Darren Sharper - HOFer

[Tarlam!]

Can this be serious?

http://www.startribune.com/sports/vikings/19251409.html?page=2&c=y

I can't get my head around it....

[Pack-man]

Re: Darren Sharper - HOFer

Can this be serious?

http://www.startribune.com/sports/vikings/19251409.html?page=2&c=y

I can't get my head around it....

I can't justify it either. If you look strictly at the stats then I guess he has to be considered. I think Leroy Butler was a much better safety. Yet his career stats don't reflect those kinds of numbers. So Leroy will never seriously be considered. That is really not fair!

[ahaha]

Completely absurd. The HOF is about dominating your era. Ed Reed, Troy Poalamalo, and Brian Dawkins are all better candidates from this era. Sharper only made the pro bowl last year because Sean Taylor died, and all the good safeties played in the AFC.

[HarveyWallbangers]

If LeRoy Butler is not a sure thing for the Hall of Fame as a safety, then Sharper has little chance. Crazier things have happened though. Packer fans realize Butler was much better, but I wonder what the national thinking is on it.

[DonHutson]

First among active players in INT return yardage, leading to Hall of Fame discussions?

I guess all those 8 yard returns out of the end zone are paying off for him after all.

They can put his name up in the Humpty Dome. I don't feel a need to claim him.

I forget exactly what the numbers were, but I believe Butler has some unique combination of sacks and INT's that nobody else accomplished. Add that to a vital role on a championship team and he should be in the discussion. It's probably unlikely though.

[Scott Campbell]

How funny would it be if he made the NFL HOF but wasn't good enough for the Packer Hall of Fame.

[StPaulPackFan]

Sharper is, and has always been a showboat. That was one of the reasons that I wasn't sad to see him go. The other reason was his age. But even though he is up there in years he still had as many INTs last year as Nick Collins has had over the last 3 years.

Bottom line, Sharper was/is a playmaker. Sure, he gives up some big plays but he has a knack for picking off the ball. A quality that Collins, Roman and Manuel have sorely lacked.

It's easy to dislike him because he is now a Viking. But IMO, it's disingenuous to say his 50+ career INTs don't merit HOF discussion.

[The Leaper]

I would say he is well outside of consideration right now.

If he plays at a high level for another 2+ years, then he'll be someone to consider on par with Butler IMO. I doubt either makes it.

[The Leaper]

But IMO, it's disingenuous to say his 50+ career INTs don't merit HOF discussion.

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.

Butler was a truly elite player...what hurts him is longevity. The guy fell off a cliff quickly after age 30. Sharper has the longevity, but he never was a truly elite player at any point.

[SkinBasket]

Not to mention Butler changed the way the safety position was played while making the defense he played on better.

Sharper plays the Darren Sharper position, playing where he can "make a play" regardless of where he should be in the defense, more than he plays an effective safety position.

[3irty1]

First among active players in INT return yardage, leading to Hall of Fame discussions?

I guess all those 8 yard returns out of the end zone are paying off for him after all.

They can put his name up in the Humpty Dome. I don't feel a need to claim him.

I forget exactly what the numbers were, but I believe Butler has some unique combination of sacks and INT's that nobody else accomplished. Add that to a vital role on a championship team and he should be in the discussion. It's probably unlikely though.

He was the first safety to be in the "20/20 club" (20 sacks / 20 ints). Everyone else was a LB at the time.

[Deputy Nutz]

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

[StPaulPackFan]

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.

[bobblehead]

they got confused, they meant MFer.

[Packers4Ever]

How funny would it be if he made the NFL HOF but wasn't good enough for the Packer Hall of Fame.

Scott, only you could come up with that !!