One can safely assume that former Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman is always going to stand up for defensive players. He understands that the NFL thinks offense sells tickets, and that means the league has to protect quarterbacks more than it protects any other position group. One can destroy a running back on a tackle, but one must be careful how one tackles a QB.
On a recent episode of Sherman's excellent self-titled podcast, the future Hall of Famer talked about how hard it is to avoid leading with one's head on a tackle when they are in the open field against a moving target. He even issued a challenge for fans and one that makes a lot of sense. What we see in a game is not something we can easily do of our own accord.
Sherman referenced specifically a controversial penalty that happened when Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes slid down and then was hit by two Houston Texans. The Texans were called for a 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness. On the broadcast of the game, commentator Troy Aikman called the flag "awful" and said he "could not disagree more."
Former Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman points out NFL's hypocrisy surrounding Patrick Mahomes
Both Sherman and Aikman are correct. The former Seahawks corner pointed out that Mahomes could have easily run out of bounds, decided to run back toward the middle of the field, started his slide extremely late, and that the Texans defenders were already in the process of tackling the quarterback before Mahomes was completely down.
Sherman also issued a challenge for fans saying that the Texans should have been able to avoid hitting Mahomes high. (To be fair to the Texans, the officials appear to think that they hit Mahomes in the head when two Houston defenders hit each other's helmets. It was completely unavoidable.)
The former Seahawk said, "If you have a punching bag or mattress, I want you to run as fast as you can into something," Sherman said. "I want you to lead your body without your head. If you can have the target move a little bit, that will be great. And then I want you to come back and look yourself in the mirror and tell yourself, how difficult was that? Were you able to do it? Were you able to lead your body with your head? I can tell you. The answer is no."
Those kinds of penalties do detract from the sport. Once a quarterback begins to run in the open field, past the line of scrimmage, he becomes no different than a running back. At least, in theory. Moreover, Mahomes does likely get a bit more protection than other quarterbacks because he is his generation's Michael Jordan.
Richard Sherman is correct in his synopsis of the play that drew the flag. He is also smart enough to know that Mahomes likely understood that if he were tackled after sliding late it might draw a penalty. Still, fans should not try Sherman's challenge. There would probably be lots of injuries.
