Is Sharper Overrated?
by DrZin on Mar 4, 2010 7:40 PM CST
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I think everyone in the WDN, including me, is bracing themselves for the possibility of the Saints going to camp next summer without the biggest defensive play-maker of our first and only title season. I've seen quite a few people express confidence bordering on certainty that Darren Sharper will be back under a gold helmet when we kick off as defending champs. But, given the obvious dissatisfaction with the situation on his part, the proposition of him returning seems to be about as close to 50/50 as you can get, and it's got me a little worried.
Yes, most are fully on board with re-signing him and wouldn't have had a moment's second thought about putting the tag on him and paying him six-point-whatever million. But for myself, I have to admit, that's less to do with front office acumen, of which I have little (OK, none), than with a sense of personal loyalty and nostalgia. It'd be sad to see, so soon, one of our most charismatic and highlight friendly championship veterans acrimoniously depart and sadder to get an unfortunate glimpse of the sausage-making that goes into creating Pigskin Paradise on Airline Drive.
So, in an attempt to steel myself for the worst-case scenario, I'm trying to break through my SB glow and invite in a little realism. One fellow over at Football Outsiders has examined last year's Saints' defensive performance and put together a more front-office type assessment of Darren Sharper's value to the team (scroll down at link). He argues that most of the credit for the improved pass defense belongs to Jabari Greer (I agree totally with this) and that chances of Sharper enjoying another season like he had in 2009 is a long-shot.
. . . whoever signs Sharper this offseason will be paying for last year's interception total, Jabari Greer's excellent play, and a reasonable amount of veteran leadership. Of course, if veteran leadership was so important, the Vikings probably wouldn't have let go of Sharper in the first place.
Now, a grain of salt: to justify their "outsider" status, we all know the guys over at FO do their best to come up with any counter-intuitive angle they can to buck conventional wisdom and prove they're smarter than everyone else (I thought that early season "NFL parity is dead!" meme that they basically started and on which sports media harped for a few weeks was total BS; Saints as new champions, Jets in the AFC Championship game, the Chargers and Pats both one-and-done, Steelers out of the playoffs, etc. puts the lie to that).
But sometimes they are smarter than everyone else, and they're almost always the most objective. Certainly Sharper came up big early on, but to be honest, there were a few times in the biggest games late last season where I was wondering, "When is Sharper going to show up?"
So anyway, you don't have to agree totally with their curt dismissal of one of the all-time great Saints ballhawking heroes (I certainly don't), but at least there might be a little something to console us if we lose him.
This FanPost was written by a reader and member of Canal Street Chronicles. It does not necessarily reflect the views of CSC and its staff or editors.
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Football Outsiders are idiot savants
They understand statistics, not football. Their whole schtick is moving around numbers to try to convince you they know exactly why things happened the way they did. So they tell us, for instance, that Jabari Greer is a really great player. Well, duh.
NFL players are like weapons systems. Every once in awhile, they get plugged into a perfect situation, the kind of situation they were designed for. That’s Sharper in the early season of Gregg Williams’ defense, when the cornerbacks were healthy and able to hold down the fort man-to-man, and Sharper could act as a ballhawk. He certainly wasn’t overrated as a ballhawk: he was the best in the NFL. Give a lot of credit to Greer and Porter for setting up the conditions; but still, Sharper performed in his role exactly—exactly—as he was supposed to.
I don’t think numbers adequately express what Sharper did. I also have no worries whatsoever about a drop-off next season: if he doesn’t match last season’s interception totals, it will probably be due to other factors, and not because he can’t handle the role. He’s proven he can do that.
"If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there'd be peace." --J.O.L.
by MtnExile on Mar 4, 2010 8:41 PM CST reply actions 1 recs
Sharper is very important
remember last year when we had Sharper, Porter, Greer, and Harper, we were awesome. When we had 2 or 3 of them, we were not nearly the same. Sharper was made for GW’s scheme and although it is true Greer and Porter are HUGE as far as making this D go, don’t underestimate Sharper. I would say if the Saints could afford to let anyone in the defensive backfield go, it would be – NOBODY!! But, Harper would be easier to replace than Sharper. We have at least 2 on our roster who could fill that spot (Jenkins and Young) but I wouldn’t want to try. I don’t see anyone who could try to fill Sharpers spot. We got beat deep very few times last year compared to 1) other teams and 2) other years
"I think we agree, the past is over" - George W Bush
"The greatest enemy of knowlege is not ignorance; it is the illusion of knowledge" Stephen Hawking
i don't think Young
would fit as a SS and not so sure that Jenkins would shine there either but there is Chip Vaughn and Prioleau(i think). I agree that we need to keep em all. Let Jenkins continue to develop as a nickelback and we’ll be looking nice.
Superbowl bound!!!...I know! do you?! Go Saints!!
by skinnykinney on Mar 4, 2010 11:02 PM CST up reply actions
Young and Jenkins
would be possible FS not SS, taking over for Sharper, Roman Harper is our SS
try this for contrast
How many times did we see Josh Bullocks drop an interception? Like, just bounce off his hands? Sharper is pretty lucky, I guess, but at least he can get to the ball and catch it. I’m up for another year of him. Just so I get to see his beautiful smile if nothing else.
One Our Father three Hail Marys
Each Saturday night
by stujo4 on Mar 4, 2010 10:46 PM CST reply actions 2 recs
Rec'd it!
I want another year to see what Sharper can do. And of course, the beautiful smile is a bonus!
"It's better to burn out than fade away."
IF Sharper returns next year...
….only then can you assess how his play THIS year effected the Saints. Granted, he was a serious help this year, but interceptions aside, he is probably more helpful with his experience and teammatemanship. I consider him the Reggie Bush of the defense. You HAVE to see where he is and what he’s doing…which causes you to make a mistake and watch one of our other db’s capitalize on your mistake. IF he comes back, and picks up where he left off this year…then you can say he’s fantastic! If he plays way below how he did THIS year, then you can say he had his swan song. I’d like to see him as a coach…for us of course…when he retires.
WHO DAT!!! (sue me No Fun League)
Sharper also did well on NFL Network interviews
He didn’t let them get away with much, and he had them laughing lots, too!
Don’t forget that!
And I like the measured swagger and confidence he brought to the “D” (and the fact that he mostly backed it up).
"In the end, the bread was in the pudding." Bobby McCray
by Hans Petersen on Mar 6, 2010 8:41 AM CST up reply actions 1 recs
BINGO!
Fat, dumb, and happy. Hell, two out of three ain't bad!
I Want To Die In My Sleep Like My Grandpa – Not Screaming and Yelling Like His Passengers.
by Just 'Nother Day on Mar 6, 2010 4:55 PM CST up reply actions
I don't think he's 'overrated'
but I think he does gamble both on tackling and passes, he also gives up too easy sometimes
PSN: greenwald2004
Hit me up on the sticks! NBA2K10 is my game now.
“I consider him the Reggie Bush of the defense.”
Only Sharper is an every down player, who earns in excess of half his salary. They both have REALLY NICE SMILES, though! Great analogy.
"I was not on the boat in question." -Darren Sharper
True. But on the other hand, aside from the OL and Drew, exactly how many “every down” players do we have on offense again?
Not exactly the same situation.
For those who can't remember the uncapped FA rules, this link's for you.
I'd say Pierre is an
every down player, on offense. He just isn’t IN there for every down. I’m sure when he’s on the sideline, he’s thinking about everything to holding the ball properly to “if this play is called, what are my reads” to “don’t touch it cause I’m on national tv and who knows WHO might be watching”. Maybe it’s just that he displays such a serious game face, but I wish more players displayed his sportsmanship and attitude towards the game as he does. (Drew doesn’t count cause he’s SO high profile and always in the media).
WHO DAT!!! (sue me No Fun League)
In music terms
Sharper is a great soloist but he’s got problems playing the chords. Greer played the chords so when Greer’s gone Sharper gets lost trying to play the chords cause he wants to solo. I can’t front though I’m a fan of the solo player, knowing that the chords got to be played to make the music do what it do though.
As a rhythm section guy...
(I’m a semi-retired professional bassist), I can tell you that I appreciate a great soloist when hearing (seeing) one, but there is an aphorism that always holds true:
Their eyes may be on the star, but their asses are shaking to the bass guitar!
No rhythm section (Greer, Porter, Harper, and really the rest of the defense), no star.
Not saying I wouldn’t want Sharper back, heck yeah, he’s a great player and leader on the field. However, I wouldn’t give up any other starting DB to keep him either.
Who Dat? TWO DAT! Do dat AGAIN!!!
by GSO Saints Fan on Mar 5, 2010 2:35 PM CST up reply actions
awesome
some of the other folks have done the “Saints as Beatles” allegory.
now we need to do the “Saints defense as a funk band” allegory…
who’s first?
"In the end, the bread was in the pudding." Bobby McCray
by Hans Petersen on Mar 6, 2010 8:43 AM CST up reply actions
Rhythm section guys...
Vilma, bassist (let’s say James Jamerson), holds it all together, ties the rhythms to the harmony and is melodic while doing it.
Shanle, drummer (Benny Benjamin), lays down the groove, but has a style all his own doing it.
Anyone else? :-)
Who Dat? TWO DAT! Do dat AGAIN!!!
by GSO Saints Fan on Mar 6, 2010 9:42 AM CST up reply actions
Brunell would defenitely be a roady!
Fat, dumb, and happy. Hell, two out of three ain't bad!
I Want To Die In My Sleep Like My Grandpa – Not Screaming and Yelling Like His Passengers.
by Just 'Nother Day on Mar 6, 2010 4:56 PM CST up reply actions
FYI...
Beat writer Omar Kelly (no relation) passes along speculation that the Dolphins could pursue free agent FS Darren Sharper once Antrel Rolle signs elsewhere.
Kelly seems to believe the Dolphins are out of the running for Rolle. Sharper hasn’t drawn interest in the initial free-agency wave, but he appears to be a fallback option for teams missing out on Rolle and Ryan Clark.
http://www.rotoworld.com/Content/playerpages/player_main.aspx?sport=NFL&id=1814
Pigs have flown! Hell has frozen over! The Saints HAVE WON the Superbowl!!
I think we may also be forgetting about...
OJ Atogwe from St Louis… This is a guy most of us wanted last year and the Rams only tendered him at the lowest level (right of first refusal)… if we lose Sharper, I think OJ Atogwe would be a could call, plus his name is fun to say!
With the 32nd pick of the 2010 NFL Draft, the New Orleans Saints take... The suspense is killing me!
Sharper helped us win a Superbowl
But so did a bunch of other people. Believe it was a team effort. Coaches included.
OldFartFan
I really think Sharper can be a positive influence on our defense for another couple of years.
It all comes down to the money thing. He knows this is his last chance to sign a blockbuster contract.
Man, I hope we can keep him.
Fat, dumb, and happy. Hell, two out of three ain't bad!
I Want To Die In My Sleep Like My Grandpa – Not Screaming and Yelling Like His Passengers.
by Just 'Nother Day on Mar 5, 2010 8:58 PM CST reply actions
I'm no math major, but:
GIVEN
DS = [ (4.5 INTs) + (.66 TDs) + (86.33 YDs) ] *career AVG through 2008
AND
DS + GW = [ (9INTs) + (3TDs) + (376 YDs) ]
I don’t see it being as hard a role to fill as some of us think especially when longevity is factored in. How many great seasons does he have left in the tank? With 2011 looming as a potential wasted year, a 2-3 year deal isn’t necessarily a more attractive an option than the franchise tag, and we all know what happened there.
Who dat, from a cajun exiled to cowboy country.
by alcoholic_insight on Mar 6, 2010 12:50 AM CST reply actions
Meachem
Would make a better FS than Jenkins or Young. C’mon Man, you know what I am talking about. In the Washington game, Meachem ran up and stripped the ball from the defender, he also has great hands and pretty good speed. If this whole, “Wide Receiver” gig he is playing doesn’t work out, maybe we could get him to fill in for Sharper, this would put Lance Moore back on the field more often as well. Just kidding.
Underestimate No One, Take Nothing For Granted
by SaintsFanInIraq on Mar 10, 2010 12:32 AM CST reply actions
shoot..
I wouldn’t mind a 6’2" 210 lbs safety with great hands…lets spin’m up!
PSN: greenwald2004
Hit me up on the sticks! NBA2K10 is my game now.
^^^ meant that as a reply ^^^
PSN: greenwald2004
Hit me up on the sticks! NBA2K10 is my game now.
by greenwald200 on Mar 10, 2010 3:43 AM CST up reply actions
Is Sharper Overrated?
Not at all, but he is a 34 year old vet, coming off of arthroscopic knee surgery.
"If you ain't the lead dog, the view never changes"
Bum Phillips
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