| | Thursday, February 1, 2001
Pro Bowl spotlight: Packers safety Darren Sharper
By Alex Laracy
MondayNightFootball.com
In only his third year as a starter, Packers free safety Darren Sharper not only took over the reigns from the legendary LeRoy Butler as the leader of the Green Bay defense, he also established himself as perhaps the best free safety in all of football.
|  | | Darren Sharper has started each of the last 48 games for the Packers. |
At 6-foot-2, 205 pounds, the hard-hitting Sharper is big enough to take on opposing runners head on without the potential of breaking in half if Mike Alstott comes a' rumblin'. The fourth year pro out of Division I-AA William & Mary rarely left the defensive radar screen, as his 92 tackles ranked third on the team.
He credits his fellow strong safety for much of the mental game that he has added to compliment his exceptional physical gifts:
"I've picked up a lot of things watching LeRoy play," said Sharper. "Being that he has so much experience and has been a playmaker for so many years, I am always learning. For example, things to do at the line of scrimmage, certain ways to take on blocks and how to get around people. I've also learned certain facets of the game, like jumping routes and anticipating what the offense is going to do."
Anticipation indeed, Sharper was seemingly in the right place at the right time all season long, as he led the league with nine interceptions. He had a pair of picks on two separate occasions, and his 17 passes defended led the Pack. These numbers came while playing in a division with Randy Moss, Cris Carter and Keyshawn Johnson.
Sharper will be rewarded with his first trip to the Pro Bowl come February 4th (ABC, 5:30 p.m. ET). Only four years after sharing locker rooms with players at William & Mary, better known for its debate team than its pigskin, Sharper will be rubbing elbows with names like Sapp, Faulk, Moss, Carter and Bruce as a Pro Bowl rookie.
There is one game, however, that Sharper would rather be preparing for this time of year: the Super Bowl. While Darren's second appearance in the Big One (he played sparingly in the '97 Super Bowl XXXII) will have to wait, he'll get to watch his older brother Jamie, a standout linebacker for the record-setting Ravens defense, take on Kerry Collins and the Giants on Jan. 28 in Tampa.
Things did not go quite as smoothly for the Packers as they did for the Sharpers in 2000, yet things are certainly looking up in Cheeseville. After dropping seven of their first 12 games, Sharper's intensity level finally caught on with the rest of his teammates, and Brett Favre led the Pack to four straight victories to end the season and barely missed the playoffs. They should be right back in the thick of things next year.
At only 25 years old, Sharper should be the glue that holds the Packers D together for years to come, and it's unlikely his upcoming trip to Honolulu will be his last. Will Sharper be a bit overwhelmed when it's time to take off his lei, put on the pads and knock heads with the NFL's elite? Not likely.
"When you go out on the field and play against Jerry Rice, Barry Sanders, Emmitt Smith -- guys you've been watching your whole life -- you don't let yourself get caught up in who they are and you look at them as just another player," said Sharper. "But after the game, you really do relish the fact that you played against guys you admired for so many years. It makes you really appreciate where you've gotten in your career."
Judging by the rapid pace of which Sharper's career has moved thus far, he's only scratched the surface of a career that should, by the time it's over, rival or even surpass that of his mentor, Butler.
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