Seattle cornerback Richard Sherman was given a doozy of an assignment in his first NFL start, asked to line up against Bengals rookie wideout A.J. Green.
By most accounts, Green's been everything this surprising 5-2 Cincinnati team hoped for when they took him fourth overall in April's draft, but Sherman walked away unimpressed after the Seahawks' 34-12 loss.
"I would say he's probably one of the most overrated receivers out there," Sherman told KJR-AM, via The Seattle Times. "He wasn't anything special. (Andy) Dalton was a good quarterback. He makes good decisions, but A.J. Green is just a lot of noise talking and bad routes."
We look with apprehension on this rookie-on-rookie slapdown, but Seahawks coach Pete Carroll was pleased with Sherman's play, which included an interception on a pass intended for Green.
"He took away the deep ball on three different situations," Carroll told the newspaper. "Two of them turned into turnovers. He played a couple short routes very well. ... I thought he played a very, very good game. I was really proud of him."
For the record, Green notched four catches for 63 yards and a touchdown, part of a season that's seen him catch 33 balls for 516 yards and five scores. You don't hear too many people inside the Bengals organization ripping on Green, especially at a position that can be tough to master as a rookie. He and Dalton form one of the league's most promising young duos -- something the Seahawks have sorely lacked this season.
