Sherm

There's no Seahawks game today, and even if there was I'd probably be ignoring it in favor of the MLS Cup going on, featuring my Seattle Sounders versus Toronto FC. If the Seahawks get to the Super Bowl this year, it will have been in spite of several in-season missteps (including two home losses!), whereas the Sounders have already proven themselves by getting to the championship round. They get my undivided attention today.

Which is Sunday, by the way. Which is NOT the day I'm writing this, by the way. I'm scheduling it forward 100% because I intend to be fully occupied this Sunday. Go Sounders! Scarves up!

MONDAY will be the Seahawks game this week, and it features a 7-2 Seattle team attempting to hold pace with the undefeated San Francisco 49ers. The Niners are smashing teams this year based on a last place schedule and a seriously destructive defense that features no less than five #1 draft picks in their front seven and a renewed secondary benefitting from the leadership of Richard Sherman. Sherman is a fantastic player, and I fully expect him to have a good game against the Seahawks tomorrow night...not because the Seahawks are bad, but because he is an experienced, savvy vet who uses his brain, film study, and incredibly effort to get the most out of his body's ability to physically perform.

Yes, I'm still a fan of the man, even though he's no longer on my team. I watched the effort and class with which he carried himself for years, most of which didn't make the national highlight (or, rather, lowlight) reels that cast him as a "villain" to feed media-fueled storylines. Such is the way of entertainment news. Being a superstar with a big ego isn't really a crime...unlike, say, being a sexual predator or physically assaulting folks.

But I digress...this is meant to be a Blood Bowl post (it's been too long since my last one). I still see various NFL teams as having Blood Bowl equivalents, but one of the (main) ways the analogy falls down is when it comes to free agency. The Seahawks are still orcs, the 49ers are still dwarves (and yes, the Cleveland Browns are still the Hobgoblin team -- just a classic cluster***)...but how can you justify players switching between teams (like Sherm moving down to Santa Clara?)?

Short answer: you can't. Oh, maybe you (or I) could come up with some sort of house rule to justify it, but it's just as easy to say *poof* the player magically transforms into the correct fantasy race upon signing with a team. Or you could just ignore it (which I will do) and say Star Players are Star Players are Star Players and like 3E Blood Bowl's Morg N'Throg, NFL-based Star Players are true mercenaries who will play for ANY team, regardless of species.

So here's my current version of Richard Sherman as a (Blood Bowl) Star Player:

Richard Sherman (#25)
Species: Orc
MA: 5  ST: 3  AG: 3  AV: 9
Skills: Catch, Leader, Pass Block, Pro, Shadowing, Tackle
Cost: 190,000 gold pieces
Allowable Teams: Any (alternatively: limited to NFC West teams)

[notes: I realize that this version of Sherman is different from the stat line I posted back in 2013; not only have my thoughts on the player changed (cornerbacks really model better as line players, not blitzers), but the player himself has changed. This stat line is a better representation of Sherman as a character in the game as currently designed. Also, while earlier editions of BB allowed stars to have a maximum of seven advances, the current version only allows six...which is fine considering that, as an older player, Sherm might not quite as fast as he once was. Not that he was ever a "burner;" his game has always been more cerebral, based on study and preparation combined with impeccable timing]

Hoping Lockett has a better game than
Sherman tomorrow night.