Culcasi's Thoughts

One of the best ballhawking safeties in the NFL, Darren Sharper's job in the Green Bay defense is to make plays and create turnovers. He's done an outstanding job of doing just that over his seven year career, averaging 70 solo tackles with six sacks and 30 interceptions since 1999. A great all-around player, his ability to defend the run, blitz and cover really is unmatched in the league, but surprisingly he receives little credit and often flies under the radar come fantasy draft day, falling into the lower half of the top 10 DBs drafted behind players like Ed Reed and Mike Doss (although young with undoubted talent, they haven't proven near as much as Sharper). Why is that? Well, he is a veteran, and even though he's only 28 years old he has fought through a variety of injuries over the past two seasons (missing four games). Other than that, it's hard to find a negative in Darren Sharper's game.

As the Packers have struggled to find a complementary safety to match with Sharper over the last few years, he has gone underutilized as a "box" safety, forced to sit back and play center field (hence the high interception totals). Even though he's continued to post decent solo tackle numbers on a yearly basis, his totals have dropped from the 91 solos that he tallied in '99 to just 71 in 2003. Green Bay may have found help for Sharper this year in free-agent acquisition Mark Roman, a player with similar talents, skilled as a run defender with solid coverage ability, who's been tucked away in Cincinnati for the last four seasons. If Roman proves to be as good as Green bay hopes, Sharper will often be relieved of his coverage responsibilities and allowed to roam in the box once again, helping the Packers run defense and their pressure on the quarterback while boosting his sack and solo tackle totals.

Positives

• Great all-around game with the ability to be a major factor against both the run and pass



• One of the leagues top producing safeties, he seems to be bust proof (if healthy). He's picked up at least five interception for four straight seasons, is always good for a sack or two and is a lock for 70 solo tackles



• At 28 years old he is still in his prime, especially for safeties who make up for declining talent during the later stages of their careers with instincts and experience

Negatives

• He's played in all but six games during his seven year career, but four of those games missed have come over the last two seasons. The bumps and bruises have made him a regular member of the injury report and may catch up at some point



• Mark Roman is talented, but he's still Mark Roman. Coming off of his first season as a full-time starter, he's not a big time playmaker and may take some time to adjust in Green Bay

Final Thoughts

All is well in Green Bay (at least with their safeties). Darren Sharper will open eyes this year and walk away with the credit that he deserves (currently ranked as the 15th overall DB, which is a farce IMO). I see him playing closer to the line, improving his solo tackles while being given ample opportunity to get to the quarterback. Even if Mark Roman doesn't prove to be the player that they were hoping for, Sharper's history dictates that he's no worse than a top five defensive back.

Magaw's Thoughts

If Roy Williams is sometimes called the best SS in the game, the multifaceted Darren Sharper and Brian Dawkins best epitomize playmaking from the FS position (up and coming Sean Taylor may be joining this elite class in the near future). Sharper has the total package of CB-like coverage skills, S-like athleticism, range and ballhawking ability to make things happen when the ball in the air, as well as LB-like run support toughness and blitzing instincts. He inherited the role of all-over-the-field, do-everything, chief defensive playmaker (on many teams this role would be filled with a MLB or WLB-type, like Ray Lewis or Derrick Brooks) from Leroy Butler after his abrupt, premature retirement, and has paced the NFL in INTs with 30 since '99. He is an exceptionally steady and consistent tackle and INT producer, averaging just over 90 tackles since '98, and 7 INTs per year since 2000 (despite missing almost a quarter of a season two years ago). After a stellar 1-AA career with William Mary (first-team I-AA All-America as a junior and senior, he tied for first nationally among all I-AA players with 10 thefts, and his 228 interception return yards led the nation), he had some growing pains in the NFL initially.

He almost landed at CB at one point early on, before having his breakout season in '99 in which he reeled in a career-high 9 interceptions and earned Pro Bowl honors, becoming the first Green Bay player in nearly four decades to lead the league in this category. After missing some time in the aforementioned 2002 season, he came back strong in '03, and responded with another superlative effort, finishing second in the NFL with 7 picks- an achievement that spearheaded Green Bay's league-leading 45 takeaways, the club's most in 21 years (54, 1981), and was awarded his second Pro Bowl berth. He took on the responsibility of more leadership in the secondary, on defense and for the team as a whole, with the retirement of safety Leroy Butler prior to the '02 training camp. He has a superb work ethic and in his practice habits and professionalism lead by example. He is a tireless worker who is an inspiration to his teammates by rarely missing a practice. A relentless and ruthless perfectionist, he's constantly working on his game in an effort to gain an edge and the upper hand on opposing offenses. He has excellent bloodlines... with his brother Jamie, who plays LB for the Houston Texans, and was also a second round selection in the '97 draft, they comprise one of the most formidable current one-two punches as far as brothers playing in the NFL at the same time. His father, Harry, Sr., was an All-American at Virginia State.

Positives

• Steady, consistent scorer who has averaged a LB-like 105 combined tackles a season since '98, and 7 INTs since 2000. Tremendous athlete blessed with a diverse array of skills rarely found in the same player... great range and ability to break on the ball, can get to the sideline from the high point and deep middle, can chase down run plays from sideline-to-sideline and is an effective blitzer when afforded the opportunity.



• Stone QB killah... responded with another superlative effort, placing second in the NFL with 7 interceptions - an endeavor that paced Green Bay's league-leading 45 takeaways, the club's most in 21 years (54, 1981). Sharper is the NFL's interception leader over the last five seasons, his 30 picks in that time frame place him ahead of smaller, quicker and more agile CB's and coverage artists such as Samari Rolle (22, TEN), Donnie Abraham (25, TB-NYJ), and Patrick Surtain (23, MIA)... even future Hall of Famers Rod Woodson and Aeneas Williams, who began their brilliant careers at CB and moved to the middle in their twilight, never amassed as many as 30 INTs in any five consecutive years.



• He has taken on the chief defensive playmaker role and assumed more of a defensive and team leadership role since the unexpected and premature departure of Leroy Butler two seasons ago. He leads by example, and coaches could only hope everybody on the team attempted to emulate his relentless work ethic, professionalism and fierce desire to do whatever it takes to keep expanding his game and taking it to a higher level.

Negatives

• Sharper still occasionally will take bad angles and get run on, but it is hard to argue with his tackle productivity and consistency over the years.



• He has missed some time in the past few seasons, so there are some very slight durability questions, but this is probably nitpicking as he seemed to answer said questions with 2003's brilliant campaign.



• Due to being handcuffed with SS counterparts the past two seasons not equal or up the kind of schemes that were routinely handled when Butler was roving the frozen tundra deep patrols of Lambeau Field back in the day, Sharper has had to play more honest and stay at home more. This state of affairs has attenuated the full utilization of his formidable athleticism, range and playmaking ability to a degree, and thereby somewhat blunting his scoring totals and potential.

Final Thoughts

The Packers have sorely missed the ability to deploy Sharper in a manner in which he can better take advantage of his abilities to freelance, move close to the line of scrimmage and employ his signature disruption tactics, but he hasn't been afforded the latitude to do so of late. Saddled with flawed SS running mates in the secondary (Marques Anderson in '02 and Antuan Edwards in '03 were plagued by inexperience, taking sketchy angles and poor tackling form), he frequently had to be in position to cover their deficiencies, rather than make plays. It is hoped that free agent signee Mark Roman, SS from the Bengals, will help to mitigate some of these recent personnel and scheme-related issues, to the benefit of Sharper's '04 scoring prospects, and his owners IDP league hopes. Operating at peak efficiency in the prime of his career, he isn't close to being in imminent danger of hitting the age wall... he is significantly younger than ageless S's like Aeneas Williams and Darren Woodson, themselves demonstrating convincingly that safety appears to be a position in which it is possible to play up to a high level well into a player's mid to late-thirties.

Quotes from the IDP Spotlight Message Thread:

To view the entire thread, click here: DB Darren Sharper, Green Bay Packers

Duffy:
"After getting beat deep fairly often and taking horrible angles on many tackle attempts his first couple of seasons...Sharper really came on in his 3rd year and has continued a very high level of play since. He'll never be the surest tackler...though he has improved dramatically since his rookie season. He combines solid tackle numbers with fairly steady INTs as well...and only needs to remain healthy to realize an increase in production over last year. The addition of Mark Roman should (hopefully) help free up Sharper to be the disrupter he has flashed in the past. The coaching staff couldn't count on any of the other safeties or backup CBs to be in the right place at the right time on any given play...like say....4th and 26. If Roman is even marginally better than Marques Anderson & Co., Sharper could flourish once again."

claughren:
"I personally like Sharper as top 8 DB and although he's missed a few games because of injuries the past couple of years (knee, groin), I like him as he is fairly consistent game to game. He is a workhorse and as long as GB's Defense remains suspect on the line, they will continue to use him in blitzing situations opening up the door for a few sacks. Since most league allow Safeties to be picked at DB, he is valuable cause he offers good value in tackles, sacks and always a threat for interceptions as well."

themailman:
"I like Sharper this season. One thought I have though is that the packers will have some competition on the other side (Anderson and Roman) and McKenzie's unhappiness (hold out? / trade?) could lead to teams looking at other places on the field away from Sharper. Just seems a lot of uncertainties in that defensive backfield at the moment."

Outside Contain:
"The Packer offense will continue to put up points so I am not too worried that the opposing teams will start to grind down the clock too early. Being a "stick your head in there"-safety I think Sharper will benefit from this as far as fantasy production goes. He should have plenty of gas left in the tank. Increase over last year and that makes him a very good DB pick indeed."

grady:
"To be honest, I am not a big fan of Darren Sharper. He has been a walking injury report for the last several years and I don't see it getting any better. Constant nagging injuries are things that seldom go away as opposed to a major injury that takes time to heal.
Now, to the football side of it:

1. If he is on the field, he is a playmaker. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.



2. The situation in the backfield is iffy. Mike McKenzie has become a pain and I am not sure he will suit up this year for the Pack. If that happens, more balls will be in the air.



3. The overall defense is still pretty poor. They will be run against but I see whoever will end up being the SS getting the lion's share of tackles.

His fantasy value comes in the big plays. If he stays on the field, I think he can be a top 12 fantasy DB this season."

tkrull:
"I'm hearing rumblings that with the addition of Roman, Sharper will be used more aggressively in a blitz capacity. Supposedly Roman can provide cover skills that last year's safety couldn't. Anyway, Sharper should be Top 20 again this year. If he stays healthy, maybe Top 12."

Projections

IDP Scoring System
1 pt per Solo Tackle
0.5 pt per Assisted Tackle
3 pts per Sack
4 pts per Interception
1 pt per Pass Defensed
2 pts per Forced Fumble
2 pts per Fumble Recovery