Richard Sherman’s post-Super Bowl press conference quotes
By Josh Sanchez
Richard Sherman was one of the most talked about players leading up to Super Bowl XLVIII, so everyone was waiting to see what would happen when he sat behind a mic following the Seattle Seahawks rout of the Denver Broncos.
Sherman took the opportunity to praise all of his teammates for their performances during the game, while touching on a variety of different topics.
Here are quotes from Sherman’s post-game press conference that were distributed by the league:
(on Seattle’s defensive performance) “Well, I think it was a total team effort and it took a lot of discipline and hard work. Hats off to Peyton Manning, he’s the Offensive MVP, Offensive Player of the Year, and no disrespect to him, he’s still a great quarterback, one of the best of all time. But, today we just played sound football. We were able to execute, and we did it. We did it.”
(on QB Russell Wilson’s leadership and composure) “I think Russell stayed poised all year. He stayed poised in dire situations and he really matured throughout the year. If anybody deserves this, he deserves it as much as anybody out there.”
(on if he anticipated that the defense would be so effective against Manning) “Well there’s no way you could anticipate affecting a world record setting offense, and (with) the kind of season he was having, there’s no way. Even with the season we had, you can’t anticipate him having a bad game like that. We were able to affect him a little bit, and make some big plays. (SS) Kam Chancellor played a great game, and (LB) Malcolm Smith was very opportune, (and) (CB) Byron Maxwell had a forced fumble. I think everybody played their behinds off and I think it was more about what our players did well, than Peyton.”
(on the satisfaction of putting everything together in the biggest game of the season) “It’s incredibly satisfying, man. That’s the first time anybody has seen our offense at 100 percent, for a whole game, with 11 out there and with (WR Percy Harvin) returning kicks. His second kick return to the house in the Super Bowl – that’s exactly what we expected from him. He did a great job all week, and our offense, with him at 100 percent, they’re hard to stop. Even though they call our receivers pedestrian, week-in and week-out, I think they are far from pedestrian and they’re big time playmakers in this league, and they showed that tonight.”
(on if he was surprised that the defense was able to limit Denver’s high-scoring offense) “You can never expect it, but I wasn’t really shocked. I expected us to stand up. I didn’t expect us to give up a whole lot of points. It’s not our standard to give up a whole lot of points. We haven’t done it all year, so it’s nothing to say that we would give it up today. We knew we would play sound football and tackle well. That’s some of the stuff we saw on film, a lot of missed tackles, a lot of guys over pursuing and not being disciplined, and we knew that we could play better football than that.”
(on Seattle’s 12th Man) “It’s unbelievable. 12th Man, we did it, we brought the Super Bowl back. We love you guys and we’re on our way. It means a lot. I think Seattle deserves this more than any city, and they’ve been faithful since the beginning. So, first Super Bowl (for) Seattle, we brought it.”
(on how the defense won the mental game against Peyton Manning) “We were who we were. We didn’t change anything. I think a lot of times guys get too infatuated with trying to change things, trying to disguise and trying to play his game. We’re a simple defense. We run a simple scheme. You know what we’re going to run. We’re not going to disguise anything and we’re just going to try to execute, and today we were able to do that.”
(on what kind of message the Seattle defense sent to the world with the victory) “I think we showed them that we’re up there. We’re a bunch of misfits, in some ways: fifth-round, Kam Chancellor; sixth-round, Byron Maxwell; fifth-round, Richard Sherman; fourth-round, (CB) K.J. Wright; undrafted, (DE) Michael Bennett. (DE) Cliff Avril, (DE) ‘Big’ Red Bryant, (Brandon) Mebane – lot of guys that not a lot of people have heard of, who probably should be Pro Bowl, and All-Pros, and things like that. I think (the world) learned how complete of a team we are, (and) how complete our defense is. It’s not just the Legion of Boom back there, with four guys who play good football, it’s a great linebacking corps, (and) a great D-line who gets a lot of pressure. Cliff Avril is a great player. Mike (Michael) Bennett, (DT) Tony McDaniel, Brandon Mebane, those are all great players and I think they deserve the respect.”
(on how the defense handled the crossing routes and picks from the Denver offense) “We zoned it off and we hit them. We hit them. That was our plan coming in – we were going to run and we were going to hit. We were going to continue to hit them. If they caught those (passes), then they would have to deal with us after they caught them. That was our plan the whole game. We weren’t really trying to affect Peyton in that way, but if his receivers, if we could intimidate them in some way, that’s what the plan was.”
(on Kam Chancellor’s first big hit of the game) “Kam’s first hit was exactly what it was about. Kam said he was going to set the tone early, and that’s what he did when he hit (WR) Demaryius (Thomas) on the crosser.”
(on the ankle injury that he sustained during the game) “It was a rough game, but this championship hat, winning, (and) achieving the dream really numbs the pain, a lot. I was saying that I let my teammates down and I wasn’t able to finish the game, but I knew that they would step up for me and do that. This feeling is just unbelievable. It’s a dream come true.”
(on Super Bowl MVP Malcolm Smith’s performance) “I think Malcolm Smith was overshadowed last week with all the noise with my rant and everything, all the attention that it got. People lost track of Malcolm Smith making an incredible interception that sealed that game. Today, I think he really put a stamp on the game with the interception for a touchdown, that was a huge play, the fumble recovery, (and) various tackles. He played a really complete game, and he’s a really complete player. Once again, a seventh-round pick. I’m not sure everybody does their due diligence with some of our guys. Like I said before, I don’t believe in the draft process and the way things are done in that regard, because look at this, a bunch of sixth, fifth-round and undrafted guys in the Super Bowl, playing. I mean, who’s got it right?”
(on some of the things he said to the Denver receivers during the game) “There wasn’t really a lot of talk, to tell you the truth. They’re hurrying up (to the line), so there’s no room for wasted breath. You have to get ready every play, be prepared, get your indicators and things like that. So there wasn’t a lot of back-and-forth to tell you the truth.”
(on if the absence of trash talk is a good indicator for the level of respect he has for the Broncos’ receivers) “Oh, totally. There was mutual respect from both sides. You don’t come in with a record setting offense, and the No. 1 offense in the league, without great playmakers, a great quarterback, a great scheme, and great players. And we don’t come in here with the No. 1 defense, without great players, great scheme and great playmakers. I think they respected that, and we respected that, and we went out there and played.”
(on what he plans to do next) “I don’t know. I’m trying to make it to Disney World if I can, but I might be limping around. I think we’re just going to go back out to Seattle and enjoy it with our fans. They’ve been waiting a long time for this, and we’ve been waiting a long time for it. A lot of hard work, a lot of doubters out there, who didn’t believe we’d get it this far, and didn’t believe we’d win it when we got here. And hey, don’t doubt us again.”
(on if he could have asked for a better defensive start) “No way. No way. That was a dream start, to tell you the truth. You couldn’t have scripted it any better. With the safety and all of that happening, I guess it had to do with our fans, more than it had to do with us – the noise that they were making. Then on the second drive, Kam (Chancellor) really set the tone with the hit on Demaryius (Thomas) on the crosser, and we really got into our rhythm. Earl (Thomas) made a great statement before the game. He told us, ‘Let’s get lost in the game. Let’s show them what we’re really about. Let’s get lost in it. Let’s go out there and get in our zone and never come out of it. Let’s go play our best football.’ That’s what we tried to do.”
(on how the defensive line generated pressure on Peyton Manning) “Well, they’re great players. Our D-line is full of big time playmakers. It should be full of Pro Bowlers, but sadly they rotate a little bit too much to get the respect they deserve, but with Mike (Michael) Bennett out there, with (DT) Clint (Clinton) McDonald, with the amount of snaps they get, the number of sacks and pressures they get, it’s unbelievable. If they played a full game, they’d have some pretty amazing stats. But they sacrifice that for our team, and for the dream of the team, and we appreciate them. Mike Bennett came here and took less than what he could have got other places, to win a championship. Cliff Avril did the same, Tony McDaniel did the same, and we’re glad we could give those guys a championship.”
(on how he got injured) “Demaryius ran a screen, I drove down on the screen and got hit kind of awkwardly, and my foot was stuck in the ground. Later on they ran a curl route, I tried to break on it, it was an awkward break and you just feel the crumbles and the pops in the ankles. It sucked.”
(on winning the Super Bowl) “We had a lot of hard work, a lot of dedication and the team deserves it. (QB) Russell Wilson, (S) Earl Thomas and (S) Kam Chancellor, they deserve this. The ‘Legion of Boom,’ baby. I hope we etched our names in the history books. This is the No. 1 offense in the history of the NFL and we were able to play a good game against them. (Denver QB) Peyton Manning may go down as one of the greatest to ever play the game, and we’re just blessed to have an opportunity to play against him. I can’t believe it.”