Richard Sherman discusses what it means to play CB
Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman wrote about what it means to play cornerback in the NFL for The Players Tribune.
Richard Sherman is a lot of things, and all of them are awesome. If you haven’t read the Seattle cornerback’s writing for Sport Illustrated and MMQB, you’ve missed out on some insightful looks at the NFL. He’s back again this week, this time writing for The Players Tribune.
Sherman gets into some of the elements of playing cornerback that never get talked about broadcast TV. He makes some really solid points, including some stuff that we often take for granted.
For instance, cornerbacks have to have amazing endurance. Receivers will rotate on and off the field, taking turns running go-routes while Sherman and other corners follow them. Unlike their offensive counterparts, the defensive backs have to keep chasing them without ever getting a break.
And then there’s the tape study. Sherman is one of the hardest-working corner in the NFL in the film room. It is part of what makes him so good.
If you want to know just how hard he studies, here is a great example from last year’s playoff game against the Vikings. It was -6 degrees, with a wind chill of -25 degrees.
A few plays into the game, my visor was frozen over and fogged up, so I could barely see. I lined up across from a wide receiver on a small sliver of the field that was still in the sun. The rest of the field, from the numbers closest to me to the far sideline, was under stadium’s shadow. When the ball was snapped, I felt the receiver engage me and then push off.
Screen!
I looked into the shadows toward the quarterback and I couldn’t see anything. Between the sun and the fog on my frozen visor, I was blind. It was like I was staring straight into a sheet of ice.
Sherman was mostly blind, but he knew what the play was. He looked down below the frozen visor at the receivers socks, and trusted his instincts. He waited just long enough for the ball to get out there and then stepped up and broke up the pass.
It was a great play by Sherman under any circumstances. To make that play when mostly blind is incredible, and a testament to how hard he works at his film study.
Sherman also gets into explaining the different techniques that corners use. I’m not sure I’ve ever done a good job of explaining what makes the kick-step technique that Seattle uses so difficult, and also so effective. Sherman does a good job of explaining it in very basic terms.
Sherman doesn’t go into great technical detail, but his explanation of the difference between the kick-step, soft shoeing, and other types of coverage is excellent. If you don’t know what we mean when we talk about the kick-step technique, Sherman’s article is a great place to start learning.
Overall, Sherman’s article should be required reading for all Seahawks fans. Heck, even non-Seahawks fans should point their browser to The Players Tribune. It’ll definitely be worth your time.
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