Robert Klemko explains Richard Sherman’s comment that Seahawks ‘have lost their way’

Have the Seahawks lost their way?

That’s the assertion former Hawks cornerback Richard Sherman makes in the newest MMQB column. Sports Illustrated’s Robert Klemko, who interviewed Sherman for the piece, joined John Clayton on 710 ESPN Seattle to talk about the All Pro’s comments.

“They’ve lost their way,” Sherman was quoted as saying in the piece. “It’s as simple as that. They’ve just lost their way. When you make too many mistakes over a long period of time, you kind of dig yourself a hole. And then when you backtrack, you gotta make a bunch of rash decisions to try and fill the hole and hope that it holds up.”

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As it turns out, it may not have only been Sherman who held those feelings. Klemko said he spoke to a number of veterans in Seattle.

“I think that a lot of those guys feel like that sense of competition that it was all built on – where the best man is going to win the job, no matter his draft status, no matter how much he gets paid – I think that they felt that that started to disappear after the Super Bowl against New England,” Klemko said. “For whatever reason, they think Pete Carroll lost the qualities that really made the team great, and that was that competitive nature.

“Now you could look at some of the players that started and some of the players that had great seasons, and kind of pick and choose which players the veterans thought should have been starters. But ultimately, Pete built a culture in Seattle that was the antithesis (of New England), where (Bill) Belichick is the authoritarian and you don’t question the hoodie. In Seattle, they all felt like they were a part of this big democracy. And so naturally when they start disagreeing with some of the personnel moves, you’re going to lose some of those guys.”

Klemko said Sherman didn’t mention any specific players, but has his own opinion about what he may be implying, in general.

“I think there’s an overall frustration with the lack of an offensive line and kind of the offense’s inability to keep up with the strides the defense was making in 2013, 2014, 2015,” Klemko said. “I think they all recognize that Russell (Wilson) can sprint around and create for 16 games, and even get you to a Super Bowl. But in order to really dominate and have the dynasty they thought they should have had, they felt like they needed to draft offensive linemen better and not commit to guys that they were paying big contracts to and keeping them on the field in favor of guys who maybe had a better shot at success who were getting paid less.”

Klemko also discussed Sherman’s reasoning for ultimately choosing the 49ers as a landing spot, and explained how the new Collective Bargaining Agreement has impacted second contracts and parity in the league. Listen to Klemko’s entire interview with John Clayton in the clip embedded above, or on Clayton’s 710 ESPN Seattle podcast page here.