the elbow, slap the elbow. I reached as far as I could and slapped the elbow. That's as close and as fast as I can get to the quarterback and be impact to play. Joe Burrow drops the ball. Huge play in the ball game. That just goes to his football iq, his impact as a player, all the positive things. Just a heck of a player and a heck of a play. Five quarterback hits in the game. They play the Browns next week and we watched Jameis and those guys beat him in that snowy, icy game where we're doing snow angels at the end. But this one is in Pittsburgh, so we'll see if they can repeat that performance. I'm sure they'll see some vulnerabilities based on what the Bengals were able to do, but, you know, we'll see. Football's football.

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Mitchell Schwartz (50:15)

Dealers are going to want their revenge. Let's talk a little about Russ, about Russell Wilson here, though, Rich. I mean, these last two years in Denver were ones I'm sure he wishes were not on his career resume. Ultimately forgetful, forgettable. And then he gets his way to Pittsburgh. You know, he's in a QB battle with Justin Fields and ultimately, you know, injures his calf prior to the season and works his way into the starting position. And now he's playing some of the best football of his career. You can see his confidence level. You can see him getting his receivers involved. And George Pickens. And now we see Pat Friar, mute, do his thing today. Russell Wilson looks really comfortable out there. And as you know, I mean, he can win, win these big ball games. What's the difference between this year and the last prior two years for Russell Wilson?

Richard Sherman (51:03)

Well, I think it's, you know, it's a combination of a lot of things. He's got a coach that believes in him. He has a very solid system around him. He's shown some humility. You don't, you don't hear the interviews and things that, you know, the catchphrases and things like that that he showed in Denver where it just seemed like he was trying to separate himself from the Seattle Seahawks and really identify himself as a, as an individual that plays at a high level that needs to be recognized week in and week out. I think right now he's just staying with the team atmosphere. You don't hear anything after press conferences outside of you know what, you need to hear the questions that are answered. I think Mike Tomlin has done a great job of managing the expectations from him and with him having really honest conversations with them the way they're coaching him. Arthur Smith has done a great job coming up with a game plan that, that really, really focuses on his strengths and spotlights the things that he does really well and keeps him out of the things that he doesn't do well. They, they, they, they have a really good run game and he's just played good football. I mean you got to give him credit. He's thrown the ball well. He's, he's been accurate on a deep ball which has been a standard and stalwart of his career. But these aren't the best receivers in the world. It's not like he's like these receivers have been outstanding for their entire career. Calvin Austin is catching touchdown passes. George Pickens called a touchdown pass. Fareyer Muth has been solid throughout his career. But you wouldn't put this as a top five, top 10 offensive weapons core in the National Football League. And so he has elevated them in a very cool way, especially this game. But the Bengals didn't, didn't do themselves any favors with the way they played some of these things. But you got to give them credit for doing what they needed to do and executing at a high level a really big time game coming up against the Browns that they're going to have to win to continue to keep that lead in the AFC North. With the Baltimore Ravens taking a really head scratching loss that we just talked about and now 8 and 5, a team that, you know, people are talking about two MVP candidates and likely won't be MVP candidates regardless of the seasons they have because of how far they've fallen off as a team in that category. It's hard to have MVP candidates when you're not in the top four top five in the National Football Leagues records wise, it looks like their division to have right now. You know, if they continue to play as they have and continue to. And Mike Tomlin is the really, he's the symbol of consistency in the National Football League right now.

Mitchell Schwartz (53:40)

Richard, let's take it to Atlanta. The Chargers going to Atlanta. Atlanta's desperate for a win. This is another division in the NFC South. That's. It's too close to call. And this Charger team, with the help of their defense, their defense is looking fierce out there. And Derwin James with the interception. Tarheeb still with the pick six. Four interceptions on the day, frustrating the living heck out of Kirk Cousins. We talked about the LA Chargers and their defense a couple weeks back, and the question to you was, buy or sell? The LA Chargers have the best defense in the league, and you sold on that. After today's outcome, do you think that you might have to rethink that?

Richard Sherman (54:26)

Well, I gotta rethink it to a degree, Mitchell, but they gotta do it in the playoffs for me to really consider it. So they are playing some really great football to overcome. The things that they did in this game was incredible. The fake punt, the failed fake punt, the fumble in their own territory. Those things that Justin Herbert got beat up in this game, sacked five times, only through 447 yards. 16, 23. And your defense still finds a way to get it done. I mean, hats off to them and what they've done this season. They're the reason this team is 8 and 4 right now. Justin Herbert hasn't had a really great season, hasn't had to be great. But again, like I said about, about Jalen hurts, he's going to have to be better than this in the playoffs. 16 for 23 for 147 yards. It may have gotten it done in his tight ball game against Atlanta because Kirk Cousins throws four interceptions. But in the ball game against Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, that's not going to get it done. And so kudos to the Chargers. Their defense deserves a ton of credit for everything they've done this season. They're putting it together. Derwin James with an interception. Tarheeb Steele with two interceptions, one of them being a pick six. Marcus May, who just got there, cut from the Miami Dolphins, picked up, goes in there, immediately makes an impact. Congratulations and kudos to him for a really good game. But concerning for the Atlanta Falcons, who were in control of this NFC south, take this loss and now give the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who come up with a huge win against Bryce Young and his Carolina Panthers team that has shown a bit of a resurgence late in this season, looked better. Bryce Young has played a lot better. I'm concerned because they ran Bajan Robinson enough. 26 carries for 102 yards in a touchdown Ray Ray McLeod has been a godsend for Kirk Cousins. Really been impactful. Four catches for 95 yards. They even got some, some sacks from their defense. But just an uncharacteristic game from Kirk Cousins. 24 of 240, 24, 39 for 2, 45. But the four interceptions are going to be the thing that keeps him up at late at night this week because they had a chance to win this game many, many times. I think the rest of their team would say they played well enough to win. But when you have those crucial interceptions and the Chargers deserve credit for those interceptions, it wasn't like he was just, you know, tossing these things up and they were getting lucky or tip balls or anything. But he's going to have to play better than that downstretch for them to have any chance of winning. They have a tough game against the Minnesota Vikings coming up next in the Chargers have a game I can't wait to see against the Kansas City Chiefs who have been living with a rabbit's foot in their shoe. I was at the game last week and I have not seen anything like that where we're walking out and it looks like the Raiders are driving down the field. Aiden O'Connell's having a game that he's going to be able to tell his kids about. He beat Patrick Mahomes and he beat him with a game winning drive. And you're like, man, I just don't see a way of the Chiefs getting out of this one. They have a play, they spike the ball all the time in the world to call the Play. And Aiden O'Connell comes out of the huddle clapping his hands for the ball. And when you clap in, the offensive line looks back, they see you clapping. The guard knows he doesn't have a lot of time. He's not thinking about anything. He's going to tap him and snap the ball. The problem was the receivers weren't set. And so as Aiden O'Connell is clapping, he looks around and sees people weren't set. It's going to be a penalty on the play. And he freezes. Unfortunate situation. They snap the ball, hits him in the shoulder, bounces to the Chiefs. They win the game. Every single week. It's look seems like something else is happening for the Kansas City Chiefs to get these ball games. But sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. And they're 11 and 1 and they're good and lucky.

Mitchell Schwartz (58:27)

That's, that's just it. They are it. It's tough to beat when you are good and very lucky. And the Chiefs are both of those things right now. And then let's look at the Falcons though. This the the story of this game is going to be Kirk Cousins heading home back to Minnesota for the first time since signing with the Atlanta Falcons. Atlanta's desperate for a win. What do they have to do to get things turned around here? This is three straight losses. They're in a tight division battle. Obviously the Minnesota needs to keep up the pace with the Detroit Lions, so they're going to be eager to get a win as well. What's it going to take for the Falcons to come out with the W?

Richard Sherman (59:03)

They're going to have to deal with pressure because Brian Flores is going to bring pressure. They bring it every week. They're riding a high horse. They feel really good about what they have in this Atlanta Falcons offense just hasn't looked great. They have all the weapons in the world, but it's been a bit of an up and down season. So they're going to have to protect her Cousins better. He's going to have to protect the ball a lot better. They're going to have to have a plan to deal with this pressure and to deal with the when they pop out and run cover two, that's going to be a big part of it. Convert. Because I think the other side of the ball, I think they got pressure on defense, they got sacks, they made enough plays, made a play in a special teams game, had a turnover on defense. So they did the things that they needed to do to give this team a chance to win. But you have to be able to convert on offense and they weren't able to do that. We'll see what they're going to be able to do against this Minnesota Vikings defense because they are feast or famine as well.

Mitchell Schwartz (60:00)

Well, Richard, that concludes our Week 13 recap. Sign us off, my friend.

Richard Sherman (60:06)

Well, we appreciate you. It's week 13 already. If your team's doing great, feel great, get ready for these playoffs, make your plans to maybe attend the game. If your team isn't doing great, study college because there's some good players out there that could potentially change the direction of your team. Thank you everybody who spent any time listening to this podcast. You could be anywhere in the world, but you're here with me and we appreciate it. Hit that sub button if you're new. Happy holidays. The volume.