Jerry Rice on Sherman-Crabtree feud: That is nothing compared to my rivalry with Deion Sanders
The now infamous post-game tirade that Richard Sherman aimed at San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree after the NFC Championship game on Sunday night sent the NFL community into quite the frenzy.
Twitter was ablaze with reaction, both negative and positive. While the comments were certainly divisive, (seemingly) everyone was enamored with one thing in particular: Sherman's disdain for Crabtree.
Everyone, except for Hall of Famer Jerry Rice.
During a press conference for the 2014 Pro Bowl Draft on Tuesday, Rice was asked to compare the rivalry between the two current players with his own history against Deion Sanders.
Predictably, he was less than impressed.
"Crabtree versus Richard Sherman? Come on man, that is not even close," Rice said.
"Whenever I had to go up against Deion, I could not sleep," Rice said. "We talk about this now, and Deion, the same, he could not sleep, because we knew the magnitude of that rivalry and we wanted to go out there and play our best football. It was a mono-a-mono against each other. I respected him."
Rice also added that the rivalry needs time to grow.
"Richard Sherman is a good defensive back," Rice said. "Crabtree is an upcoming receiver. He is doing well. Let those guys build a reputation first.
"I'm one of those guys, you never want to be compared. Give these guys an opportunity to earn that reputation. Just don't give it to them because they are still in the early part of their career. And hopefully they can be a great matchup in the future."