Sherman Rips Skip Bayless on First Take

Richard Sherman of the Seattle Seahawks has made a lot of noise this offseason while proclaiming he is the best cornerback in the NFL. He has even sparked a Twitter war with Jets' corner Darrelle Revis, the consensus top dog at corner. On ESPN's First Take, however, Sherman paused his rivalry with Revis to unleash direct attacks on host Skip Bayless.

Sherman cited his gaudy stats, his All-Pro selection, and his degree from Stanford University, saying to Bayless "these are things you will never accomplish." He then went on to say, "I'm at the top of my field. I'm All-Pro. I'm one of the best 22 players in the NFL. You're going to brush it off, but I don't think you're the best 22 anything. In sports, in media, in anything." Then, Sherman could have dropped the proverbial microphone after hitting Bayless with "In my 24 years of life, I'm better at life than you."

There was plenty more back and forth between Sherman and Bayless-but the main thrust of the conflict is that Bayless seemed intent on shifting the focus toward Sherman's insistence on mouthing off despite imploring anybody listening that "his numbers speak for themselves," while Sherman clearly felt slighted by Bayless' comments in the past and wanted to embarrass him on national television. During the Sherman-Revis Twitter war, Bayless had said Sherman was not in the same league as Revis.

For all Sherman's mouthing off, his numbers have been startlingly good. In two seasons, he has racked up 12 interceptions, 41 pass defenses, four forced fumbles, and 99 tackles per Pro-footballreference.com. Sherman's chief competition at the position, Revis, has 19 interceptions, 97 pass defenses, one forced fumble, and 241 tackles in four more seasons. Sherman's Seahawks had the top-ranked defense in NFL largely due to Sherman's play.

Last month, Revis was irritated by Sherman's boasting calling him a "girl" on Twitter for talking too much and calling him a young pup who needs to wait his turn. Add Bayless to the list of people not on Sherman's bandwagon.