[2022] Forest Sherman overhyped?

Correct!
We cannot confirm that it will be this week, but it has been slated for release "two weeks after the release of 11.1", which would mean some time this week

I have chosen to go full selfish gunboat on my F.Sherm. I have the skills set to play as an open-water, long-range damage dealer.

I may switch away from Fearless Brawler since the lack of heal and inclusion of awesome American smoke means that open-watering can be very hazardous.

Forrest Sherman definitely has her weaknesses. I am always pleased to see ships come out that have a strong balance of both!

Feedback and opinions for the balancing of a new ship is collected from Supertesters, Clan Supertesters, Community Contributors, Privateers, Staff, and even the Wiki Editors.
"The DD Community" is not a body that can be consulted properly for balancing input, but the closest thing is that feedback to the devblog posts is absolutely factored into balancing decisions.

Ships can't be good at EVERYTHING .
Forrest Sherman's layout makes her excellent for the same kind of work a Harugumo is: sit somewhere in smoke and rain down fiery doom on things that can't see you. It's not a torp-boat, although the torpedoes have extremely long range and often score hits that you don't expect. It's not a brawling gunboat because it has no heal. It can do massive, consistent damage even at long range due to the ballistics, so play to it's strengths!

It really highlights the difference between the two types of gunboats:
The Brawler: (Smaland / Daring / Kleber / Marceau / Druid / Groz)

Heal / HP


Speed


Tools

The Farmer: (Harugumo / F.Sherman / Vampire 2 / Elbing)

DPM


DPM


DPM


Smoke

Then you've got some odds one like Ragnar / Khaba / Delny, which technically can do both, but aren't always the best at either.