Richard Sherman knows football. The former Seattle Seahawks multi-time All-Pro wasn't elite because he was simply big and quick. He was those things, but he had an ability that most others didn't: He could (and would) outthink his competition. He was simply smarter than other people.
That has remained the case now that he commentates on the sport. He hosts a podcast and is part of Amazon's Thursday Night Football broadcast. Sherman speaks with informed opinions and does so in a way that forces people to listen.
One of his most recent observations might be concerning for Seahawks fans, however. The main reason is that the former cornerback is correct in his theory. That would be that Seattle is a very good team, possibly the class of the NFL, but one key player needs to be better: Sam Darnold.
Richard Sherman speaks the truth about Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold
Speaking on his eponymous podcast, Sherman talked about how great the Seahawks defense played against an overmatched Minnesota Vikings offense in Week 13. Seattle got its first shutout since 2015, and the Vikings were shut out for the first time since 2007. Quarterback Max Brosmer was awful, but Seattle's D made sure he stayed that way throughout the game.
But Sherman wanted to make sure that while the defense might be good enough to get to the Super Bowl, Darnold needs to clean up his play in order to make sure the offense is ready for the postseason, too.
Sherman said, "Shaky game for Sam Darnold, and we knew it would be. That ups the concern level for the Seattle Seahawks, and I'm sure the fan base because these are the issues that showed up before. These are the issues that plagued him in Minnesota last year, and the issues that continue to plague him now."
The Seahawks icon (and likely future Pro Football Hall of Famer) is also expressing the same trepidation about saying Darnold is great because the quarterback hasn't shown he can consistently be great in the most important games. His four interceptions in a Week 11 loss to the Los Angeles Rams didn't help his narrative.
Sam Darnold must be great against the Rams later this season, as well as the San Francisco 49ers and Indianapolis Colts. After that, assuming Seattle makes the postseason, the quarterback needs to be excellent in his second-ever playoff game and then follow that with another good performance.
Darnold can still change the narrative that Richard Sherman talked about with elite playoff production, but unless he does that, he will always be seen as a quarterback who can't win the big games. Let's hope that changes this season.