Richard Sherman was speaking from the context of a feud with Michael Crabtree that goes back to last summer. Both were at Arizona star receiver Larry Fitzgerald’s charity event, when Sherman went up to shake Crabtree’s hand. According the Sherman’s older brother, Branton, Crabtree tried to start a fight. During that altercation, Crabtree “said something to me, and I told him I’d make him pay for it on the field.” His “rant” on TV, following the game, was speaking to Crabtree in reference to what he told him last summer.
After Sherman’s tip of the ball that denied Crabtree his touchdown reception, this is Sherman’s account of what happened next:
“I ran over to Crabtree to shake his hand but he ignored me. I patted him, stuck out my hand and said, “Good game, good game.” That’s when he shoved my face, and that’s when I went off.”
I will agree that Richard Sherman’s “Beast Mode” was in all of its raw form before the viewing audience. It was a glimpse into the emotional state of the players. I can understand why we do not get the micro-phoned sound of the field action. We used to, and we could hear all the grunts and pops of the field play. I imagine we would now get some pretty salty language that would turn off many an audience fresh out of their Sunday worship service. We know in Seattle that Michael Sherman does not censor his language. However, we know him as a pretty decent guy.
This speaks of the real person that Richard Sherman is:
“Navorro Bowman is a great player who plays the game the right way. When he went down, I dropped to a knee and prayed for him.”
You can read Richard Sherman’s columns in MMQB here:
http://mmqb.si.com/author/shermmmqb/
I don’t recall players in the 1960’s throwing fits like that in front of a national audience. Players took care of business on the field, not in front of a camera with a mic. Imagine what Vince Lombardi would have done to one of his players if they pulled a stunt like that.