Before last week's matchup against the San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman was told by a reporter that Pro Football Focus had him as the 82nd-ranked cornerback in the NFL through six weeks.
"It doesn’t really mean much to me," Sherman said. "That’s a fun stat, I’m sure. But no, nothing’s been different. I think teams are trying a lot of underneath stuff, and if people don’t know the play calls, sometimes it’s hard to dictate who’s supposed to be where. But I’m sure those guys do their best, and I have no problem with it."
Against San Francisco, head coach Pete Carroll and defensive coordinator Kris Richard opted to have Sherman travel with wide receiver Torrey Smith. The result? Zero catches on the night. Smith had not been a volume pass-catcher (26 receptions), but he was averaging 23.1 yards per catch on the season and had made grabs of 25+ yards in four of the previous five games.
Afterwards, in the locker room, Sherman was reminded of the No. 82 ranking.
"I don’t concern myself with stuff like that because games like this, you don’t give up a catch, you don’t get any action. I’m pretty sure I’ll probably have a negative grade," he said. "I think I did everything I could to help my team today, guarding my receiver. People might say what they might about me following the No. 1. I followed their No. 1 guy, didn’t let him have a catch. But I’m sure I’m going to have a negative grade because they don’t grade things like that. There were certain plays where we got sacks because he was looking at my guy. Whenever you’re trying to track stuff like that, it’s always flawed. So I don’t worry myself with that. I know I’m playing good football. And I think it’s recognized around the league.
"People always have something. They’ll say something about the receivers I’m following. People always need something to say. At the end of the day, that’s why you can’t concern yourself about stuff like that. You just self-motivate."
The truth is Sherman is being asked to do even more than he has done in years past. In the opener against the St. Louis Rams, he moved inside to nickel in the Seahawks' sub packages. In the Bengals game, after A.J. Green hit on some big plays early, Sherman shadowed him and slowed him down in the second half. And against the 49ers, he traveled with Smith all game long.
The Seahawks' No. 1 rule for their outside cornerbacks is not to get beaten deep. Cary Williams' best matchup is probably against bigger receivers who aren't true vertical threats. Sherman's versatility has allowed Richard a degree of flexibility in game-planning and calling coverages.
"Absolutely he has," Carroll said. "We haven’t been able to take advantage of him working in the nickel spot, but that’s an illustration of that, exactly, and he’s very comfortable with all of that. The best part about it mentally, he’s so up for the challenge and all those kinds of things, and so we can use just about anything he can do in the corner with Richard."
Sherman's role will be worth watching in the next month, starting with Sunday's matchup against the Dallas Cowboys, who could get Dez Bryant back from injury. After the bye, the Seahawks have a matchup with the Cardinals and Larry Fitzgerald, who has 12 catches of 20-plus yards, second-most in the NFL. And in Week 12, they welcome Antonio Brown and the Steelers to CenturyLink Field.
"I enjoy it when I get it, but honestly, whatever helps the team," Sherman said. "I try not to be selfish or say ‘I want this guy’ or anything like that. I just play what they want me to play. If they tell me, ‘Go get this guy’ then I go get him. If they tell me to stay on the left then I stay on the left. If they tell me to play nickel then I play nickel. Whatever they ask me to do."