Richard Sherman Reality — Act II
October 11th, 2021
Yes, Richard Sherman missed a tackle on the Dolphins’ opening play yesterday, four plays before he gave iconic Miami receiver Preston Williams an eight-yard cushion on 2nd-and-1.
Williams was targeted on that snap, caught the pass in front of Sherman and blew past him for a 34-yard gain like Sherman wasn’t there.
Perhaps Sherman, in fact, was not there. Bucs fans have yet to see the special cornerback known as Richard Sherman.
Is someone going to tell Joe that Sherman was too gassed and not up his playing capability on the game’s opening drive?
Fast-forward to the end of the first half and Sherman missed key tackles as the Dolphins were in their 2-minute drill. At 1:26 remaining, Sherman flat out whiffed, and two plays later he was at it again allowing Miami to get in field goal range and out of bounds.
The Shaq Barrett strip-sack bailed the Bucs out before halftime.
Sherman was given the brutal task of jumping into the Bucs’ starting lineup against the Patriots despite just three practices. And then came yesterday’s performance a week later (Joe will spare readers a look at the second half).
Perhaps it remains unfair to expect much from Sherman off the street at 33 years old. But Joe’s not sure Sherman will improve much. He looks a step slow and gassed and hardly eager in the run game.
Joe remembers very well when a 32-year-old and healthy Darrelle Revis signed a lucrative two year deal with the Chiefs in November of 2017. (Yes, November.). Revis put very ugly play on film and the Chiefs cut him after the season.
He never played again.
Joe is pulling for Sherman but not as hard as Joe is praying for Carlton Davis and Sean Murphy-Bunting to return. Sorry, but Joe’s not about to pretend the guy’s looking any better than Dee Delaney or E.J. Biggers.
October 11th, 2021 at 11:54 am
IMO, Sherman is there to hold down the fort until Davis and SMB returns. I’m not expecting 2015 Sherman. Just hold it down until those guys return.
October 11th, 2021 at 11:58 am
Joe, since the beginning of this season Bucs are missing tackles everywhere….I agree with you on Sherman, but please take a look, on Whitehead, CDIII and specially on White…..I am astonished……We need to get better on this area….you can´t miss tackles against the good teams, in case we don´t get better we will be fried…..One of mi biggest concerns…..
October 11th, 2021 at 12:00 pm
I think someone just caught another 50 yards TD on Biggers
October 11th, 2021 at 12:00 pm
Expecting Sherman to return to Pro Bowl form is unfair and unrealistic. He’s a savvy vet who isn’t quite in game shape and probably isn’t familiar with our scheme.
Sherman is probably better in zone than man-to-man at this point in his career and that may make him a liability in this defense.
It’s disappointing in a way. We fans want to see the former bada$$. He’s just not that guy anymore.
October 11th, 2021 at 12:03 pm
Don’t see Jamel Dean looking any stronger than Sherman at this point.
October 11th, 2021 at 12:06 pm
I was following Sherman’s moves through the games. He used to be excellent on press coverage, but he is not any longer. These two past weeks, he stepped as he was going to be on press, but just before the snap he started to run backwards because he didn’t want to be behind the WR, and then the passes went short or flat and completed and in some cases he missed tackling. I love the idea to have him in the team due to he can teach to the young some tricks, but to be honest , he looks old now. Hope I am wrong and he elevates his game.
October 11th, 2021 at 12:06 pm
Sherman will be fine he is still learning the offense, similar to Brady coming into our offense, until you are comfortable with the language you will be slower in your reaction time. As Gronk looked slower in the beginning and said it was because he was still learning the plays. When our plays and language becomes natural like breathing then there will no hesitation. Sherman is a great pick up and will show it as the season goes on so as Aaron Rodgers said R E L A X.
October 11th, 2021 at 12:07 pm
He is what he is at this point, playing like a street free agent. Sherman himself mentioned upon signing that he wouldn’t be ready in two weeks, so it’s hard to say whether Sherman is still capable as a CB. I do expect a better level of play after the Thursday night game.
That being said, I sure hope the Bucs trade for a CB in the next three or so weeks.
October 11th, 2021 at 12:08 pm
Such a terrible take on Richard Sherman
October 11th, 2021 at 12:09 pm
Joe, I love reading your articles but your being way to hard on Sherman. He hasn’t been with the team that long! I was at the game yesterday with great seats and Sherman made some great tackles and did a good job covering his guy in the 2nd half!
October 11th, 2021 at 12:20 pm
cut the guy some slack man. it’s a miracle he’s still healthy after going from the couch to a huge game and then a hot as heck S. FL game and still kicking.
October 11th, 2021 at 12:21 pm
the Sherminator!
October 11th, 2021 at 12:27 pm
Have to give the guy a little time. If he still looks like this after the bye week, I’ll agree Joe. But in my mind, just too early to tell yet.
October 11th, 2021 at 12:30 pm
Richard Sherman….the new whipping boy…..how much did we sign him for….50 cents & a free car wash coupon?
The fact is…..our defense averaged 29.3 points per game before Sherman……BS
and 17 points after Sherman.
Sure…..a stretch but….true.
October 11th, 2021 at 12:55 pm
Tbbf, interesting point. The bottom line is we threw this guy in with almost zero practice time, learning a brand new system, and then running him back to start the next game after surely being more sore than our other starters from an inactivity standpoint, now he’ll play on a short week Thursday night. Don’t expect too much more on Thursday. Now after that we get a short bye and I would expect some improvement. Particularly after our true bye week. Not sure why Joe is pounding him so hard. No one thought he’d be a savior, merely a placeholder. And yes, we signed him for pennies all considering.
October 11th, 2021 at 1:01 pm
Memo to Todd Bowles.
There is no worldly excuse for the poor tackling. Malfeasance is rampant throughout the defense.
Poor and sloppy technique is not a weight room issue.
October 11th, 2021 at 1:10 pm
Tsmitty3000 is exactly right. He was brought in to plug a hole, not make the Pro Bowl.
October 11th, 2021 at 1:41 pm
R Sherman is like the rest of our crappy D, the difference is he may get better after some playing time, while the rest suck…. like this year, last year, the year before that….. and with Smith time as well…
RSh is not the problem, he just can’t be the solution of this CRAPPY D.
October 11th, 2021 at 1:44 pm
Your pretty quick to judge on a guy who just got here 2 weeks in he had had to play both weeks I thought he did pretty good yesterday he blew 2 plays but I’ve also seen Davis blow 2 plays before
October 11th, 2021 at 1:45 pm
NEWSFLASH: SHERMAN DOESN’T CALL THE PLAYS.
That cushion was on Todd Bowles.
Not saying Sherman is playing great, but any “spacing” issues like playing off receivers is the doing of Bowles play-calling.
October 11th, 2021 at 1:45 pm
Memo to @Biff Barker.
Todd Bowles isn’t on the field.
October 11th, 2021 at 1:47 pm
‘Sorry, but Joe’s not about to pretend the guy’s looking any better than Dee Delaney or E.J. Biggers.’
Oh wow, lumping Sherman AND Delaney in with E.J. Biggers? Does your cruelty know no end?
October 11th, 2021 at 1:50 pm
I’M ALSO CALLING A “JOE CONSPIRACY” HERE…
Joe(s) must have had some after hours beers with Davis, Dean, and Murphy-Bunting over the past couple of years and become buddies with them.
Rarely does Joe criticize the repeated piss-poor play of those 3 guys. Instead, we get articles on “stats” allegedly proving these guys are elite or whatever — which NONE of them are.
Sherman hasn’t played great, but he’s already had some solid plays which look a helluva lot better than Dean and SMB most of the time. Those guys have consistently been BURNED for the past 2 seasons.
The “Gravediggers” dug their own grave to start the season even when they were all healthy. Let’s face it… THEY SUCK. One of the weakest secondaries in the NFL.
October 11th, 2021 at 1:52 pm
Sherman is a stopgap and so far, we’re surviving. His leadership will help us in the playoffs and think he’s an asset for the team considering his experience. I’m not too troubled by his performance. The guy was on the couch two weeks ago.
October 11th, 2021 at 1:55 pm
Richard Sherman has been exactly as described. Solid. He’s been on an island often with little back end help. Of course he’s going to have to be conservative. He was never a speed demon. He makes his money on instinct and knowledge. I like how he’s played. He’s not been shutdown but also not getting torched and often times is in great position. He’s done an admirable job and likely will be more of a dime package guy when SMB and CD return.
FYI. I thought Dean was excellent in his first game back.
October 11th, 2021 at 1:56 pm
Gronk looked old for the first 8 weeks of last year. Then he looked like Gronk for the playoffs and sb and started this year as a 25yo Gronk. So let’s not call the goose cooked quite yet.
October 11th, 2021 at 1:57 pm
TBBF … You’re spot on; Sherm’s being asked to do the impossible. Like starting in a complicated defensive system after being here for 3 days with 1 practice? Coming off an injury after over a year out of the game? At age 33? What could possibly go wrong?
With Dean back now (he played 100% of the defensive snaps yesterday) and Cockrell in good health & doing better (he played 85% of the snaps yesterday), I’d use those 2 outside & put Sherman in sparingly on Thursday night. Let him learn the system & get back into shape. Sherm’s getting a lot of tackles (and missed tackles), but I have yet to see him get a PD. And they’ve been targeting him.
October 11th, 2021 at 2:10 pm
Wow, you really went low there Joe.. EJ Biggers?
October 11th, 2021 at 2:33 pm
I didn’t want Sherman signed in the first place…he’s never been as good as people gave him credit for. The only reason he even got attention was because he screamed in the face of a woman reporter after winning a Superbowl.
But…with how thin we are in the secondary…I suppose he is better than nothing.
October 11th, 2021 at 3:18 pm
Sherman is a liability, he is doing NOTHING to slow down the opposing offense and he is getting pass interference penalties–yesterdays pi penalty was egregious.
October 11th, 2021 at 3:20 pm
Sherman is fine too much has been expected of him too early just because of who he is and name recognition he literally just came off the couch into a new system and some people are expecting pro bowl play not realistic they had 17 points not the end of the world we will be fine u til we get our starters back
October 11th, 2021 at 3:22 pm
He will definitely improve when he gets in shape. Give him another 3 weeks. It took Gronk 4 months before he could run dont we recall??
October 11th, 2021 at 3:29 pm
I seem to remember the same concern about Gronkowski last year. How did that turn out. Give Sherman some time to learn the defense and to get into game shape. Things will work out give it time.
October 11th, 2021 at 3:47 pm
I think y’all missing it… Sherman will get there I’ve no doubt. But you can’t expose your game plans till playoff time.. Bet they start bumping at the line cone then.
October 11th, 2021 at 3:50 pm
Just like the offense… They’ve got plays they won’t use til then cause they could flat out burn a team everyone healthy
October 11th, 2021 at 4:07 pm
Defense Rules,
Put Sherman in sparingly on Thursday night? ROFLMAO.
I’d take Sherman playing with a broken arm, blind in one eye, and a pulled a hamstring over relying so much on Jamel Dean.
October 11th, 2021 at 4:31 pm
Maybe it’s unfair to expect any more from Joebucsfan. Just a guy with an opinion and a site.
October 11th, 2021 at 5:18 pm
Dear Richard Sherman,
Thank you for coming aboard and taking on so much responsibility with no time to prep. Just keep grinding until the starters return.
Sincerely,
Realistic Bucs Fans
October 11th, 2021 at 5:31 pm
I second that @SlyPirate!
We are lucky he is here. He could certainly retire if he wanted to.
October 11th, 2021 at 5:40 pm
As a longtime Niner Fan, I have been observing Sherman’s play for YEARS when he was on my team. FIRST: Sherman is not good at man-to-man coverage like he USED to be. He is best used as a zone defender now. SECOND: Richard Sherman brings a LOT of defensive savvy to the Buccaneers and his off the field advice is VERY VALUABLE. He makes Tampa Bay’s defense a lot better with his coaching younger players. LASTLY: Richard Sherman is an EXCELLENT run stopper in places where you would NOT expect a cornerback to be. Buccaneer Fans should consider themselves LUCKY to have Sherman in such an emergency situation that the Bucs found themselves to be in.
October 11th, 2021 at 5:54 pm
Didn’t Jamel Dean have an INT in that Miami game. Oh wow! I guess that must have been pure luck because he is so crappy. I guess that Superbowl was luck too. I guess being the favorite in Las Vegas to repeat, that must be luck too. We’ve got some real morons on this site.
October 11th, 2021 at 9:23 pm
I miss when the Joes were bitching about giving up on a bum leg Revis. I also miss their pimping Bud Light, like it was real beer. Ah..the good ole days.
October 12th, 2021 at 1:35 pm
zzbuc nailed it- every single guy on defense has been missing tackles this entire season. Pretty pathetic to watch.
I mean did anyone see JPP yesterday? Whiff, whiff and some more whiffs.
October 12th, 2021 at 8:50 pm
Does nobody remember this dude drunk driving all the way to Seattle to try and break his in laws door in. Had to be arrested by the authorities and his own significant other had to call the cops on him? Dude totally got a free pass and he’s not even that good of a player anymore. Why ain’t nobody talking about Antonio browns criminal acts too. Always call it “off season stuff” maybe talk about how he assaulted a moving company employee or is facing sexual assault charges. But he gets to play for a super bowl team and make million? Somebody hold the NFL responsible for making criminals rich and not doing anything about them
October 13th, 2021 at 5:09 am
What a crock of nonsense. Guy came off the couch & his therapist couch 2 weeks ago. Did he b**ch or complain when asked to play 4 quarters on 3 days w the team? Hell no; he got out there and showed up even though he humbly admitted his legs were jello. Even your “god” Tom Brady could not have done this. I hate Brady & Arians but i root for Bucs if Sherman is there. He has more football IQ than u ever could dream of. I hope Sherm knocks it outta the park after bye week just so we can say we told u so
October 13th, 2021 at 11:42 am
Well it’s a good thing that “Mr I think I’m so special that I refer to myself in the third person Joe” that we don’t really care what you think
Just report the news “Joe”
October 14th, 2021 at 3:42 pm
I believe Sherman has a lot of talent and will prove it. I am not concerned that he is “done”, at all. And furthermore, I get sorely confused with so many writers offering “Joe’s” opinions. They sometimes surely show that they are different people writing.
October 14th, 2021 at 8:37 pm
Jpp was clearly held on that replay
October 14th, 2021 at 8:38 pm
That big scramble was where jpp was blatantly held