Sherman’s postgame comments make instant sound bites

RENTON, Wash. – Richard Sherman doesn’t shy away from talking, whether on the field trying to rattle the receivers he’s defending or just chatting in the Seattle Seahawks’ locker room.

And Sherman didn’t avoid talking on Tuesday, albeit with a slightly more subdued tone after two days during which his comments following the Seahawks’ victory over New England drew national attention.

Sherman said he had no regrets about his strong comments and messages from his Twitter account after Seattle’s 24-23 victory. While some of his postgame comments in the locker room became instant sound bites, it was a tweeted picture that drew the most attention.

Sherman sent a picture from his account that showed him talking in the face of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady that included an added message and a question “U Mad Bro?” The second-year cornerback said he was directed to remove the tweet from his Twitter account, but didn’t regret any of the attention that has come his way.

“I don’t regret anything about the situation. It is what it is,” he said.

Quickly known around the league for his chatting on the field, Sherman and Brady started talking during the second half of Sunday’s game when the Patriots were leading 23-10. The message from Brady was for Sherman to seek him out after the game, which he did after Seattle scored 14 points in the final 7:31 to shock the defending AFC champs and drop them to 3-3. That led to captured images of Sherman talking to Brady after the game.

But Sherman was still fiery when reporters were let into the locker room and he popped off about what he felt was disrespect from national pundits toward the Seahawks.

“It’s not a shock for us. We believe we have a great ballclub and we believe we can play with anybody,” Sherman told reporters after the victory. “NFL Network and all of these pundits think they know everything and we keep shutting them up week, by week, by week, by week. They thought (New England) was the greatest ball club to step on the earth. They’re 3-3, .500. I don’t know what great ball club is 3-3.”

Sherman tried to clarify Tuesday that his remarks weren’t meant to be directed at Brady.

“It was definitely more about us than about him,” Sherman said. “I’m talking about our back end and the three Pro Bowl players we have back there, how great our (defensive) line is playing, how awesome our linebacker play is, how great our rookie quarterback did against Tom Brady.”

Speaking to Dial Global Sports before Monday night’s game, Brady avoided speaking directly about Sherman’s comments.

“He’s a very good player and I have a lot of respect for that defense and certainly that secondary,” Brady said. “They play very well together. My dad taught me at a young age to play with class and respect and give my opponents respect, and certainly I have a lot of respect for the Seahawks.”