San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh's complaints about Seattle's physical defense didn't sit well with Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman.
When reporters asked why Seattle's secondary wasn't repeatedly flagged in last Thursday night's loss to San Francisco, the 49ers coach said he planned to "take that up with the" league office.
Sherman -- who played under Harbaugh at Stanford -- sees a double standard.
"Sometimes, man, when the bully gets bullied, that's how that happens," Sherman told Danny O'Neil of the Seattle Times. "He's the same guy who said the other guy was irrational and ignorant for talking about the refs."
"The other guy" is New York Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride, and the comparison doesn't hold up. Gilbride went out of his way to imply that 49ers defensive end Justin Smith "gets away with murder" from officials. Harbaugh didn't spout off unaided. Reporters asked him to comment.
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll has dismissed the notion that his secondary plays outside the rules and said: "I don't think a guy should be able to speak out and go ahead and cause an investigation. That's too easy. I don't think that's going to happen."
Besides, Sherman has moved on. With his Sunday matchup against Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin "Megatron" Johnson on tap, the Seahawks defender tweaked his Twitter handle Wednesday.
Richard Sherman now is Optimus Prime. And our world grows stranger by the minute.
Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.
