Like sands through the hourglass, these are the Days of our NFL lives. We’ve replaced our regular NFL news and columns with worthless speculation and manufactured drama. Let’s see if anyone notices.
As hit pieces go, Seth Wickersham’s annihilation of Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman is a mafia car bomb. Seemingly out of nowhere, Wickersham unleashed all the dirty laundry of the Seahawks’ locker room, Sherman’s (and the entire team’s) issues with Russell Wilson and the infamous Super Bowl XLIX goal-line interception against the New England Patriots that has haunted the franchise ever since.
The shorthand version of the piece is that Sherman is a super talented, hard working, prick who can be a bad teammate to his offensive counterparts. Head coach Pete Carroll spends the article channeling Tony Robbins and a J.C. Penney’s Santa Clause. Russell Wilson comes off like he always does, like a nice guy and a full fledged cornball.
It’s that cornball-ness that appeals so much to Carroll. He loves Wilson and he should. Sure, he’s not Aaron Rodgers, but the dude is definitely a franchise quarterback and one of the 10 best in the league. It’s also true that Carroll’s affection for Wilson, and problems with Marshawn Lynch back a few seasons ago, led to the dumbest call in Super Bowl history. I was convinced, then, that Carroll made that call so that Wilson would be the game’s MVP instead of Lynch, who never had a remote desire to play the NFL media game. I haven’t changed my mind.
Richard Sherman told friends this offseason he imagined himself playing for the Cowboys https://t.co/aHVTang3uA
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) May 25, 2017
So if I, a guy on the outside, literally a thousand miles away, feel no different these years later, it makes a lot of sense to me that Sherman doesn’t either. What does seem to be the issue is his inability to get over it, which the ESPN article makes clear spurred all the trade possibilities this offseason.
Sherman has rejected everything about the story that is, without a doubt, true.
“It’s just a bunch of nonsense from ‘anonymous’ sources,” Sherman told SeriusXM’s NFL Radio Thursday. “Can never put much gravity on things like that.”
Wickersham didn’t remain silent either, not content to let the anti-Sherman piece (and that’s what it was) speak for itself. He shot off a Donald Trump-esque comment in response to this tweet from Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett.
https://t.co/oyFZxuSLHx @espn @ESPNNFL this article is trash and should be on tmz it's all gossip I'm Surprised this came from you
— Michael Bennett (@mosesbread72) May 25, 2017
“I’d like him to see my phone,” Wickersham told the Russillo Show. ” And see all the people in the building who say I nailed it.”
Here’s the thing. I’m 100 percent sure Wickersham did “nail it.” But who gives a shit? I don’t think it’s ridiculous that Sherman holds a grudge over how Super Bowl XLIX ended. I do think it’s shitty he keeps bringing it up.
Sometimes we just have to eat shit and roll on in life. Sherman, who had to wait until the fifth round of the 2011 NFL Draft, watching scrubs like Ras-I Dowling and DeMarcus Van Dyke get taken way ahead of him. Sherman needs to learn to play the long game.
Josh Norman stirs the pot
Oh, it wasn’t just Richard Sherman who made some waves in the drama pool. And Washington Redskins cornerback Josh Norman did it on purpose.
Norman unloaded all his gossip to the Bleacher Report Tuesday, giving his assessment of some of the wide receivers he faced in the NFC East. When it comes to Dallas Cowboys wideout Dez Bryant, Norman isn’t impressed.
“That’s a guy,” Norman said. : Just a guy.”
He describes arch nemesis Odell Beckham Jr. as “just a kid.”
Odell and the rest of the NFC East better look out:
Josh Norman fires warning shots, vows bad blood ➡️ https://t.co/chp530Qt1H pic.twitter.com/zwZKema1FV
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 25, 2017
Norman also threatened an all-out brawl when the Redskins play the New York Giants.
“Trust me when I tell you, it’s going to be bad blood this year,” Norman said. “You think the NFC East didn’t like each other before? This year right here? There’s going to be a lot of fines and maybe some suspensions. I’m going to be honest with you; This shit is going to get really ugly.”
For a fun contrast, Norman has a lot of respect for Julio Jones and Antonio Brown. So that’s good.
Brandon Marshall doesn’t
Just a few days after his former teammate, New York Jets defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson said there are “15 reasons” their locker room is better this season, New York Giants wideout Brandon Marshall didn’t take the bait.
Marshal, off course, wore No. 15 in his time with the Jets. So did Marshall deserve that parting shot? After opening the floor to “Sheldon Richardson” questions, Marshall didn’t add any fuel to the fire.
“Nah. I’m not a perfect guy, but I worked extremely hard to get in the position I am today,” Marshall told reporters. “The first couple years of my career was rough, and a lot of it I did myself. I hurt myself. And since that point, once I figured things out, I’ve worked extremely hard to be a better person and work extremely hard to be a better teammate, a better father, a better husband, and I’m proud of where I’m at today. I wake up every single day trying to make a positive impact in any room that I step into.”
Richardson and Marshall evidently had a feud that “fractured the locker room” last season in a dysfunctional 5-11 season.
OBJ skipping OTAs
Another day, another skipped organized team activity from New York Giants star wideout Odell Beckham Jr. To make matters even more scandalous, Beckham is working out with none other than Johnny Foozeball himself, former Texas A&M quarterback and Cleveland Browns draft bust Johnny Manziel.
Defensive end Olivier Vernon skipped the first two days as well, but unlike OBJ he actually has some money at stake. If Vernon attends 90 percent of the team’s voluntary programs, he earns a $250,000 bonus. Evidently he’s, literally, banking on later workouts.
“You want all your players here, especially your great players,” Giants head coach Ben McAdoo said. “It’s a time to build fundamentals, communication, chemistry and trust, so you want all your players here, especially the great ones. They facilitate a lot of those things for you. But you coach who is here. That’s what time of the year it is for us.”
Since the first couple of days are voluntary, it’s probably not a big deal. But hanging out with Manziel probably makes the Giants nervous, to say the least.
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