Sherman's got the skills, not one doubt about that. However, can Sherman keep his yap shut outside the 60 minute game clock? The Patriots have a time tested method: Shut up and do your job, when you lose say nothing, when you win say less (or is win say nothing, lose....).
I know more than a few posters want more showmen on the Patriots. I get the allure, it's entertaining and adds a little juice to the big play or the anticipation/build up to the big game. But the unprecedented success of the Patriots has been under a relatively strict adherence to the old school BB way of yapping only off camera, in game, during the play. Otherwise you praise the opponent even if it is Cleveland, speak only of the next opponent, speak of the difficulty of winning each week and how much work must be put in to win.
The BB way has been very good to us fans. It's counter intuitive to change such a well tested method (if Sherman came to the Patriots, bought into that BB way, stopped most of the yapping? BB is officially a football god).
I am surprised this hasn't been discussed more. There are guys in the NFL who have attitude issues when playing for crappy teams, and then there are guys with attitude issues wherever they go. Sherman has played for a very successful team in Seattle, and it bothers me that this guy is still yapping all the time. I felt that his very public takedown of the Seahawks passing play at the one-yard line was incredibly disrespectful and reflects poorly on the organization. Is there a need to rub salt in the wounds of your teammates and coaches and make sure the public knows how stupid you think they are? Are they supposed to run the ball on every play at the one yard line from now until the end of eternity, in order to atone for a fluke interception that resulted from a reasonable call and a superhuman defensive play? The Seahawks defense has failed them at least as badly, if not more, than their offense in recent postseason failures.
Clearly I would never doubt BB, but he also isn't infallible. The 2009 team was, to our knowledge, the most disappointing group to date, a team whose attitude issues were more powerful than their talent, and several of the documented players came from their big free agency splash from 2007. We have seen guys come through here, and often times they buy into the philosophy, but even guys like Moss, Thomas, and Dillon were back to complaining in a very public way by the time they hit year three, and that is just the first we heard about it. Sure, Belichick runs a tight ship, but anyone can be seduced by talent and overlook the potential for a mutiny, and the Patriots have already brought in a few players this offseason that appear to be more risky than their normal slate of hard workers who always put the team first.
Glad to say (if you were in the other thread, you'd understand), I definitely agree with
@jimnance on his take. Butler would definitely appear to be a better fit, not only from an attitude perspective but also because he complements Gilmore better. I can't deny Sherman's talent, but it makes sense that the Patriots were much more interested in him before they signed Gilmore. If the market for Ryan was $10M annually, then it would be a great value to get Sherman at $11M, as he is a much, much better player. However, I also see some redundancy in a Gilmore-Sherman duo and wonder how many teams feature two traditional big, fast traditional receivers, rather than a TY Hilton or Antonio Brown type who Butler would do better against.
And on top of everything, I'm not saying the Patriots should actually consider this, and we all love winning, but let's be honest: wouldn't you feel uncomfortable rooting for Sherman if he were to come here while Butler is run out of town? I think Sherman is probably not as big a villain as we once thought he was, but there is no question this guy has a tremendous ego and a need for the spotlight. He is one of our biggest adversaries dating back to his violation of trash talk secrecy, trying to build a name for himself by crucifying Brady on social media. The whole thing reeked of self-promotion and a lack of discipline, not to mention a slap in the face to our favorite player. I don't think it would be as bad as Terrell Suggs coming here, but Sherman is on the short list of most uncomfortable players to root for. I am sure that winning another Super Bowl would cure this, and we would all be rationalizing why we like him now, but personally I was glad to hear the Patriots no longer appear interested. And if they are willing to pay big for a second CB (which I don't think they will), I would hope Butler is their first preference.
