49ers WR Crabtree: Tired of talk

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Friday, July 11, 2014

Seattle Seahawks Pro Bowl cornerback Richard Sherman hasn't forgotten about his spat with San Francisco 49ers receiver Michael Crabtree, but Crabtree said Thursday he's tired of the off-the-field drama.

"I've been doing this for a while, you know," he told ESPN's "NFL Live," from the Nike Elite 11 camp in Oregon, without specifically mentioning Sherman by name. "I've been playing, I've been to the top of the totem pole since high school, you know. So it's nothing new to me.

"Like when I win, it's no hoorah. I ain't yelling. You know what I'm saying? I'm used to it. But like I said, I'm getting [tired of] talking about these guys. I concentrate on football. I love football. This my life, you know what I'm saying? So I don't really have too much to prove when it comes to talking on this TV. But like I said, I'm about it."

Sherman's postgame rant directed at Crabtree, moments after the NFC Championship Game last season, became national news. The animosity continued in comments Sherman made during an appearance on Wednesday night's episode of "American Muscle" on the Discovery Channel.

"It's not going to be something that goes away," Sherman said on the show. "I hope to play [Crabtree] every year for the rest of my career and choke him out. There's not much else I can say about the subject. Nobody will understand it but him and me. That's all that needs to [be understood]."

Sherman tipped a pass intended for Crabtree in the end zone in the final seconds of the NFC Championship Game. The tip was intercepted by Seahawks linebacker Malcolm Smith. It sealed a 23-17 victory for Seattle and sent the Seahawks to the Super Bowl, which they won 43-8 over Denver.

Sherman's tip has come to be known as the Immaculate Deflection, but his postgame comments on the Fox telecast are what many people remember.

"I'm the best corner in the game," Sherman screamed. "When you try me with a sorry receiver like Crabtree, that's the result you're going to get. Don't you ever talk about me."

When Fox reporter Erin Andrews asked him who he was talking about, he replied, "Crabtree. Don't you open your mouth about the best or I'll shut it for you real quick. L.O.B. [Legion of Boom]."

ESPN.com's Terry Blount contributed to this report.

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