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Two weeks ago, Richard Sherman called the Seahawks a “middle-of-the-road” team. He was asked whether he has been surprised with the success of Seattle, which, after its 21-7 win over Minnesota Monday night, now sits at 8-5 on the season.
Sherman made that comment prior to his first matchup against his former team. And the Seahawks went on to trounce the 49ers, 43-16, in Week 13.
“They’re 6-5,” Sherman said at the time. “It’s not like they’re 8-1 or 12-1. If they were that, I’d be very surprised. But kind of middle of the road, they’re fighting every game, they’ve won some close ones, they’ve lost some close ones. Kind of expect that.”
Sherman’s words got back to Seahawks defensive end Frank Clark Monday night, and they did not seem to sit well.
“At the end of the day, ‘middle of the road,’ that’s Richard Sherman being Richard Sherman. He’s not in this locker room anymore, so his opinion really doesn’t matter,” Clark said, via the Seattle Times. “You know what I mean? They’ve got problems over there in San Fran that he needs to be worried about. At the end of the day, this is my team now. This is my defense. Richard Sherman and his era is over here.”
The Seahawks visit the 49ers for the second time in three weeks this upcoming Sunday at Levi’s Stadium. The Seahawks have won 10 straight in the once-competitive rivalry.
“If he’s got anything to say about our defense, he can say it on the field. We’re 1-0 against Richard Sherman right now, and we’re 1-0 against the San Francisco 49ers this year. Our plan is to be 2-0,” Clark said. “So, we’re going into their stadium next week with pure aggression. We’re going to stop that run, and we’re going to have fun on third downs.”
Clark joined the Seahawks as a second-round pick in 2015. Two seasons prior, they won the franchise’s first-ever Super Bowl, led by one of the best defenses of all-time. Sherman, a three-time first-team All-Pro, headlined that unit and its “Legion of Boom” secondary.
Clark said that Super Bowl victory, and the sting of coming painfully close to another one the following year, “lingered” in the Seattle locker room when he arrived. It took a while for the new regime to settle in. While there are still parts of that defense, most notably linebacker Bobby Wagner, intact, the majority of the unit is comprised of new faces.
“The difference from then to now is we’re finally starting to let that off – we’re finally starting to let that off our shoulders and take that weight off,” Clark said.
Added Wagner, via ESPN: “I think you just try to let them know that you don’t have to be the dudes that used to be here. You can make the position special yourself. You don’t have to be like Sherm. You don’t have to be like Kam (Chancellor). Those are amazing players, and they’re, like, once-in-a-lifetime players, so you don’t have to be that.”