Blake
MMQB
mean mark8 said:I know I'm likely in the minority here but I've never felt that Sharper has been an impact player. I think he's kind of like Scottie Pippen was with Michael Jordan. Alongside Jordan, Pippen looked great but when he was without him he was simply and overpaid average player. Sharper looked great when he played beside Ray Lewis, but with us he rarely if ever looks great.
You are right. Sharper is no Ray Lewis. But who is? I love it how everyone is making Sharper the D's scapegoat.
Over the last 3 years Sharper has had 436 total tackles, solo and assisted, 11.5 sacks, 6 forced fumbles, and a TD.
Ray Lewis has had 364 total tackles, solo and assisted, 2.5 sacks, 8 ints, 4 forced fumbles, and zero TD's over the last 3 years.
mean mark8 said:Our defensive scheme is designed to get all of the tackles for the inside linebackers (3-4), so his getting so many tackles is like a Texas Tech QB throwing for lots of yards. Only thing about Sharper is 85-90% of his tackles occur with the ball-carrier getting at least 5 or so yards. That's why we have been the worst or one of the worst defenses on a yards-per-carry average.
We have been roughly in the middle of the pack with yards per carry. 2002 - 4.1, and 2003, and 2004 with 4.4. And Sharper doesnt make every tackle. So you cant say it was his fault a RB got 4-5 yards every play.
mean mark8 said:He dives at everyone and arm tackles letting the ball-carrier drag him forward everytime. There's a new statistic around for RBs called yards after contact. If you look at Sharper's YAC, tackling, the RB gets at least 2 yards each time; that's after he has waited in the hole 2 yards downfield to try to tackle him. This is the reason Sharper didn't make the Pro Bowl last year. He is simply not a disruptive force and definitely not worth $6+ million. Just look at it, we were trying for O. Pace for $7 million. Who would you rather have on the Texans?
Where did you get Sharpers YAC tacking stat?