What I would do with Sherman

QuahHawk

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The L.O.B is officially done....

What exactly does that mean. The futures of Kam, Earl, and Sherm are all up in the air. The odds all three return to the field together at 100% has to be about 1 million to 1. Maybe less, I'm sure Vegas has odds for this somewhere. I am not going to go into all the options of what I think could happen with Kam or Earl, I just want to focus on Sherman here.

The Seahawks actually have some leverage with his contract. He is due 13.2 and we would save $11 if we cut him if possible. I think Sherman really does want to be here, and learned a good lesson after his off-season nonsense about getting traded. A new deal would be much more team friendly than the extension they gave Kam, but also extending him this season would offer him the long term security he is concerned with after the big injury. He will also get to end his career as a Seahawk.

Sherman will be in the HoF...

He will go down in history as one if not the best tacklers in the game. He will also be recognized for his ability to track the ball and bring in INT's at an elite rate. Not to mention his big mouth and game saving big plays.

Is Safety an option?

Sherman following in Woodson's footsteps.

"In order to go from cornerback to safety, a player must be (1) a strong tackler, (2) instinctive and (3) realistic. All three points make straightaway speed secondary (no pun intended). If a player can anticipate a throw, the early jump puts them in position get their target to the ground." http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1334 ... -to-safety

Both Kam and Earl could be gone and that leaves a giant hole to fill. Sherman was never a speedy guy, he has made up for speed with smarts, technique, and determination. If he is a half step slower will he be better served for us jamming slot receivers, matching up on big speedy TE's, roaming the middle picking off deep balls, and filling the gap on run plays. I think it could extend his career another 4 years if he makes the switch.

With a more team friendly extension say 4 year $40 mil w/$16 Mil guaranteed we could save $5mil this season and have Sherman at $8 mil for next year. Is this the future for us or does he move on too?
 

Sports Hernia

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Keep Sherm, Keep Earl, Keep McDougald, problem solved. There are other areas to “create cap space”.
 

chris98251

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Woodson was fast and a great athlete, Sherman isn't quick and is too lanky for Safety or even the slot.
 

Smellyman

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chris98251":2dhd89at said:
Woodson was fast and a great athlete, Sherman isn't quick and is too lanky for Safety or even the slot.

Do you think you need to be quicker at safety or corner?
 

kobebryant

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I think he might be far too slim for the middle of the field.

I can’t think of too many safeties who would have had as low a bmi.
 

original poster

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I wrote an article about this for my website, I'll copy and paste it below.

Any Seahawks fan will remember the rumblings last off season surrounding the team, Richard Sherman and his apparent trade block status. As we all know, nothing materialized and Richard remained on the team for the 2017 season.

Was the team’s asking price too much? Very possibly. Was there no genuine interest from other teams? Doubtful. I suspect the team were asking for a similar deal that sent Darrelle Revis to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from the New York Jets in 2013 for the 13th overall pick in that year’s draft, plus a conditional 4th the following year. The team very likely received trade offers in the late first/early second round which would have surely tempted them, but ultimately, decided to keep Sherm in Seattle for the 2017 season and beyond.

With what we know now, getting a late first or early second would have been tremendous value given he was injured in early November and out for the season with a torn Achilles.

It’s a moot point, though. Fact is Seattle kept him in 2017 and he suffered a season ending injury. But what should the team do with him in 2018?

Sherman is a perfect athlete in terms of his body for Pete Carroll, arguably the best DB developer the league has seen. He’s 6’3”, 32” arm length and 9 ¾” hands. Looking at his playing style, he’s never relied on his outright speed (he ran a 4.56 40-yard dash), what he has relied on is his ability in press coverage, his ability to read plays, his length to reach the ball and his natural ability to bait QB’s into thinking he’s out of position. Those traits don’t leave after a torn Achilles, fortunately. So there’s little to suggest that he won’t bounce back to, at the very least, 80% of his previous ability covering the left side.

The big question for me is what Seattle wants to do in free agency whether it be resigning existing players of bringing in outside players. Cutting Sherm releases $11M from the cap for 2018, that’s borderline superstar money. In reality, Seattle won’t be able to make any big splashes in free agency outside of depth players and a few vet minimum type contracts and if they’re happy with that route, I’m certain Sherman will be back in 2018. However, if they want to make a splashy signing, cutting Sherman makes the most logical sense to free up the money to do so.

It's worth noting that on Thursday, ESPN reported that Sherm himself expects to be back with the team in 2018 and will be representing himself in any extension talks further down the line. He plans to play for a further 5 to 6 years. Very interesting.

Pete Carroll has proven he can develop cornerbacks and defensive backs in general so if the ball was in my court I’d cut him this off season, invest that $11M into the offense to bring back some balance to the cap split between offense and defense and draft a corner in the middle rounds that fits their height/length requirements and let Pete work his magic. Not to mention bringing back the likes of Byron Maxwell and DeShawn Shead for depth.

For me personally, it’s a no-lose situation. I’d be perfectly happy with keeping him for the final year of his contract, let him play it out then collect maybe a 4th or 5th round comp pick in 2020. We get a highly respected player around the younger guys for another year, a proven player who is guaranteed to start the entire year (barring injuries, of course). What’s not to like? But at the same time, I would be accepting of the front office cutting bait with him and, as mentioned previously, transitioning his salary to the offensive side of the ball, ideally to the interior of the offensive line.

I’m absolutely against giving him a third contract, though. The rest of the division is getting younger and as much as it pains me to say it, we can’t rely on this current core of players forever. You need to be smart with the roster and continually giving aging veterans large third contracts sets you up for disaster from a cap perspective and injury-risk standpoint. This league is designed for 20-somethings, not 30-somethings, for the most part. Unless, of course, he would take a significantly lower 3rd contract in the $4M-ish range. But that’s highly unlikely and very much a pipe dream and borderline insulting to him to suggest it, given all he has done for this team. He effectively put Seattle into their second Super Bowl appearance in the franchise’s history with the ‘tip’ play against the 49ers in the NFCCG. I firmly stand by the notion that I’d rather have fond memories of the endless highlight-reel like performances that he put out game after game than to sign him to a large 3rd contract and watch him slowly decline to a point where he’s benched for someone else. Nobody would want to see that.

Whatever Seattle decides to do, we will know in the coming weeks as free agency opens up in a little over a month. I’m expecting a hell of an off-season, that’s for sure!

Thank you for all you’ve done for this team in your 7 years, Richard. You will always be a Seahawk in my eyes.
 

Sgt. Largent

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I'm not sure we can do anything with Sherman right now, he's still recovering from his achilles rupture.

He said he thinks he'll be back in time for training camp, but that's no guarantee..............might be into the season before we can even think about cutting or trading him.
 

Chapow

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Smellyman":k0ty4qkq said:
chris98251":k0ty4qkq said:
Woodson was fast and a great athlete, Sherman isn't quick and is too lanky for Safety or even the slot.

Do you think you need to be quicker at safety or corner?

Hmm, 3x all pro, 4x pro bowler at CB, yet he's not quick?

Not buying it. He's obviously quick enough to be one of the best CB's in the NFL.
 

IndyHawk

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Chapow":1nnnwpsg said:
Smellyman":1nnnwpsg said:
chris98251":1nnnwpsg said:
Woodson was fast and a great athlete, Sherman isn't quick and is too lanky for Safety or even the slot.

Do you think you need to be quicker at safety or corner?

Hmm, 3x all pro, 4x pro bowler at CB, yet he's not quick?

Not buying it. He's obviously quick enough to be one of the best CB's in the NFL.
You can be quick in reaction time to make up for lack of speed.
I always say..Think fast/move fast..
 

Sgt. Largent

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Chapow":jedsbz5j said:
Smellyman":jedsbz5j said:
chris98251":jedsbz5j said:
Woodson was fast and a great athlete, Sherman isn't quick and is too lanky for Safety or even the slot.

Do you think you need to be quicker at safety or corner?

Hmm, 3x all pro, 4x pro bowler at CB, yet he's not quick?

Not buying it. He's obviously quick enough to be one of the best CB's in the NFL.

Sherman's 40 time coming out of college was 4.56, was one of the main reasons he fell as far as he did. Most corners are in the 4.4's.

But Pete and John wanted his length, intelligence and chip on his shoulder...............and that's made all the difference in Sherman being one of the best corners in the league.

As far as him being a good safety? I think it'd be a tough transition for Sherman, he's a good tackler, but he's not big enough to be a strong safety, and not quick/fast enough to be a free safety.
 

Trrrroy

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Let him play out his final year, let him walk and get a comp pick next year.
 

NFSeahawks

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Smellyman":1d0hd99a said:
chris98251":1d0hd99a said:
Woodson was fast and a great athlete, Sherman isn't quick and is too lanky for Safety or even the slot.

Do you think you need to be quicker at safety or corner?

Safety.

Also, quick doesn't mean fast, two different things.
 

Smellyman

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NFSeahawks628":3233v7tk said:
Smellyman":3233v7tk said:
chris98251":3233v7tk said:
Woodson was fast and a great athlete, Sherman isn't quick and is too lanky for Safety or even the slot.

Do you think you need to be quicker at safety or corner?

Safety.

Also, quick doesn't mean fast, two different things.

Feels like this is bizarro world.
 

KiwiHawk

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Smellyman":1bq4xjx4 said:
NFSeahawks628":1bq4xjx4 said:
Smellyman":1bq4xjx4 said:
chris98251":1bq4xjx4 said:
Woodson was fast and a great athlete, Sherman isn't quick and is too lanky for Safety or even the slot.

Do you think you need to be quicker at safety or corner?

Safety.

Also, quick doesn't mean fast, two different things.

Feels like this is bizarro world.
Not at all.

Put a Lamborghini against a Tesla. The Tesla is quick - it will thrash the Lambo off the line. The Lambo, however, will eventually overtake because it is faster (higher top speed). (Edit - referring to the P90, not the upcoming Roadster which would thrash the Lambo on both fronts).

Sherman makes up for lack of closing speed with play recognition. It doesn't matter how fast you are if you are already there because you read and anticipated the play.

I don't have much of an issue about lanky - I don't see the Enforcer role lasting much longer with the emphasis on reducing concussions. Sherman would be a ball-hawk with the vertical to compete with tight ends for catches. He doesn't bring a ton as a hitter, but he's a sure tackler which is another important job for a safety. I hate it when the receiver bounces off a shoulder-hit and continues to run. Hawk-tackle him and get him on the ground.
 

Smellyman

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KiwiHawk":2l76ph8q said:
Smellyman":2l76ph8q said:
NFSeahawks628":2l76ph8q said:
Smellyman":2l76ph8q said:
Do you think you need to be quicker at safety or corner?

Safety.

Also, quick doesn't mean fast, two different things.

Feels like this is bizarro world.
Not at all.

Put a Lamborghini against a Tesla. The Tesla is quick - it will thrash the Lambo off the line. The Lambo, however, will eventually overtake because it is faster (higher top speed). (Edit - referring to the P90, not the upcoming Roadster which would thrash the Lambo on both fronts).

Sherman makes up for lack of closing speed with play recognition. It doesn't matter how fast you are if you are already there because you read and anticipated the play.

I don't have much of an issue about lanky - I don't see the Enforcer role lasting much longer with the emphasis on reducing concussions. Sherman would be a ball-hawk with the vertical to compete with tight ends for catches. He doesn't bring a ton as a hitter, but he's a sure tackler which is another important job for a safety. I hate it when the receiver bounces off a shoulder-hit and continues to run. Hawk-tackle him and get him on the ground.

I know the difference between quick and fast.

Referring to the point that quicker is more preferred at safety. Ask 100 GMs and coaches and 100 of them will say they want a quicker corner than safety.
 

KiwiHawk

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Smellyman":ag0x26iv said:
Referring to the point that quicker is more preferred at safety. Ask 100 GMs and coaches and 100 of them will say they want a quicker corner than safety.
Ahh.

It's likely to do with recovery. If a guy misses a tackle then the safety as the last line of defense needs to be able to close and and make the play, which requires speed. However, that's more the free safety than the strong safety. I don't believe they should be lumped together as "safety" since they require different skill sets. Chancellor has nearly a 4.7 40 speed, but you know damn well when he gets there. Thomas is closer to 4.4, so he can keep up with and in cases overtake receivers to make a play.

Sherman as a strong safety would be a different beast again. He wouldn't hit as hard as Chancellor. Where Chancellor makes receivers think twice about going over the middle, Sherman would make QBs think twice about throwing to the middle, which has the potential to be equally if not more effective. As a comparison, Sherman is the same height as Ken Easley and only 11 pounds lighter.

Again, Sherman is not as violent, but again I see rules changing around concussions and I would not be at all surprised so see those big hits regulated out of the game.
 

massari

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[tweet]https://twitter.com/MySportsUpdate/status/963985045223608320[/tweet]
 

SoulfishHawk

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Meh, you could say that about most players. Teams will always listen, it just would take a lot for them the budge.
 

Seymour

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Yes, teams will always listen, but they only advertise for other "more real" reasons.
 

Sgt. Largent

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massari":1db8lvn1 said:
[tweet]https://twitter.com/MySportsUpdate/status/963985045223608320[/tweet]

If we didn't get a high first round offer for Sherman healthy last year, then we're sure as hell not going to get a good trade offer for him injured AND with one year left on his contract, which diminishes his trade value even further.
 
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