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Warren’s Sapp diatribe against Sheldon Richardson today was uncalled for and filled with holes. Let’s set the record straight.
First off, Sapp is upset that Richardson said late in the year that he would have been the first pick in the 2013 draft if it was held again.
“If something drives you, it drives you from inside, right?” Sapp told the Daily News. “He’s externally saying it. The draft is not going to be re-drafted. So as soon as he wakes up from this nightmare that’s haunting him…. that’s the whole point when we talk about football players not carrying baggage. One play at a time. Let that go. He hasn’t let go of the draft. It was Week 15 and he was still talking about it. I was like, ‘Really?'”
First of all, I want to be upfront about this – I agree with Richardson. If the draft were held again, I think he would go first overall. Obviously none of us can prove that, but I’m talking about it from a value standpoint.
Secondly, why is Sapp making such a freaking big deal about something some minor?
And when did Sapp want Richardson to say it, Week Three, before he had a body of work?
Richardson said it after almost an entire season of kicking butt.
Anybody who knows Richardson knows this wasn’t “haunting him,” and he wasn’t viewing it as a “nightmare.”
He’s a happy-go-lucky kid who always has a smile on his face and has a zest for life. He wasn’t walking around bitter about this. He was just an opinion.
Talk about making a mountain out of mole hole.
Then Sapp insulted Richardson’s game by labeling as mostly a run defender and not much of a pass rusher, and took offense to those who compared his game to Sapp’s
“So if you’re highly skilled, you should be able to rush the passer, right?… Was he defensive player of the year in college? Was he an All-American? You’re comparing him to a first-ballot of Hall of Famer?
“What does he do well?” Sapp asked about Richardson.
Stuffing the run, he was told.
“Yeah. A run stuffer in a pass-first league,” Sapp mocked.
What is the point of all this venom?
Richardson never did anything to Sapp, and he also never compared himself to Sapp. That came from other people.
And it’s pretty clear that Sapp didn’t break down a lot of Jets games this year.
Richardson is a good pass rusher.
You see, while he didn’t have a ton of sacks (3.5), he had a lot of QB pressures, which are really important as well. Let me give you some examples . . .
On the Cleveland Browns’ second series, Richardson hits Jason Campbell as he threw and this led to an incompletion on the left side of the end zone.
Early in the second quarter, Richardson shed Pro Bowl center Alex Mack, and hit Campbell as he threw incomplete to Edwin Baker over short middle.
On the New Orleans Saints’ final possession of the game, Richardson beat center Brian De Le Puente with a spin move, and forced Drew Brees to throw an errant pass over the middle to Lance Moore.
Also on the Saint’s final possession, Richardson beat guard Ben Grubbs with a spin move, and it forced Brees into an errant throw to the left side.
In first Jets-New England game, Richardson beat center Ryan Wendell, and he and Calvin Pace pressured Tom Brady who fumbled (the Patriots recovered).
And let’s not forget that he also drew a few holding calls because he was too quick for some linemen.
Against Pittsburgh, Richardson drew a holding call on right tackle Marcus Gilbert on the Steelers’ first possession.
Against New Orleans, Sheldon Richardson is too quick for Jahri Evans into the gap, and this forced the guard into a holding call.
January 29, 2014
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