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This is all new to Richard Sherman.
His teams have never started a season 1-4 throughout his professional career. In Seattle, All-Pro defensive backs surrounded him, forming one of the top secondaries in NFL history. He is now playing alongside rookies and second-year defensive players whose growing pains have been obvious throughout the first five games of his 49ers tenure.
Many expected inconsistency among the 49ers defense, considering these players are just beginning to build the necessary continuity found in every great defense. Sherman’s expectation does not vary with age.
“That’s the tough part for me because I don’t think of youth as an excuse as some people do,” Sherman said Friday. “So, I am pretty tough on the guys a lot of times in a lot of ways because when you’re young, you can still play at a high level, and a lot of young guys do play at a high level. I think that gives people excuses.”
Sherman’s young teammates agree.
“I don’t look at youth, or if you’re an old-timer, as an excuse for not being on top of your game or profession,” second-year linebacker Reuben Foster said.
“Youth is not an excuse,” second-year tight end George Kittle said. “When you are drafted or picked up, you are expected to play at a high level. There’s no redshirting.”
The 49ers entered the 2018 season as the 10th-youngest team in the league, with an average age of 25.8. They have 23 rookies or second-year players. Several of the veterans, including Sherman, Jimmy Garoppolo, Jerick McKinnon, and Weston Richburg, are proven veterans but first-year 49ers.
Sherman has clearly become one of San Francisco’s commanding leaders, whether he’s organizing off-the-field activities or staying after practice to work with his younger teammates on fundamentals. It is no secret what Sherman’s presence meant to many of the young 49ers defensive backs upon his arrival. During OTAs, second-year cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon described Sherman as an idol. Rookie defensive back D.J. Reed admitted he was star-struck when he first encountered Sherman.
When asked whether there is a de facto leader on defense, Foster says, “everybody,” but adds Sherman has a “lot of say-so.”
“That’s Sherm; he’s a vet,” Foster said. “He knows what everyone is going to do just like a middle linebacker. Him pulling me to the sideline, I know I have to listen because he is in the shoes I want to be in.”
Aside from defensive tackle Earl Mitchell, Sherman, 30, is the 49ers’ oldest defensive player. He may be one of San Francisco’s few “old-timers” Foster speaks of, but he has performed at an astonishing level through five games.
Sherman has allowed just one catch in 146 coverage snaps, which, as you’d expect, leads the league by a massive margin.
Good luck completing passes on Richard Sherman this season: pic.twitter.com/71a0EOprKX
— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) October 8, 2018
Opposing teams have avoided Sherman’s side almost entirely, instead picking on Ahkello Witherspoon and Jimmie Ward for long stretches at a time. The 49ers have allowed 242 pass yards per game, the 12th-most in the NFL, and almost none of that has been yielded on Sherman’s left side. (It’s worth noting he did not play in Week 4.)
There is some room for optimism. The 49ers are coming off their best performance. In their 28-18 loss to the visiting Arizona Cardinals last Sunday, quarterback Josh Rosen completed just 10 of his 25 attempts for 170 yards, 75 of which came on Arizona’s first offensive play of the game.
As usual, Sherman erased his side of the field. He has not allowed a catch in his past three appearances. He has been everything the 49ers could have hoped, particularly after recovering from an Achilles tear last November.
As for his young counterparts, there is still plenty of room for growth. When Sherman decided to join the 49ers in March, he acknowledged their youth and highlighted his responsibilities to lead.
“I look forward to helping this group grow,” Sherman said during his introductory press conference in March. “I think that one of my best attributes is leadership and helping guys get the best out of themselves.
And I think that at the end of the day, that’s all I want to do. I want to help them become better men and better players. Whatever that may be. If that means on-the-field just communicating better, if that’s off-the-field, just getting your affairs in order in a better way that’s more conducive of success, I think that’s my job, and I take that responsibility seriously.”