Frank Clark Says Seahawks Are His Team: Richard Sherman Era Is Over

The 8-5 Seattle Seahawks defeated the Minnesota Vikings 21-7 at home on Monday, and the visitors were shut out for nearly 59 minutes.

Afterward, Seahawks defensive end Frank Clark had some words for San Francisco 49ers and ex-Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman, who said two weeks ago his former franchise is "kind of middle of the road."

"[Sherman is] not in this locker room no more, so his opinion really doesn't matter," Clark said. "They've got some problems over there in San Fran that he needs to be worried about.

"... This is my team now. This is my defense. Richard Sherman, his era is over here."

Sherman's comments came three days before the 49ers' 43-16 loss at the Seahawks on Dec. 2.

Clark has a team-high 11 sacks, though it may be a stretch to say the Hawks are his team. Middle linebacker Bobby Wagner, who was a member of the Super Bowl XLVIII-winning squad, leads Seattle with 107 tackles. Quarterback Russell Wilson is also still calling shots in his seventh season with the Seahawks and has thrown 29 touchdown passes to just six interceptions.

Still, Clark's resume is impressive, and he's one of the more valuable defensive players in the league. The Hawks are in the driver's seat for a wild-card bid as well.

However, Seattle defenses during the Legion of Boom era were some of the best in recent history. As an original LOB member, Sherman enjoyed a stellar seven-year career in Seattle, making the postseason five times and the Super Bowl twice.

He was a part of the league's best scoring defense from 2012 to 2015. The capstone of that run was a dominant 43-8 victory over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII.

The Hawks are better than "middle of the road," but in fairness to Sherman, they were a so-so 6-5 at the time of his comments.

The two teams will face each other again at 4:05 p.m. ET Sunday in Santa Clara, California.