Darren Sharper - HOFer

[Deputy Nutz]

Perhaps...but he isn't a CB. The safety position has always been more than INTs, and people who vote for the HOF know that. That is why few safeties receive that level of recognition.

Sharper: 4 Pro Bowls, 1 All-Pro, 0 titles
Butler: 4 Pro Bowls, 4 All-Pro, 1 title

HOF voters look far more often at the times a player is All-Pro rather than Pro Bowl, as that represents how often a player is a starting caliber All-Star player...not just a reserve/substitute All-Star player. That is what signifies a truly ELITE player from the many great ones.

Good call on the INT argument. My first impulse was that 53 INTs seemed like a boatload. But after doing some additional research as a result of your post, I was amazed to see that 53 doesn't even get him in the top 20 all-time. Plus it's still nearly 30 INTs short of the INT record of 81, held by Paul Krause.

I'm not personally saying he deserves to be in. I just felt the 53 INTs were enough to put him in the HOF discussion. After digging into it a little deeper I may have been mistaken. However, I do think that many Packer fans are a bit too harsh on him just because he is now a Viking.

You have to minus about 15-20 of those that he cherry picked at the end of the half or at the end of the game.

[GBRulz]

I will go and hold up a sign, "4th and 26"

Or a pic of Owens catching the game winner in the '99 playoffs.

[Scott Campbell]

I will go and hold up a sign, "4th and 26"

I will hold one up saying:


LOOKS LIKE WILLIAM.
PLAYS LIKE MARY.

[pbmax]

I will go and hold up a sign, "4th and 26"

I am committing to spending any amount of money and time necessary to make this happen. Should the need arise. Hopefully, gas will be below $15.00 a gallon if we need to drive.

[HarveyWallbangers]

However, I do think that many Packer fans are a bit too harsh on him just because he is now a Viking.

No. I can assure you that most around here hated Sharper even before he left for the Vikings. I had some nice arguments with folks.

[Bretsky]

However, I do think that many Packer fans are a bit too harsh on him just because he is now a Viking.

No. I can assure you that most around here hated Sharper even before he left for the Vikings. I had some nice arguments with folks.

I've always been a fan of Sharper being a very solid player when healthy. He had one yr with a lot of missed tackles....but overall he's really good and a ballhawk. He was a bit of a primadonna with us at times....but still good.

Hall of Fame though .............No way

[StPaulPackFan]

However, I do think that many Packer fans are a bit too harsh on him just because he is now a Viking.

No. I can assure you that most around here hated Sharper even before he left for the Vikings. I had some nice arguments with folks.

Really? I don't think I've ever hated a player while he was a Packer. Heck, I even liked Jim McMahon for one year.

[The Leaper]

However, I do think that many Packer fans are a bit too harsh on him just because he is now a Viking.

It isn't simply because he is a Viking, but how he refused to help Green Bay and then badmouthed the organization after he left.

Plus, Packer fans know what Sharper is. He's a very good player, but he's certainly not an elite player...and he's ALWAYS about Darren Sharper first and foremost. That has been true throughout his career, not just when he went to Minnesota.

[StPaulPackFan]

However, I do think that many Packer fans are a bit too harsh on him just because he is now a Viking.

It isn't simply because he is a Viking, but how he refused to help Green Bay and then badmouthed the organization after he left.

Plus, Packer fans know what Sharper is. He's a very good player, but he's certainly not an elite player...and he's ALWAYS about Darren Sharper first and foremost. That has been true throughout his career, not just when he went to Minnesota.

Fair enough. Even though it's not uncommon for anyone, not just football players, to badmouth their former employer after they leave. Especially if they are asked to take a substantial paycut. But I do agree, Darren Sharper loves him some Darren Sharper.

[Patler]

Packer fans were able to see Darren Sharper and LeRoy Butler on the field together for several years. We saw Butler before Sharper, and Sharper after Butler's unfortunate injury ending his career. Sharper was a good player, Butler a great one. They are not close in their overall performance. When Butler's career ended, the Packers tried to play Sharper in the same role as Butler, and it was a failure.

Sharper has a knack for interceptions, I'll give him credit for that, especially on "Hail Mary" tosses. But, if you look beyond his interceptions, there is nothing significant or special about his play. Safeties should be more than just interceptions. Sharper has not been a good tackler, is OK, but not "good" in run support (especially for his size), has been an ineffective blitzer, and makes the occasional mistake or misread in coverage a little too often for his experience level. Butler was very, very good in all of those things; much, much better than Sharper.

As a team mate, again no comparison at all. Butler several times reworked his contract to help the team, and is one of the few who took an actual cut in pay, not just reallocating pay, to help the team retain free agents. When it came Sharper's turn to do the same, nothing could be worked out. The key to being able to retain Wahle or Rivera would have been reworking Sharper's contract. He had the largest one that could be (Favre's was said to be not eligible at the time). Sharper would not budge.

If Sharper were to get in, and Butler not, it would be wrong, just plain wrong. Hearing Sharper mentioned as a HOF candidate, when Butler has had trouble getting support, seems like an injustice to many Packer fans.

[pbmax]

Sharper has not been a good tackler, is OK, but not "good" in run support (especially for his size), has been an ineffective blitzer, and makes the occasional mistake or misread in coverage a little too often for his experience level. Butler was very, very good in all of those things, much, much better than Sharper.

I agree with Patler on many of his points but let me emphasize two, neither of which has to do with reworking his contract, the Terrell Owens catch or 4th and 26th.

One, he routinely took bad angles to the play in front of him in either run support or moving to cover a zone (or man) that had been thrown to. There were games he missed more tackles than he made. This was obvious nearly every game in his early career. An by early I mean first 5 years or so.

As Patler relates, it was clear he couldn't play the Butler role and so eventually he was placed deeper or occasionally in slot or TE coverage. His coverage skills were somewhere near average for a safety, but were weak compared to his physical gifts.

And two, as a centerfielder at safety, you can't let people get behind you and you can't afford to jump a route or ball and make a mistake. But he was regularly beaten deep. And he regularly jumped routes, failed to get the ball then had the same bad angle problem and was lost to the play.

There are many safeties worse than Sharper. We saw three play immediately after he left. But for his gifts and role in the defense, he should have dominated. Indeed, he had a gift for finding the ball. But when none of his other skills developed past average, opponents ignored him.

He had enough skill that its possible in some scheme he might have fit perfectly. But with Fritz, Rhodes and Slowik it was a tire fire. Donatell and Bates got the closest to finding his niche. But a niche safety doesn't belong in the HOF and he didn't deserve $7 mil a year in 2004.

[Patler]

There are many safeties worse than Sharper. We saw three play immediately after he left. But for his gifts and role in the defense, he should have dominated. Indeed, he had a gift for finding the ball. But when none of his other skills developed past average, opponents ignored him.

I couldn't agree more. He has great size, speed and athleticism. He is very intelligent. But has never seemed to maximize those gifts. Other than a feel for finding the ball in the air (when in position for it), and good hands, he doesn't display keen insight or feel for the game as a whole. I never disliked the guy, but expected more from him. I thought he could dominate in many areas, as Butler had. From that point he was a disappointment.

I would have been happy to have him stay as a Packer. But if I ever was forced to chose between Sharper and Butler, I wouldn't hesitate a second in picking Butler. Considering Butler's situation, the HOF talk for Sharper is ludicrous, in my opinion.

[Pugger]

Before we get all excited, remember the article was written by someone in MN...plus the Heidi Hairs don't have loads of guys right now that could even be considered for the HOF. Sharper is/was never as good as Butler. Its no comparison in my eyes.

[3irty1]

He'll get into the hall of fame the same day as Terrell Buckley.

[PackFan#1]

As a team mate, again no comparison at all. Butler several times reworked his contract to help the team, and is one of the few who took an actual cut in pay, not just reallocating pay, to help the team retain free agents. When it came Sharper's turn to do the same, nothing could be worked out. The key to being able to retain Wahle or Rivera would have been reworking Sharper's contract. He had the largest one that could be (Favre's was said to be not eligible at the time). Sharper would not budge.

Actually, Sharper reworked his contract a few times to help the Pack sign guys like Clifton, KGB and Diggs, among others.

Thompson wanted Sharper to take a pay cut. There’s a big difference between taking a pay cut and restructuring a contract.

Can’t blame Sharper for bolting. If your boss asks you to take a pay cut, and at the same time, another organization is willing to hire you for more than what your employer wants to pay you, odds are you would have bolted too.

Sharper is a good player. Is he good enough for the HOF? From my perspective, YES.