Chargers didn't 'expose' Sherman

— -- Richard Sherman has talked a big game and played one, too. It's been a winning combination for the Seattle Seahawks' fourth-year cornerback. We can debate where he stands among the NFL's top corners, but there's no debating his relevance.

Sherman became a story in Week 1, when the Green Bay Packers avoided throwing to his side of the field. He was a leading story again in Week 2, when the San Diego Chargers claimed to have "exposed" him after completing a few short passes into his area. With Seattle's Super Bowl rematch against the Denver Broncos looming in Week 3, we checked in with an NFL quarterback, receiver and defensive coach to get their insights on whether there's any sort of blueprint for exploiting Sherman, and what we should read into his performance in the Chargers game.

Let's get this out of the way: The Chargers didn't 'expose' Sherman

Not at all. Pro Football Focus registered six targets against Sherman, but the defensive coach I consulted counted four times when Sherman was at the point of attack in coverage. The Chargers completed passes for 42 yards on those four plays, with 27 of those yards after the catch. There were "traffic" issues on two of the plays, meaning the Chargers used route combinations to impede Sherman's ability to cover cleanly.

That was the case when Chargers tight end Antonio Gates drew Sherman away from Eddie Royal at the 5:35 mark of the third quarter. Royal pivoted and caught the ball 1 yard downfield. He gained another 15 yards after the catch.

"When Antonio Gates is running downfield and your guy is doing a shallow cross, everyone gets beat," the defensive coach said.

Chargers QB Philip Rivers averaged 7.3 yards per attempt when targeting wide receivers in that game. It was his fifth-lowest average in 20 games under San Diego's current coaching staff. He completed no passes longer than 16 yards, his shortest "long" completion in a game since Week 3 last season.

If you are going to throw at Sherman, here's how to do it

If there were a way to expose Sherman, we probably would have seen someone do it by now. Stevie Johnson, then with Buffalo, enjoyed success against Sherman in 2012 by avoiding the jam near the line of scrimmage to get free releases. Last season, Indianapolis' T.Y. Hilton got free for a 73-yard touchdown against Seattle, but the Seahawks blew the assignment on that play.

"Sherman has a good thing going right now," the QB said. "He talks, he is abrasive, he is an intimidating corner. You don't want to get shown up. He has created a thing."

How to exploit Sherman? The QB, receiver and defensive coach described a set of circumstances that could make Sherman more vulnerable, at least:

• Get Seattle on the road. Crowd noise reduces the offensive menu. It helps defensive linemen gain advantages at the snap. Margins for error shrink. Veteran QBs operating in friendly environments have a better chance.

• Match confidence with confidence. A receiver with experience facing Sherman said the cornerback feeds off of getting a mental edge. "With him, you just have to have confidence," the receiver said. "He is going to talk. He will try to get you out of your game, and then you are playing his game."

• Wait until Seattle is in man coverage. There's no one-on-one matchup to exploit when a corner is responsible for a zone instead of an individual receiver. The Seahawks do put their corners in press coverage frequently, however.

• Use Sherman's size against him. Sherman stands 6-foot-3 and had the second-largest wingspan (78.25 inches) among the 35 corners measured at the scouting combine in 2011. His length can frustrate bigger receivers, who regularly see matchups against corners against whom they have a size advantage. So you're not likely to out-size him, making your best shot maybe to out-quick him. "If you can get him against someone with a lot of change-of-direction ability, he is not as good -- but that is true for every corner in the league," the defensive coach said.

• Use pick plays and rub routes. The Chargers did this a couple of times, and there's not much any corner can do when the offense is able to execute it. The Broncos seemed well-suited to accomplish this in the Super Bowl, but Seattle won physical matchups across the board, disrupting Peyton Manning and Denver's route running.

What does all of this mean for Sunday's Seahawks-Broncos matchup?

The Broncos seemed to be caught off-guard by the noise against Seattle in the Super Bowl, even though that game was played at a neutral site. Facing the Seahawks at CenturyLink Field in Week 3 will be tougher, even though the Broncos know what they're getting into this time.

"I don't think Denver will go at Sherman," the veteran QB said. "That is not their thing. I think they will run their system. It is hard to get Seattle into double bump-and-run press coverage, which is where the Broncos run a lot of their pick plays. If you watched Denver against Indy, they found a way to get their tight end on a non-corner. But the Colts aren't as athletic as Seattle is."

Since the start of 2013 and counting the playoffs, the Seahawks have allowed a league-low 3.6 pass plays per game covering more than 15 yards. The average is 5.1 per game for the other 31 teams. Cecil Shorts III, Anquan Boldin and Andre Johnson lead the way with three apiece against Seattle. Sherman obviously wasn't in coverage for all of those.

Smart teams try to exploit opponents' weaknesses. Sherman represents one of the Seahawks' strengths. He's also surrounded by blue-chip players and working within a system that has been in place since 2010, before his arrival. No one has exploited Sherman regularly, and it isn't likely to happen soon.

Notes

• Andy Dalton has completed 7 of 8 passes for 166 yards with one touchdown, no turnovers and no sacks when pressured this season. Those are unsustainable numbers, but they are also encouraging ones. Dalton was previously among the NFL's worst QBs when pressured. He completed 25 of 70 passes for 238 yards with three picks and 32 sacks in those situations during the 2013 regular season. It got worse during the playoffs, leading the team to place special emphasis on this area. Coaches were optimistic when I asked them about Dalton's progress during training camp. So far, so good.

• Getting left tackle Jake Matthews back from injury is huge for the Atlanta Falcons' season-long outlook. The Falcons were dangerously close to a breaking point at tackle after Michael Johnson and Sam Baker both went on injured reserve. Matt Ryan took only three sacks in the first two games, but he was pressured on 26 pass dropbacks, the fourth-highest total in the league behind Chad Henne (32), Alex Smith (30) and Geno Smith (28). The Falcons could be playing from behind a fair amount, which only makes pass protection tougher. Twenty-two of the 26 pressures on Ryan came when the Falcons were behind.

• I'm eager to see how well Arizona Cardinals QB Drew Stanton plays against San Francisco now that it appears starter Carson Palmer could need time to recover from a nerve issue in his throwing shoulder. Palmer had been questionable on the injury report last week, so there was some expectation he would play against the New York Giants. Arizona should be better prepared to go with Stanton this time. Coach Bruce Arians tends to be a straight shooter with his public comments, so I filed it away when he praised Stanton during an interview at the league meetings in 2013. "He has a nice [set of skills] that hasn't been able to be seen by the public yet because of the circumstances where he has been," Arians said. "I have every confidence in the world with him being the starter."

• A side note on Arians: He has maintained that he'd rather have a pocket passer than a running QB because running QBs are too prone to injuries. Palmer is definitely a pocket passer, but he got hurt scrambling against San Diego in Week 1. Palmer took a hit from safety Eric Weddle and hurt his shoulder upon impact with the ground.