Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman (25) at a press conference at The Westin in advance of Super Bowl XLVIII. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
San Francisco 49ers star quarterback Colin Kaepernick is one of the most quiet players in the NFL, and he rarely ever draws attention to himself, with the exception of when he strangely wore a Miami Dolphins cap (and then a bunch of people exaggerated it to the point where the story became sickening to read). He’s also a classy dude, as evidenced by his comments to Seattle Seahawks star QB Russell Wilson following the 49ers last-gasp NFC Championship Game loss.
All of his makes Kaepernick’s comments directed at Seahawks outspoken cornerback Richard Sherman all the more surprising, but it also isn’t surprising to hear him defend his top wide receiver in Michael Crabtree, who isn’t a “mediocre” receiver. For the record, I’m not someone who hates Sherman at all, but I was honestly glad to hear Kaep fire back.
The New York Post’s excellent Bart Hubbuch recently had an exclusive interview with the bicep-kissing QB, and he was kind enough to leak out some interesting quotes before publishing the piece. Below are a couple of them, and they can all be found on Hubbuch’s Twitter account.
“His comments were ridiculous. If you have to tell people how good you are, then how good are you really?”
Great point.
“He’s afraid of our receivers, and that’s something I’m looking forward to next year.”
That might be too strong of a take, but I like his confidence. Then again, that same kind of confidence caused him to throw it into Sherman’s wheelhouse on that play…but he has a rebuttal for that one.
“If I throw that ball one foot farther, it’s a TD and now you’re the goat, Richard Sherman.”
OK, that wasn’t the best rebuttal, but the important thing is that he took the blame away from Crabtree and put it on himself like a team player. Then again, it might just be a personal statement, since he didn’t mention Crabtree by name.
“Did that make you feel better about yourself? Then go ahead. Because I’m not worried about you.”
This comment was in response to Sherman’s somewhat classless choke sign following the play. The rhetorical question was well-executed by Kaepernick, but that last sentence could come back to bite him.