The front-runner is running scared now, running away from the media fast and running to Twitter even faster to fight with words because some days, words are all Richard Sherman's got.
And he's very good with words.
Richard Sherman is a Stanford grad and a thoughtful man -- when the mood strikes and he's running with a lead -- so what would someone smart enough to graduate from Stanford and eloquent enough to write stories for Sports Illustrated think of a cornerback who doesn't cover the other team's best receiver and still brags about being the best cornerback in the NFL? But brags only when he's had a great game?
Think of the most infamous Richard Sherman moments. The "u mad bro?" picture he tweeted at Patriots quarterback Tom Brady after a Seahawks victory in 2012. The rambunctious pat on 49ers receiver Michael Crabtree's butt after Sherman sealed the 2014 NFC title game. The choke sign at 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. The extended hand to Crabtree, the gesture of shock when Crabtree wanted no part of it.
Wanting Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers to confirm that, yes, the 2011 league MVP and career NFL passer-rating leader had stayed away from Sherman on purpose in the first game of the 2014 season. Then trying to get a fist-bump from his honest, humbled -- and beaten -- competitor.
After that game, Richard Sherman was open to the media. Come one, come all. Let's talk about the wonder of Richard Sherman.
Then came this past Sunday, the Seahawks' second game of the season. The Chargers threw at Sherman several times and completed five passes for 60 yards to his side of the field. Second-year receiver Keenan Allen did most of his damage against Sherman, catching five passes for 55 yards and helping put Sherman into this embarrassing turn of the spin cycle. The Chargers won 30-21.
And after the game, Richard Sherman was speechless. There was nothing to gloat about, only defeat to discuss, and Richard Sherman wasn't having it.
Until he heard what was coming from the San Diego locker room.
The word "exposed" was thrown around by the Chargers, as if Sherman had been exposed by Chargers receiver Keenan Allen. Speaking of silly bravado, as we should every time we speak of Richard Sherman, that was a silly thing for the Chargers to be saying. Exposed? Nonsense. And smart people would know better.
But Richard Sherman couldn't let it go. The man is as insecure as he is talented -- and he's exceptionally talented -- so he ran to Twitter and unleashed 140 characters defending himself, using numbers and even the LMAO acronym to get his point across.
So here's where I switch the column from Sherman's front-running cowardice -- he's front and center when he wins, hides when he loses; case closed -- and focus instead on his delusions of grandeur. And he has them.
Listen, Richard Sherman may well be the best cornerback in the NFL. He really might. But he hasn't proved it, not like the guys he's always dissing -- Darrelle Revis, Patrick Peterson, others -- cornerbacks who are given the challenge of covering the other team's best receiver and, because of that, suffer some unseemly losses. Hey, you can't win them all. Great player against great player? Somebody great has to lose, whether it's the receiver or the cornerback. It happens. Everyone knows it and accepts it.
In Seattle, Richard Sherman almost never covers great players. The Seahawks' strategy is to station him on one side of the field and keep him there, knowing the other team will probably avoid that side as much as possible. It works, too; the Seahawks won the 2014 Super Bowl. And it's a testament to Sherman's talent that opposing coaches prefer to avoid throwing his way.
Nobody is debating whether Sherman is a wonderful cornerback. But comparing him to Revis or Peterson or the other elite cornerbacks who have to cover elite receivers is impossible -- and unfair to Revis and Peterson and the rest.
You bench press 315 pounds and fail. I bench press 225 three times. Am I stronger? Who knows?
That's the difficulty in comparing Sherman to other cornerbacks. Is he better than the rest? Who knows? He's not doing the heavy lifting.
Last week when he shut down half the field against the Packers, he shut it down by covering their third receiver, Jarrett Boykin. The Packers' top two receivers, Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb, combined for 15 catches for 141 yards and a touchdown. The Seahawks won, and Sherman received -- and deserved -- much credit.
A week later Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers threw for 284 yards, three touchdowns and 124.2 passer rating. How much of the blame, if any, does Sherman deserve? What did he think of the Seahawks' coverage issues overall? Was he utilized in the best possible way?
These are questions without answers, because Richard Sherman only talks when he feels like it. After he's won. After he's played well. Or after he's left the locker room, safe from questions, where he answers only to himself.
>> Want more Week 2 review? Prisco: Rivers, Chargers won't back down
