The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Richard Sherman Podcast - Seahawks-Patriots Super Bowl Pick: Maye vs. Darnold, Seattle D, Pats X-factors | Richard Sherman NFL

Episode Date: February 3, 2026

Richard Sherman analyzes the Super Bowl matchup between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots, exploring the key matchups, coaching strategies, and pivotal moments that define championship games. Sherm discusses why Seattle’s defense can disrupt Drake Maye, how Sam Darnold’s resurgence changes everything, and why Jaxon Smith-Njigba is set for a big performance. From Mike Macdonald versus Mike Vrabel to the game plan on both sides, Richard offers his official Super Bowl prediction, final score, and MVP choice, along with insights on Super Bowl week distractions, legacy moments, and what it takes to win on the NFL’s biggest stage.   All lines provided by Hard Rock Bet. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Welcome back to the Richard Sherman podcast, and I just want to say, I appreciate you guys. You can be getting your NFL content from anywhere, but you're here with me. I'm thankful for you. So hit that sub button so you can get the next. notifications when I'm dropping a new episode.

All love, hope you guys are having a great new year's, accomplish it all your New Year's resolutions, and staying healthy. Welcome back to the Richard Sherman podcast, and it's the end of the line, the Super Bowl preview between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots, the game that we've all been waiting for. And I know you Seattle 12 have been waiting for this for far too long. It's revenge time. a revenge tour. I know New England, y'all feel good. You're like Drake May, MVP candidate, MVP, MVP.

Nah, it's over with them. It's over with. This is ending this week, well, next week on Sunday. And I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I know we got to wait to get through the whole preview, but y'all know how I feel about this one. I'm incredibly biased. But the biasness is rooted in fact and structure. This team is good, Mitchell. They are great. the right to be here, Richard, and you called it from the onset of this season. This Seattle Seahawk team has shocked a lot of people, but I don't know if they necessarily shocked you. And kudos to you, my friend. Kudos to you. You said the energy in that building was different in training camp,

and here we are on the brink of Super Bowl week, and the Seattle Seahawks are in Santa Clara ready to strap them up. Richard, there's going to be a lot of storylines going into this game, but I think the biggest one is how well Seattle's defense can contain Drake May. Listen, I know the guy's young. I know he's, you know, he's come onto the scene here pretty darn quick and he's taking the lead by storm. Whether or not he wins the MVP this year, which I don't think you will, but he's earned the right to be in that discussion.

He's elevated this New England Patriots team from the depths of this league. And credit to him and Mike Vrable. Richard, I know you're high on the Seattle Seahawk defense, but what challenges do you see Drake May presenting to the Seattle Seahawk juggernaut defense? Well, we can get into it. Drake May presents a plethora of issues for the Seattle Seahawks. He's mobile. He's got 141 yards on the ground,

had 66 against Denver Broncos, I mean, had 65 against the Denver Broncos. He's 66 in the wild card matchup against the Chargers, and those were pivotal plays, critical plays. When things broke down, he used his legs and really flipped the field in a lot of those situations. So the Seattle Seahawks are going to have to be wary of that. This is a fast-swarming defense. So I know that Mike McDonald is going to try to get him to speed up his clock.

There's a reason Mike McDonald has had so much success against these young, young quarterbacks, against quarterbacks under 23 years old, Mike McDonald is 6 and 0. The quarterbacks have thrown one touchdown and they've thrown eight intersections and been sacked 22 times. His looks are complex. They just make your pause just long enough to diagnose, hey, is it what I thought it was or is it something else? He does a fantastic job manipulating the eyes, manipulating what you expect to see. But Josh McDaniels is going to do a good job trying to play. preparing for some of these looks. But again, this is a young quarterback who's played at a really

high level. But in this playoffs, you got to get him a lot of credit. He's gone through some of the toughest defenses you're going to see in his national football league. He struggled against the Chargers in that game, especially early on. That game was three six for a long time. And then, you know, things start snowballing. Houston Texans gave him all he could handle. And of course, everybody knows how C.J. Stroud struggled in that game. A lot of turnovers. The game got out of hand. Drake May made the plays necessary for his team to win. And then you get to the Denver game.

He only had 86 yards past, and he almost ran for as many yards as he passed for in that game. And we all know the elements were an issue, the snow and all that. But there's not a huge, like, big-time go-to receiver in this game for the New England Patriots. Now, Stefan Diggs is a household name, a guy who has had a lot of success in his league, who can get you a first down when you needed. Kishon Booty made a huge. Huge play in that Houston Texans game against one of the best corners in the national football league.

First team all pro, Derek Stingley went up top, one-handed in the end zone. So, hey, regardless of the circumstances, regardless of the elements, I'm a big-time player. And his draft stock fell because of some off-the-field issues and things that don't need to be talked about. But he's showing that he can be a big-time factor in this league. And I think he's their best receiver. And there's no question about that. But again, this game that Mike McDonald's. employees, you don't necessarily need a guy in that way.

The pressure will get them, the looks will get them, but they have great corners. Tariq Wulin, if you look at Tariq Wollin, Josh Joe, and Devin Witherspoon, those three corners have allowed, I think, the least yards per catch and per reception in the National Football League, and they're all on the field. Mike M. D. Donnell keeps them all on the field at the same time. You already know Nick M. M. War, he's going to factor into this game. He may be guarding booty. He may be guarding Trayvionn Hendrickson.

He may be guarding Remandre Stevenson. He may be guarding Hunter Henry. He could be anywhere. He may be Blitzin. He may be at D-Tocker. You never know where you're going to find Nick M. M. Worry. It's like, where's Waldo.

Like, where you find him, the action usually will be, though, Mitchell. But I think, I just, I assume that Drake May will struggle in this game. Not that he won't be, not that he won't be accurate, Not that he won't be effective, but I expect him to struggle. He struggled in a lot of these games, especially early on, but the difference between these guys and the other guys, is this defensive line will come in waves. There's just going to be a lot of guys rotating in there.

They're not going to get tired, and this offensive line has already allowed him to be sacked 15 times in these playoffs. He got sacked five times each game, and he's beaten up. He's questionable in this game. Obviously, he's going to play. Everybody's questionable. Everybody with a cue next to their name is playing. But there's a reason he's beat up.

It's because of this offensive line. And I know Mike McDonald will make it hard for him again in this game. They run the ball pretty well, but this is the number one team against a run in the Seattle Seahawks. They're not going to allow them to run a ball. They're going to make Drake May beat them. And is he going to have enough time to operate in the way he wants to? Is he going to be able to take advantage of the matchups? I know the Patriots fans are like, look what Stafford did.

I think in this game, you're going to see the difference between Matthew Stafford and your young Drake May. Not that Drake May won't eventually get to where Stafford. is, but he does not to see the game as well as Matthew Stafford does. I'm sorry, Patriots fans, if that's news to you, but that's going to be news. I know you want the young kid to be MVP, and I'm sure he's going to have an MVP in his future. It's not going to be this year. I'd be very surprised if they gave it to him this year. That'd be very disappointing because of the season that Matthew Stafford has had.

But if you want to see the clear difference between Matthew Stafford and Drake May, you will watch how they play these two games. You just watch Matthew Stafford play a phenomenal game against the Seattle Seahawks. I mean twice in the last, what, month played really great games. One time he had, last game he had 374, I think, and the game before that he had 457. That does not happen often against the Seattle Seahogs defense. Now you're going to get to watch your pride and joy, Drake May against his same defense

in great conditions. They're going to be in Santa Clara, California. It's not going to be snow. It's not going to be rain. It's not going to be wind. It's not going to be elements. And you're going against a really great defense. And you're going to see it's easier, Seth, and done throwing the football against

this defense, but I know Josh McDaniels and Mike Grable will have a great plan for him. Can they execute? We shall see. On the flip side of that, what can this Patriots defense do? They do a lot of things well. They do a lot of things well. They play a lot of men coverage in the back end. When they play zone, they do a great job of disguising it.

They got a big time playmaker in Marcus Jones, whether it's in the special teams, pump return game, kick return game, whatever it is. If he gets his hands on a football with the interception, he had a pick six against Houston Texans where he's the best athlete on the field. And there's no question. There's no debate about that. And then you talk about Christian Gonzalez,

who I think is the best player on that defense. And then Carlton Davis, a guy who plays the game at a very high level and a very underrated player in this defense, I believe. He had two interceptions in the game against, two interceptions in the game against Houston. that were critical plays. And one of them was on a short route.

He just plays the game the right way. He's where he's supposed to be. He's a perfect hand and glove fit for this game and what Mike Raples wants to do. But it's Milton Williams and Christian Barmore that are the lynch pins in this defense. If you cannot move them, you will not run the ball against this team.

And then you got Clavon Chase on, a guy who was a high round draft pick, a very high draft pick, who didn't necessarily work out. And I think it was Jacksonville. But he comes here and he just fits with Mike Vrable. It's like it's symbiosis. These guys fit what they're trying to do.

He shows his players a lot of love and a lot of respect. And there's so much care in that building. You can see the respect and love that he has for his players and how inspiring that is to them. Those guys go out there and push it to the limits, get everything they can out for their coach. And I feel like the same way for the Seattle Seahawks. But I just feel like the Seattle Seahawks are the better team in this game.

I do believe, there's no accident that the New England Patriots are here. They're here because they have earned it. Now, did they run into fortuitive circumstances in some respects? No question about it. But hey, you play who's in front of you. Hey, could they have beaten Bow Nicks? Maybe, but they barely beat Jared Stiddle. So could that have gone different if Bo Nix plays?

Maybe, but who cares? If was a fifth, you know the rest. They have to compete against Sam Darnham. who's playing some of the best football of his life. He played against the Rams, and that was the opponent. I think most skeptics and critics would have said, hey, that's the team he doesn't want to see.

If the Rams would have lost Chicago and Sam Donald would have played a great game against Chicago, everybody had been like, oh, man, he got lucky the Rams didn't show up. He got lucky the Rams didn't win. But the fact that he had to go against the MVP of the league this year, which I'm assuming, and Matthew Stafford.

And Matthew played a fantastic game. Go against Chris Schula, who he struggled against not only in the game in LA this season, but last season in the playoffs where he was sacked nine times and pretty much wrote his ticket out of Minnesota because of that game. Because they said he could not handle the pressure. So to be forced to face that team in an NFC championship game with the season on the line and to play at the level and standard that he played at for him to compete, be accurate and deliberate with the football, threw for over 300 yards hitting Jackson, Smith, and Jigua.

He gave the ball to everybody who needed. I started the game off with a bomb to Rashid Shaheed. Rashid Shaheed's first go route, I think they've thrown to him since he's gotten here. And it was a completion early in the game. They got the look that they wanted. He put it up for his guy to make a play. Rashid Shaheed ran under it. Huge play in the ball game.

And that was early on letting them know, hey, it's not that kind of game. It's not going to be. And I think they're going to do the same thing in this game with the New England They're going to set the tone early. They're going to say, hey, we know you guys are excited. We know what you think of this quarterback, and you think, oh, man, we can, we can rattle him. I think he's going to go out there and show him it's a different guy. It's not that kind of day.

This resurgence from Sam Darnold, it's going to be a conversation all week. You know, he finally has found his footing in Seattle. I mean, he had a heck of a season last year with Minnesota. Obviously, they made a mistake in letting him go. Is it safe to say that Sam Darnold has proven? that he is a legitimate franchise quarterback in the NFL with his showing this season with the Seattle Seahawks. Yes. I think the simple answer is yes.

Sam Donald is proven he's a franchise quarterback. He's also proven that sometimes circumstances matter. I can't say sometimes circumstances matter all the time. And what would have happened if he was put in a better position early on in his career with one of these offensive coordinators who do develop schemes and quarterbacks better than others. Would he have had success earlier if he was surrounded by a little bit more talent early in his career? Could things have gone differently? I believe so, but I love the attitude and approach that Sam Donald has with these things. He's like, hey, I don't have a bad word to say about the Jets.

I don't have a bad word to say about the Carolina Panthers, any of those teams. Regardless to how things went, it was all part of my journey, all part of the things that got me to the position I'm in to have the success I'm having. And it's a blessing. And I love that. I love that for him. I love that for his family. He's obviously been raised right. But I think this is a lesson in a real message to general managers out there that, hey, offensive staffs matter. Quarterback development matters.

You're not always getting, sometimes you're getting clay. You're not getting a finished product. And I think sometimes they get lazy and say, hey, we're getting a number one pick. We're going to have a guy. We don't need to coach them. We just need to put a playbook in front of them and let them work. No, like there has to be work on both sides. There still has to be coaching and teaching.

And I think sometimes teams get lazy in that respect. And that's why you have the same teams over and over that have success in this league. You look at the Rams and whoever McVe-Shannan tree, whatever falls off that tree, quarterbacks go there to have success. You talk about Kevin O'Connell, the quarterback whisper. quarterbacks go there, they develop, they have success other places. It's almost like they're going to school. It's going to quarterback school and they're learning, hey, this is how you become a great NFL

quarterback. This is the progression you go through. And once you give them a steady foundation, people can grow and build off of that. But sometimes when your foundation is sand, it's hard to build off of it. So I think Sam Donald is right where he needs to be. I think he's going to be a franchise quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks for a very long time, and this is the beginning of a beautiful partnership for both sides. And to that point, Richard, credit to Clint Kubiak and the job he's been able to do,

I think the issue with a lot of coaches, you know, some coaches are stubborn and they want certain guys to fit in their scheme. Clint Kubiak has done an exceptional job of seeing the players that he has from a personnel standpoint and building his offense around that. I'm assuming he's in line to get this Raiders job. That's what the rumors are, and he has certainly earned it. That being said, the pieces that are in play here are the likes of Jackson, Smith, and Jigba. And credit to John Schneider for realizing that they have the guy in house that can take them to the next level. They moved off a D.K. Metcalfe, and they put all attention on JSN. They brought in a vet to help him in Cooper Cup, who has thrived in this offseason as well. He's

bringing that veteran experience. He's won a Super Bowl. Richard, JSN, this is really his first rodeo. And I know when you were young in 2013 came around, you guys go into that Super Bowl. Talk to me about, you know, the nerves. Are there any nerves for a guy like him? He seems so poised. What's different about this game for a young player? I can't speak for every player because every player is different and unique. But you've, this is an old saying, act like you've been there before.

And you're nervous before. Every great player I know is nervous before every game they play. because the expectation and the standard for yourself is so high and you're going out there. It's not about disappointing outside people. It's more about not disappointing yourself and living up to your own standard. And sometimes even you walk away disappointed in the game where everybody in the outside world would be like, man, that was a great game. You played your butt off.

But there were three or four mistakes that you were chasing in that game that really you felt like, hey, I let myself down today. I didn't have this play. I dropped that pass there. And sometimes you can't get it. And then there are other times where you run into a game where you felt like, hey, I achieved the goals that I came into this game with. I fought my butt off.

It didn't go exactly how I wanted it to, but it's fine. I think he's going to be, when you get to this point in the season, you're not walking to the Super Bowl and trying to make stuff up. He knows what he's done. He has a tremendous amount of confidence built in himself, and that confidence is built off of the work ethic and the foundation that he said. It's not luck every game. He showed up in a big way and executed and helped this team get to this position.

So I don't think he's nervous. I think his teammates believe in him. Obviously his quarterback believes in him because he's earned this right. That's the difference between what people going in, you're nervous and you're like, hey, am I going to do well? Yes, I'm going to do well because I earn this right to do well. I practice hard. I do things the right way.

I put the work in. It's not luck that I've gotten here. it's consistency, it's dedication, and that's why it's going to work out. This is, this has been already written, Mitchell. It's already written. Sometimes you put the work in and everything works out, and sometimes people throw the ball at the one yard lane. It doesn't work out.

But hopefully. Go there, Richard. Hopefully, you know, outside of something crazy like that happening, it works out. Listen, you already broke down this Patriots roster. They've got a slew of cornerbacks they can throw at J. One being Christian Gonzalez, and you touched on. This guy was a stud coming out of Oregon. Obviously battled a few injury issues early in his career,

but now he's kind of found his level as well. He had a huge pick against Denver to seal that game. What do you make of his game, and how do you go into this game knowing you're going to be matched up against one of the premier wide receivers in this league in JSN? I don't think it bothers them. I don't think they think they think that way. I don't think Clint Kubiak thinks that way.

It's very difficult to isolate and locking in on Jackson Smith and jigba. And if they do, if they say, hey, this is going to be a game. We're going to follow you with Christian Gonzalez. Understand this. Clint Kubiak's going to put him in the blender, bring him to the locker room, send him to the back field. I mean, he's going to be everywhere with him. He's going to be in positions he's unfamiliar with. And once you can get a corner in positions you're unfamiliar with, you start to force him to get involved in a run game.

Hey, motion Jackson, Smith, and Jigba into the backfield. Now run the football. Now, Christian Gonzalez, figure out which gap you got. Figure out what's your run responsibility. Hey, motion him into the backfield. You got him, Christian Gonzalez? Perfect. Now let's snap it.

And when the ball snapped, which way did he go? Did he go left or did he go right? Can you see past the line of scrimmage? So I don't think they'll play that game with them, especially as much as, Clint Kubiak motions, Jackson, Smith, and Chigba, it'd be a difficult matchup to say, hey, we're going to be man-to-man coverage. And if they can give Sam Darno those kind of identifiers, you're going to allow him to shred this defense. And so I don't think they'll play that game. Maybe they will.

Maybe they just say, hey, Christian Gonzalez, he can do it from anywhere. He can guard him from anywhere, and we feel comfortable with it. And if he stops him and he has success, then that's an incredible player, and you tip your cap off to him. but that's a tough position to be in all game long to say, hey, we're going to follow him, and I'm going to have to navigate all these things. It was just like the play against the Rams where Kairn William sprung free, and everybody was like, what happened on that play?

What happened to the linebacker? And it was obvious Pooka Nakua came and picked off the linebacker on that play and freed up Kiron Williams because it's difficult to play man coverage when you can do that as an offensive player. If you can run guys' bodies into somebody and then run the guy, he's supposed to be covering the opposite way, it's very difficult to cover that. And so if you have Christian Gonzalez in those situations, you run into too many scenarios where your best players being put in compromised positions,

and I don't think the Patriots are going to play that game. I know Mike Brable is smart enough to understand that that's what the tapes is. You talked about it, and we've seen a little bit of it this off season, or this postseason, rather. The Seahawks love lining JSN up in the backfield. And I know it's given defense's fits. It seems like they're targeting him every single time. They line him up in the backfield. I don't want you to give all the secrets away.

But Richard, if you're the Patriots, how are you game planning in those scenarios? What do you think would be most successful in terms of, you know, you're checking at the line, your hand signals in the backfield? How do you think they're going to address JSN lining up in the backfield? It's going to be tough because schematically, If you just take the play, the corner route that he ran for a touchdown, it's a play that Kyle Shanahan ran against us when he was in Atlanta with a running back. And it's a seven cut of a scissors out of the backfield.

And there's really no answer for it outside of your linebacker knowing the play and then pretty much racing the receiver there to the corner of the end zone. Because schematically, every defender did their job on that play. Hey, the post route goes, the cornerback drives. it to the safety and they close that gap and they sandwich the post route. And then number two, if he comes off and runs that out, he'll hold the nickel. And then when the running back comes out, you're not expecting a seven cut. He's the linebacker's responsible for that. He's going to attach to the hip of that guy. And if he runs a seven cut, it's just a bad matchup for you. So it's not

really like, hey, we're going to check this because he's in a backfield because you can't necessarily bastardize your entire defense for one guy, especially when he's in the backfield. That's the last person you're expecting a vertical threat from, which is why it works so well against that defense. So again, man coverage is probably the only way you can deal with that if they're running that consistently. And they're not running it a ton. They're not running it enough for you to say, hey, we're going to spend all our time game

planning for this one play because then you run into situations that you're not prepared for the things that they run most commonly. There's going to be a few wrinkles in this game that the New England Patriots are going to have to, that they're going to see that they haven't seen all season. And if you play too shallow, you play too concerned about Jackson Smith and Jigba, and you leave Rashid Shahid one-on-one, even if it's Marcus Jones, that's a tough matchup. That's a tough matchup. He has the entire field and he has four-two speed. So even with Marcus Jones, who probably can match him, strive for stride, it's still a difficult matchup to play. And so it's a it's a given take kind of situation

with the New England Patriots, they're going to have to. They're going to obviously do everything they can to take Jackson Smith and Jigba away, but you've got to be cautious because the scheme is still very difficult to manage and other guys can get open. Let's talk about the running backs, Richard. Remandre Stevenson has had a resurgence this year. He's had fumbling issues in the past, and he seemed to be able to hold on to the rock this year.

And then they drafted the rookie, Treviann Henderson. They've got a two-headed monster there. What do you do as the Seattle Seahawks? contain these guys. We've already talked about the importance of Drake May and his legs on the ground. But to set the tone, they're going to have to run the rock with Ramandre

and Treveon. How do you think the Seattle Seahawks are going to approach these guys? The Patriots run some duo. They run a lot of duo, which is a double team on the two D tackles and then they move up to the linebackers. But the problem is running against the Seattle Seahawks is Byron Murphy and Leonard Williams do a fantastic

job against those double teams, especially. Byron Murphy. He does a great job splitting those double teams, and that kills those plays. That's the reason the San Francisco 49ers' run game was dead, especially in Santa Clara in that game, the last game for the one seed. He was blowing those plays up, and it's not even always him making the tackle. It's him freeing up the linebacker and not allowing the offensive linemen to move him out of his spot, and that kills those plays. So I think they're going to have a tough time. This is the reason in Seattle Seahawks are number one, rush defense in the national football league. Sure, Ramandre Stevenson has been fantastic.

Trayvion Henderson has been a big play machine for this team, but there's a reason he hasn't played as many snaps because he's been vulnerable in past protection. And he's made some mistakes there. And I'm sure if Mike McDonald sees him in the ball game, expect an exotic pressure to force him into a tough situation because he hasn't handled it well this season. Those are the things, the little chess matches, the small matchups within a game that really determine these things. And Ramandre is better in the past game, but it's not as explosive, better in past protection, but he's not as explosive as a runner or in the past game. So I think the Seattle Seahawks do a good job against their run game. It's going to be how Drake may can decipher

this defense and execute that's going to tell the tale. Hey, it's us, the Jonas brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, Huge news. We created our own podcast called Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast. Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how did we, how do we actually come up with a name Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas, brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes.

I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, Not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter.

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game. The morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines.

We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, We break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicelife 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis. And I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs. And on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast, I'm breaking down. on everything happening at Roland Garris. Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on Clay. Jen she won. I mean, she went down at three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted.

She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lena Rubakina is arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs Tennis Podcast on the Eyeheart. radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. Today's show is brought to you by our presenting sponsor, Hard Rock Bet, Florida's Sportsbook. It's Big Game Week on Hard Rock Bet. Seattle is a four and a half point favorite over the New England Patriots. For games like this, basic bets just don't cut it. Here's a parlay I like. Seattle, minus four and a half. Jackson, Smith, and Jigpa, anytime touchdown.

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to the best signature VIP program in the industry. Download the Hard Rock Bed app and make your first deposit before kickoff. This year, I'm focusing on a small shift that makes a huge difference. Effortless presence. It sounds counterintuitive, but for me, that means planning ahead

so I can truly live in the moment, especially when enjoying a few drinks. My simple trick for staying balanced is taking Zbiotics pre-alcohol before I start. Zbiotics, pre-alcohol probiotic drink is the world's first genetically engineered probiotic. It was invented by PhD scientists to tackle rough mornings after drinking. Here's how it works.

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Subscriptions are also available for maximum consistency. Remember to head over to zbiotics.com slash Richard Sherman and use the code Richard Sherman at checkout for 15% off. When Mike McDonald came over for Baltimore two years ago, Richard, you knew there was going to be a change, especially defensively for the Seattle Seahawks team,

and it's reaping the benefits of that move. How impressed have you been with his tenure so far? And let's be honest here. Are you surprised at all that these Seattle Seahawks have found success so quickly that they're in the Super Bowl in year two? I think he's been fantastic. He's been everything they could imagine, everything they could wish for, and everything that John Snyder thought he'd be in more. Let's go, and more. Because I can't imagine even John Snyder could have imagined a 10-win season in his first year and then a Super Bowl trip in his second year.

I mean, that's a dream scenario for any coach, any GM picking a coach and saying, Hey, I told you guys, I did not tell you it was going to happen like this. And John Snyder needs to be commended and deserves a lot of credit for what's happening. He's had tremendous draft classes. The he trade midseason was a masterful trade and really has had a huge impact on this season for the Seattle Seahawks. But the thing that has helped Mike McDonald and has, I think, really allowed him to flourish is his ability to pivot. And we can talk about Ryan Grub in his decision to hire Ryan Grub in his first year. They still win 10 games.

Not a lot of people are going to move away from an offensive coordinator when you win 10 games. And he was like, hey, this doesn't work for me. I appreciate you. You did a solid job. I want us to go in a different direction, shake hands, wash your hands of it, and then move on to Clint Kubiak. And I think in that respect, you can see that kind of decision making in a lot of facets of this. of this organization that has worked out. Now, obviously, it's been hand in hand with John Snyder's decisions,

but you go back and look at Gino Smith's decision, and Gino wanted out. He didn't feel good about this. He wanted more money. They stood Pat and said, hey, we're not giving you more money. If you want to be traded, we'll try to acquiesce to your needs and your desires, and they traded him to the Raiders, to Pete Carroll, for what they got. And then they picked up Sam Dernold, and even I.

Question. at a critical point, at a critical position. And again, what happened and how the season ended last year for Sam Darnold? There were a lot of questions about how he can handle pressure. Could he handle it? The Seattle Seahawks offensive line was not great the year before. They had a lot of issues. They have since secured those.

Grace Zabel has had a phenomenal rookie season. You talk about a guy who's had one of the biggest impacts of all the rookies in a national football league, but you don't just talk about offensive alignment a lot. both culturally within the building and how he talks, the swagger, the confidence he brings, the relationship. I mean, you talk about the respect Leonard Williams has for him and that conversation on the sideline where he tells Leonard Williams to attack the beat gap. And Leonard Williams goes out there and gets a sack, I think maybe a driver or two later. And you talk about listening to a rookie tell a veteran who's been in the league 11 years or so, hey, do this. And I think it'll work out.

and it works out in the playoffs for that matter. There's been so many changes like that and then move on to D.K. Metcalfe and Tyler Lockett, being able to move away from those guys, that's a tough decision for a head coach. D.K. Metcalf was the number one receiver at the time. And sure, with everything JSN has done this season, you could say, oh, man, it was a great decision.

But did anybody know that at the time? You're getting rid of a proven receiver, a proven go-to receiver for you. And I think those decisions are the ones that have helped enhance the culture. And even culturally within the building, there's so many things where he's been laser focused on trying to get things right, tweaking the system just enough to, hey, guys, Stephen Houska is in there with Dr. Jerva and having conversations with the head coach. Just making sure the culture and the knobs are turned just the right way to get guys where they're supposed to be, to push the guys, but not push him too far.

And I think his awareness and his humility with all of these things are what are allowing him to have a great amount of success in the National Football League as a head coach because players respect that. He's being honest. He's being transparent. He's being human. But he's also taking care of his guys and putting him in great positions. And you can only respect that.

On the other side of the ball, Mike Vrable. I mean, we talked about this guy a ton this season. He certainly deserves to be in that kind of. conversation for coach of the year. And let's look at this. I know you don't think the Patriots are going to win the Super Bowl. Reality is Mike Vrable has won a couple of Super Bowls. And now he's fighting for that first one as a coach.

You know, what type of impact do you think his personal Super Bowl experience as a player can have on this team, especially a team that has young players in key positions? It definitely matters. His experience definitely matters. It'll be a huge factor in just the way he relates to his players. I mean, he does not, it's, it's, he really blurs that line between player coach relationship and you can see it. Even when there's conflict on the sideline, he's right in the middle of it. And usually when you see that with coaches, you're like, oh man, this is getting rough.

Mike Brable doesn't shy away from it, doesn't make a big deal out of it. He looks guys in the eye says, hey, I got you. Like, cool, that was on me. Or, hey, you got to be better than that. It has grown men and super alphas, you can recognize a dog can recognize a big dog. Mitchell, you can recognize a big dog. Mitchell, you can recognize a big dog. I saw him and Christian Barmore go at it.

What game was that? Was the Texans? It was one of the games. They were on the side. They were drawing. And I think they were winning in the game, but it didn't matter. He was perturbed about something. And Vrable, usually coaches are like, hey, man, I don't want to get, like, get to security, like deal with him.

Brayble didn't shy away from that. He said, get out of my way. I'll talk to him. Like, hey, what's up? Like, let's figure this out. Right now, I don't care if it's in the public. I don't care. You can get mad.

You can get all this, but let's get to the bottom of this. And I think that's the difference between coaches that are former players and coaches that are not former players. And these are two different guys. Mike McDonald, not necessarily a former player, great football coach. And Vrable, former player, great football coach. It's two different ways to skin a cat. But you can see each person's personality within their team. You can see Mike Vrable and the way his players are responding to him,

players that have not played as well as they are playing for him for other teams, guys that are going out there and putting their bodies on the line, putting their health and their well-being on the line for this coach and this team, and they're buying into what he's saying because they know that he has the same love and respect for him for them as they do for him. And I think there's no, there's no calculating, there's no measuring that. And I think that's a big reason why they are where they are. And they're going to have a lot of success long term.

And again, that's another reason. We don't know what the heck y'all doing in Tennessee. Let's see. But don't get me start a thing. It worked out for Robert Sala at least, Richard. You got to at least enjoy that a little bit. But I'm with you. Yeah, I enjoy that.

I'm with you. We got to look at this, too. I mean, this is a rematch of sorts. I know it's, what, shoot, 13 years later. But Josh McDaniel was an OC back then, Richard. Josh McDaniel was the OC back then, and you had to go against his offense. Do you see any similarities here as you've been watching the Patriots offense? Do you see any similarities to when you played them?

I know Tom was at the helm, but there's got to be some at least play calls that are pretty, pretty, what's the word? Fill it in for me, Richard. Familiar? Familiar. I mean, similar. There you go. They run what they run.

And they, he does a great job just like New England Patriots always have. They used to be so multiple that every game, regardless of what scheme they're playing, it sometimes would look like an entirely new playbook. They'd be running gap scheme, run game against the Broncos, and then they're running outside zone against the Colts. And you're like, so which one do you do? And it's really based on the defense that they're getting.

So that's changed, and Brable spoke to that. He's like, hey, I want to just get familiarity, especially on the defensive side of the ball. We're not going to go and switch the scheme. I want to get guys in position, do things. things they do well, that's similar to what we did in Seattle, and just let them play football. Sure, we'll make the adjustments. Sure we'll understand the weaknesses of what we're doing. But, I mean, some people live in the whole world of a jack of all trades, but a master of none.

And some would say a jack of some is still better than a master of just one. And I don't know how I feel about that. I think if you master, if you do what you do well, we've had a lot of success with that. We've won Super Bowls. You got to another Super Bowl, could have got to a third Super Bowl story for a different day. but I think there's something to that. But I think McDaniel is going to look and study this scheme. He's going to study what the Rams had success with.

He's going to look in his playbook and say, hey, we have that play. We have dagger. Can we put dagger in where we're pushing the safeties up and running that dagger cross? Hey, can we go post corner? Could we go dig reverse? And so, hey, when those corners are biting on that dig, bounce back outside and there's an opening there. can we check the football down? Hey, Drake May, don't be greedy.

Don't be too aggressive. Don't be too impatient pushing the ball down the field. Sometimes we can just let them back up. And that was something Tom Brady was fantastic at. Hey, defense is backing up. Give it to Remandreous Stephenson. That's seven yards. Let's keep moving the ball down the field.

We can be death by a thousand cuts if that's what it takes. But a lot of times young guys get impatient. So I think I think I've seen similarities, But how he's going to attack the Seattle Seahawks defense is different than how they would attack our defense. They're running too high for the most part. We were a cover three team predominantly. They do run some cover three. They can live in it at times, first and second down, where they're stacking the box and guys are down there.

But a lot of his complicated exotic pressures and things like that come from too high. And he's able to stop the run in a too high defense. So I think the way Mike McDaniel is going to try to attack him is the same way Sean McVey had success. And I think Mike did a good job of closing some of those holes and ensuring up some of those defensive matchups. But we'll see. That's the chess game. You know, what the Seahawks do well is what they do. Drake May has been proficient down the field as a pastor this season.

Not as much in the playoffs. He's hit some down the field throws, but he was much better during a regular season. That's kind of slowed down. and you can blame some of the weather for that, but I would expect him to try to go back to that this week. Richard, this defense, they're going to have their hands full. They're going to see an opponent they have not seen before. That being said, there's already a conversation.

You know it's only going to pick up throughout the week that this team, this defense, is starting to draw comparisons of your team, the Legion of Boom. Do you see any similarities between these defenses? Not a ton, you know, other than him having a Seattle Seahawks jersey on. different styles, different teams schematically, both great defenses in their own right fly around. They're hitting, playing with a lot of energy,

a lot of depth on the defensive line. You're talking about Byron Murphy being a potential, could have been an all-pro this season, and he's rotating in off the bench behind guys that are fantastic. You got a guy, DeMarcus Lawrence, in his 12th season, going to his first Super Bowl and has had as much of an impact on his team as anyone. Ernest Jones, a guy who was traded to multiple teams, a cast off from the Rams.

And the Rams said, hey, we don't want him. He's too injury prone. His knee may not be good enough. And he's come to the Seattle Seahawks midseason last year and become a household name and a stalwart in the middle of that defense, making big plays in the past game and the run game. The only interception that the Seattle Seahawks got in the playoffs this year was him against Brock Purdy this year in the divisional round, and he's been fantastic. Then you go in the back end. You got Julian Love and those guys.

So you got Devin Witherspoon, who was an all-pro this year. You got Rick Wulin, who had the big mistake last week, but has overall played fantastic this season, especially the second half of the season. I think he's going to play fantastic and have a huge factor in this game. So it's different. It's different. I think we had more household names.

we probably had a few more all pros on our team, a lot of bigger personalities. They don't necessarily have the personalities, but they have the talent. And their numbers speak for themselves. I expect them to win this game. I expect them to be sound. Those guys are running and hitting.

And again, the name you're going to hear, New England Patriots fans, get prepared for it. Nick M. Worry, that's a name you will hear a lot in this league. I expect him to be in the defensive player to year conversation for a number of years to come. unless they're trying to ignore Seattle, which they're not going to be able to after this game. Richard, you said it already.

You had a lot of prominent voices and leaders in your locker room. I mean, between yourself, obviously, Cam, Earl, Mike B, Cliff, KJ, Bobby, you know, the list goes on and on and on. And here we see, you know, John Schneider go out and plucked to Marcus Lawrence from the Dallas Cowboys, who said rather emphatically that he's going to Seattle to win a Super Bowl. Who do you think has stepped up in similar role that you guys have with these leaders on your defense with this current team? I mean, you could say anybody.

It's been by committee. I mean, you've seen leadership from the young guy, Nick Eman War. It looked like conflict on the sideline with Tariq Woolham, but that's accountability. And for a young guy to go up to a veteran like that and say, hey, come on, we're better than that. We've got to be better than that. It just shows you the hierarchy and the way things are around that team. And I think Rik had a lot of respect for that. He's frustrated at the moment.

but I don't think there was any maliciousness towards it either way. I think there was respect. Leonard Williams is a huge defensive leader on this team. He's his tone setter. Devin Witherspoon, tone setter on this defense. But to Marcus Lawrence is the engine. When you talk about a guy who plays with a relentless effort, every single play, he plays like every game is the Super Bowl.

You see the forced fumble against Brock Purdy. It's a play that they've had multiple times this season he's had because of his effort. His effort was rewarded with turnovers. And his effort was rewarded a few times when Therite's night knocked the football out a few times. And here comes to Marcus Lawrence, picking it up for multiple touchdowns on this season. So in the back end, Julian Love. I think Julian Love is a leader. Kobe Bryant named after the late great has been a phenomenal player in this league.

He moved from corner. He was a corner when they drafted him, downed his niche at. safety got a little banged up and they went with a kuda for a little while he's back in the lineup and again he just stabilizes that defense so it's by committee there's so many leaders but this is a this is a defense that is just really well coached really disciplined all three levels and they cause a lot of issues because of how well their coach and how well they tackle i'm going to bring you back to 2013 richard if you could pluck one player off the seattle seahawk defense and have them suit up with you in that super bowl who would it be and this super bowl and this super bowl

I'm sorry, in your Super Bowl and the Super Bowl you played in against the Patriots. If you were to take one defensive player off of this current team and have them line up with you, who would it be? I mean, could you imagine Nick M. N. Worry playing there with Cam Chancellor and Earl. I mean, DeMarcus Lawrence, I know you had a ton of vets on the D line, but, you know, somebody like that, obviously you had the two big D tackles in the middle. Who do you think would benefit your defense the most? I don't know.

It'd be hard to take anybody off the field. I'm being honest, who you're going to take off? You're going to take off the Hall of Famer at Mike Lineback? Or you're going to take off the Super Bowl MVP or KJ Wright? Or who are you going to take off? Mike Bennett, Cliff Avril? Who are you going to take off the field? Again, that's why it's two different ends of the fight.

But I just don't see, you know, I think they would say the same thing. You know, I think they feel comfortable with the group that they have and confident in the guys that they have in their building because these are the guys that they went to battle with. So it's hard for me to say we're getting rid of anybody off that defense. and get into that same spot. I think sometimes it's a rhythm. Sometimes it's you ride with who you came with.

These are the guys they came with. These are the guys they did it with and went to battle with all season long. These are the guys they want to line up with when it's for all the marbles. And I respect that. So I'm not going to say we would have picked up anybody off their defense. And I don't think they would have picked up any off our defense. It's always easier to say, you know what I mean? In hindsight, because, you know, we've already ran our race and got it

and got the all pros and, you know, got our accolades. These guys are at the beginning of their run. So I'm looking forward to seeing how far they can take it. That's a very politically correct answer, Richard. I appreciate it. I know where you're coming from. Hey, it's us, the Jonas Brothers. And guess what?

We have some big news. What's the news? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it.

We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it. Well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band. Before Jonas Brothers was...

This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys.

Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform?

We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in.

I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered.

Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlic on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicelife-12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis. And I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs. And on the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris. Every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on clay.

Jen Chinch win. I mean, she went down. three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lena Rubakina is arguably the best player in the world right now. And I actually can win on any surface. Because if she's serving, well, good luck.

Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. I know exactly. where you're coming from. You are something else. Richard, this game's going to be played in Santa Clara.

I know this is a spot you're very familiar with. Obviously, the Seattle Seahawks have played there numerous times as well. It's similar to how the two teams played in 2014 in Super Bowl in Glendale. Do you feel that playing in a division rival's building plays to the advantage of the Seahawks in this one? To a degree, yeah. I mean, I think it's familiarity. It's not a stadium they're unfamiliar with. It's a stadium they've played in.

and they've had success in. And I think that helped us in 2013. You know, we went to, we were going to MetLife, and we beat the heck out of the Giants in MetLife. We had one of our best games. And to go back there, confident, understanding the turf, understanding you've had success here, the lights are brighter, but, I mean, does it really matter?

We could have played that game on the moon. It would have been the same result. And so I think just the confidence of going to somewhere that you've been. And obviously, there's a stat going out. out. The team that's traveling from east to west usually wins this game. Not the team that's traveling, but if we wouldn't have thrown at the one yard line, that's that would probably be different.

But again, this is about as short of a trip as the Seattle Seahawks could take and not be a home game in their own stadium. They're wearing the Navy blue, the all-Navy blue. Mitchell, all the elements are there for it to just exercise these demons. and let's move forward. And I need it in my life. So yes, familiarity with the stadium, with the team, with the environment, definitely helps their practicing at San Jose.

Apparently neither team wanted to practice at the 49ers facility because of this station, this electricity station deal, conspiracy that's going on. What do you make in that, Richard? Was that disgust at all when you were playing in San Francisco? Not that I can remember. I don't remember having any conversations about it. Maybe there's some truth to it with all these injuries over the last few years for San Francisco,

but it's wild to hear about it just out of nowhere. It is. It is really wild. But, you know, it's always something to talk about it. It'll be a conversation this all season, but it's a tough situation because you're not moving that and you're not moving the stadium. Maybe you can move the practice facility, but even then it's a tough situation when they're in the stadium that they practice at the stadium. And they've never, yes, they have. When they were in Candlestick, they practiced in the same spot.

So that's what Jerry Rice was saying. He was like, hey, we won two Super Bowls practicing in this same spot. So nobody talked about it then. It's not like this is a new facility, Mitchell. This is not like a new place they started practicing. They've got, had a lot of success there. It only becomes a story when it becomes a story. You know, when it was 2012 and 2011 and they were in the Super Bowl,

nobody was like, oh, man, what about this station next door to your facility? It's like, hey, maybe if you had a restaurant, run the ball at the one, you know, you would have beat the Baltimore Ravens that day, you know, maybe if you don't throw at Richard Sherman for the game and the NFC championship game, you might have a chance in that game. But, you know, I don't think it was about the substation. You got to bring that up, and I love it. I'm just telling you what could have a different. Well, I'm glad they didn't go elsewhere with that play, Richard.

I think things would have been a little bit different. It certainly shaped your career early on. Richard, last last episode we were talking about, you know, what it's like this week, you know, leading to Super Bowl, the buy week before Super Bowl. But now as we enter the week of Super Bowl, you know, what would guys do to stay focused? I know there are a lot of distractions in the whole city, and you hear tales from the past of them, but what did you guys do in this week of the Super Bowl to stay focused and locked in and removed distractions? Well, again, it's, when you have a disciplined team, they don't just become disciplined.

the Super Bowl. You know, you haven't heard a lot of news. You haven't heard a lot of issues or distractions coming from the Seattle Seahawks or the New England Patriots all season long. I think there was a little bit of an issue, you know, some legal issues in New England for the last couple weeks, but we don't talk about legal issues. We're not lawyers in this podcast. But for the most part, the Seattle Seahawks have their rules. They stay within the rules. Mike McDaniel, I mean, Mike McDonald runs a very good program. Players have a lot of respect for him. They know not to get out of it outside of it. It's not, thank goodness, it's not an exciting city.

It's not Las Vegas. It's not Houston. It's not Miami. So there are less opportunities to be susceptible to in San Jose, California. Not that you can find trouble anywhere if you look hard enough. But I think the week of the Super Bowl guys understand, hey, this is a one week trip. This is a one week trip for a lifetime of glory. And I think that's the conversation.

A lot of these veterans are having with them. A lot of the leadership, you talk about Leonard Williams, has never been to a Super Bowl. I don't know if he's ever been to a playoff game before this season and had the kind of success. So, Demarcus Lawrence, been to a playoff, has never gone to the NFC championship game or moved past a divisional.

Julian Love, the same thing is true. Ernest Jones has won a Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams, but again, knows what it takes. I think Sam Darnel locked in. These guys understand that this is their moment. and will you sacrifice for another week to have a lifetime of glory? Is it worth it to you? Is going out and having a few drinks on a Wednesday really worth it during a Super Bowl week?

Like, is that really going to take you to where you need to go? Is that worth it for what you're sacrificing and what you could be able to achieve if you just stay locked in? And I think that's the messaging. And that was the messaging for us. You just got to lock in. Now, there are a ton of distractions and things that are different this way. week when you land. There's going to be a lot of cameras. There's going to be a lot of fanfare. There's going to be people in your face. You've got to slap hands and it is different. It's not

the same as every other week. So you can treat it like every other week, but there are certain media obligations for guys that probably aren't used to being at media, doing media and having conversations. So you're having those conversations. Hey, don't promise any wins. Don't guarantee anything. Don't talk about their team sucks. Don't give any bulletin board material. We don't need that. Just say the right things. They're a great opponent, great team. happy to be here looking forward to a great matchup that should be everybody down the line and that's what reporters are going to be doing at the big media day every single person all 69 men on the roster are going to get a mic in front of their face whether they're on the big stage or just off to the side

they're going to get a conversation if somebody gives a sound bite it doesn't matter if you're sam donald or the guy they just picked up a couple weeks ago it's coming from a Seattle Seahawks player if he says man we feel really good about this matchup I don't think they match up well with us. It would be the same coming from everybody. So I think Mike McDonald and this staff are going to emphasize that to these players. And the same thing with Mike Vrable and his staff. They're going to emphasize, hey, let's not give any bulletin board material, but hopefully the players make it fun. You get to learn about the players. You're going to see them on platforms. Like it's different. It's a lot of pressure on these guys. That's going to be different

for them. But you got to stay locked in. Get your routine, get your massages, and get back to your Richard, we need you up there to give PR guidance because, man, oh man, I think that you going up to these guys and saying, hey, I'll give you the bulletin board material. Richard Sherman on the mic, it's safe to say you would say every wide receiver on the Patriots is mediocre. I mean, you were talking a little bit about it off air. I mean, I know you like Keisham Booty and Stefan Diggs and to Mario Douglas, but man, those are some mediocre wide receivers, Richard. Mitchell, I say all the right things. Mitchell, it's about great opponent, great team. I'm just looking forward to a great matchup.

Yes, yes, yes, I'm here. Yes, yes. I know everyone's excited. I've done three media days, baby. I know you're well equipped with knowledge in that environment, Richard. I know everyone's anxious to hear who you're going to pick, and I feel everyone knows you you're going to pick. But before we go on to your pick,

we got some actual breaking news that was just released here. Clint Kubiak is rumors are reports are coming out. He's going to the Las Vegas Raiders as their head coach. Do you like that fit if this holds true? Fernando Mendoza. It's just like. It's a love is Richard. Ashton Genty.

It's a low quality draft, Mitchell. And it's a, it's a, you're taking the guy that you have to take because, you know, it is, is, it's, is, it's, is, it's, is, it's, it's, it's, is, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it. Elsa go in a draft with Jaden Daniels and, you know, and all those guys with Caleb Williams. Like, would he go one in that draft? Would he go one if Drake May was in the draft? If there were other guys available in this draft, would he still be in this position? And so that's the thing.

And then again, talking about a quarterback who I think did a great job, has all the build, has all the potential. but again, in order for a young quarterback to have success, it's offensive, and I think they're getting a good offensive coach, a guy who can put him in positions, but is there enough talent around him to allow him to thrive? Sure, there's Brock Bowers. What is Ashton Genty going to be in a Kubiak scheme? Maybe that's a great scheme for him. Maybe that unlocks him and what he can do.

But it's just not enough information right now. Mendoza may be great, but he's, set up for success with this team. And I think that's the part that's difficult. Now, if you said, hey, Mendoza's going to Minnesota with Kevin O'Connell and Justin Jefferson and Addison and a great run game and a defense that can get the job done, then you're like, okay, I can see it happening. He just got to do his part.

But when you ask for a lot of a rookie quarterback, I think you set the expectations so high is hard to get there. Last episode you were talking about the 49ers vacancy at D.C. You were pounding the desk for none other than Jim Schwartz, and they go off and hire Rahim Morris as their D.C. Richard, do you like this fit with Rahim Morris in San Francisco? Yeah, I like it. There's familiarity.

Either he was going to be there or he's going to be with the Rams. I mean, he was going to go back to his buddies. These guys are all really good friends. McBae, Shanahan, the floor. All these guys are a small, close-knit. group of friends. Obviously, Kyle and Rahim were together in Atlanta for a little while, and they've been together multiple spots. It's a good fit. Guys, they have relationship. He has a ton of respect for it. He likes the scheme that Rahim runs, and I'm sure he'll keep Gus Bradley

around in the same role that he's been in, just continuing to just be a voice of reason, somebody they can pass ideas off with, continue to challenge the concepts, continue to challenge the guys. And I think it's a good fit. I mean, Rahim is a great coach. It's the reason he was given a head coaching position. I'm disappointed that Atlanta let him go. I thought he had that team playing well at the end of the season. It just didn't work out well enough, but it is what it is.

And then finally, Richard, there's reports coming out that the Seattle Seahawks are going to be sold after the Super Bowl. I mean, it's safe to say they're selling at a high if they win this game. Your thoughts on this, though? Well, I want to be involved in that. You guys need an extra investor. I got a few dollars. know, they're putting in on that. But, yeah, you know, it was part of Paul's estate sale as part of the plan going in when

Jody took over the team. This was always the expectation that it would get sold. It was actually written in the agreement. I think the league, they said the league finder, $5 million for not selling it when it was supposed to be sold. The league is pretty, pretty, pretty adamant about that because when team sale, it ups the value and valuation of the other teams, you know, other teams get a piece of certain things. I think, you know, there's going to be a lot, there's been a lot of money in Seattle.

And you talk about the companies that have come up in Seattle and the companies that have been a part of this, this great city, the Amazons, the Microsofts of the world. I think, you know, those kind of people will be involved in at least throw their hat in a ring to try to be a part of this. But it is what it is. It's part of the business of football. Paul Allen was a fantastic owner. I think Jody did her best and did a great job of just trying to continue his legacy and continue what he wanted.

And I think he'd be very proud of the job she's done. The job John Snyder and the staff have done getting them back to a Super Bowl. And I think if this is the end of her tenure as an owner of the Seattle Seahawks and they go off with a Super Bowl championship and a Super Bowl ring and holding the trophy up, I think that's a beautiful ending to a fantastic story of the Allen's and their own. ownership of the Seattle Seahawks and the city and the team will know nothing but love and joy and appreciation for their time owning the team and look forward to what's next in the future. Well, Richard, it's finally that time. I'm going to ask you a very simple question. Who do you think is going to win this Super Bowl? And give me a final score. Give me a final score

and I want some level of like, you know, flow of the game. You know, like who's going to make an impact? Give me your full little breakdown here. So you're looking for the Richard Sherman podcast picks? That's exactly what I'm looking for. Here are the Richard Sherman podcast Super Bowl picks. All odds and lines come from our partners at Hard Rock Bet. We've got the New England Patriots versus the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl. Hard Rock bet has the Seattle Seahawks as a four and a half point favorite over the New England Patriots.

and I got the Seahawks winning this game. Mitchell, you want to know how it's going to go? Seattle Seahawks are going to win this game by running the football. K-9, controlling it early and often. They're going to drive down the field, first drive the game, set the tone. It's going to be a mixture.

They're going to try to double JSCN and take him out of the game, but you're going to get a little bit of Barner, some K-9, a little bit of Cooper Cup, then a Shaheed pass. Maybe you might get a little sprinkle of Bobo in there. Mitchell, just understand it's going to be a little bit of everybody, but Sam Darnold is going to be a magician, a technician, all those things,

and they're going to go down and score. New England's going to get the ball. You're going to feel good. MVP candidate in the backfield feel really good. The young kid isn't overwhelmed. He's ready for this moment, but is everybody else? Are they being overwhelmed by the Seattle Seahawks defensive line? He was sacked 15 times.

They are, Mitchell. They start kind of slow. They start sluggish in a lot of these games. They again start sluggish against the team. this great Seattle Seahawks defense. They punt the ball away. It goes, it goes back and forth. A few punts, punt, a few plays, punts, punt.

You know, not three and outs, but not a lot of scoring going on. You look up at halftime, Mitchell, it's 13 and three Seattle Seahawks are in the lead. They're feeling really good about this game. They're in control. But New England doesn't go quietly into the night. They come out after half. Get the football, drive it down the field, score a touchdown. Now it's 10 to 13.

It's the kind of dog fights you're expecting in the Super Bowl. It could go either way. But then Sam Donald shows you, this is a new Sam Darnold. And I got Jackson Smith and Jigba. And that is the wave they ride the rest of the second half. J.S.N has his way, has the day. Clint Kubiak gets deep in his bag. And the Seattle Seahawks walk away with a decisive victory, 24 and,

to 10 over the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. Book it. Great season for the New England Patriots and Mike Brable's rookie season, a coach of the year type season, cementing themselves as a contender for many seasons to come with a young Super Bowl appearing quarterback, a really good defense and a really good foundation for the future. But the Seattle Seahawks walking away with this one.

Is the Richard Sherman podcast Super Bowl picks going to possibly give an MVP winner here? MVP of this game, you would think, oh, man, Jackson Smith and Jigba. It's got to be him, right? He's been fantastic. He's probably an offensive player at a year. No, it's going to go to Sam Darnel, Mitchell, Sam Darnel, the guy. And that's going to be the exclamation point on his resurgent season, his resurrection.

As a number three pick, it doesn't seem as surprising anymore because he was the number three pick in a draft. It seems obvious. but this MVP throws him back in the conversation of elite quarterbacks. And I know everybody out there is like he had 20 turnovers this season. What about the 20 turnovers? But winning matters in the National Football League. And this man has won a lot in the last two years. You got to say that two different teams, 28 wins.

I mean, at some point it got to have something to do with him. And I feel like he gets an MVP to cap that off. The first MVP of a quarterback in Seattle, Seattle Seahawks' Super Bowl history goes to Sam Dahl? I'm going to join this Seattle Seahawks bandwagon with you, Richard. I love this team the way they're playing right now. They're the hotter team. I know New England's got few losses,

but the reality is Seattle's been rolling people and they've been playing, I think, more challenging opponents along the way. I got Seattle winning this game. I got them covering the spread, and I got K-9 running away with the MVP of this game. It sucks at the Seattle Seahawks loss. Zach Charbonnet, but I think K-9 is built for this moment right here. He's obviously an unrestricted free agent after this season.

He's got a lot to prove. Not only does he have motivation to win the Super Bowl, but he's got motivation to get paid next season too. I think he runs away with two touchdowns in this game. I also like JSN to find the end zone. And finally, on the other side of the ball, I like Hunter Henry, Richard. I mean, this guy has been steady for the New England Patriots. I think he's going to be that veteran presence that they need.

Richard, I too think that the New England Patriots are going to take a little bit to find their footing. I got the Seattle Seahawks jumping out to a lead. The game inevitably gets tight. But I think that the Seattle Seahawks outscore these guys. I'm going to go 31 to 20 final score again, K-9 waltzing out of Santa Clara with that MVP trophy as well. I like that. I like that, Mitchell. I like it a lot.

Heck yeah. Well, Richard, we are going to. going to be in San Francisco this week. Excited to see some of the fans on the ground. Richard is always a pleasure sitting down with you every weekend. And we do this. It's been an awesome time all year. I will let you sign us off, my friend.

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