Free Agency: Darren Sharper, S

[casmith07]

I think this is a no brainer replacement for Ken Hamlin at the FS position. Sharper would make Jenkins, Newman, Scandrick, and Sensabaugh all more lethal in coverage because a QB would literally have nowhere to go with the ball.

Thursday, March 11, 2010
Shouldn't Cowboys show Sharper some love?
By Tim MacMahon

The New Orleans Saints haven't made safety Darren Sharper feel loved since the Super Bowl.

"If the love was right, that would have been taken care of," Sharper told the New Orleans Times-Picayune, referring to his free agency. The love would have been reciprocated."

Sharper was one of the NFL's best bargains last season, when he got paid $1.7 million and picked off nine passes during an All-Pro campaign. Now the 34-year-old safety wants a two- or three-year deal for significantly more money.

Shouldn't the Cowboys at least consider using their one big salary slot with the Final Eight free agency rules on Sharper?

Jerry Jones has made no secret that he wants more playmaking from his safeties. Sharper is one of the premier playmaking safeties in NFL history. He has 63 career picks, which leads all active players. He has 11 touchdown returns, more than anybody but Hall of Famer Rod Woodson. His 376 interception return yards last season, when he had three touchdowns, set an NFL record.

The Cowboys value Ken Hamlin because of his savvy and communication skills. They wouldn't lose any of that with Sharper, but they would address the defense's turnover deficiency.

 

[casmith07]

Numbers...my only hangup at this point would be age, but Sharper is playing like a 3rd or 4th year player out of college at 34, like Keith Brooking.

Darren Sharper
Career NFL statistics as of Week 11, 2009

Tackles 635
Sacks 7.5
INTs 63

 

[dadymat]

i would do it and draft a young un to groom....that way we wouldnt have to even consider using our first on the safety position this year....unless a no brainer fell to us

 

[BigBlacKahuna]

I think we should go get him!

 

[TheSport78]

Depends on his contract demands. I doubt he'll sign a one year deal because that's what the Saints are offering. I would have no problem releasing Hamlin, signing Sharper and drafting a safety somewhere in the 1st three rounds to groom.

 

[casmith07]

Agreed, lol. My main concern is his age though. And what if he doesn't want a 1 year contract? Would you feel comfortable with signing him to a 2 or 3 year contract? And it also depends on the money he demands. No more then 4 Mil IMO.

Quote From: the brutal Atogwe thread

Absolutely. I would actually release Ken Hamlin and sign Darren Sharper to whatever we were planning to pay Ken Hamlin over the next 2 to 3 seasons, with most of it front-loaded for this season.

You KNOW you're going to basically generate at least a few more turnovers at this position alone, let alone what Sharper would allow Newman and Jenkins to do to opposing WRs. We'd likely be able to play a lot more press-man and regular man coverage instead of relying more heavily on Cover 2 Flat Zones.

I would not feel bad at all about basically swapping Ken Hamlin for Darren Sharper for the same amount of money.

You could bet your bottom dollar too that if Ken Hamlin got released, he'd be in a NYG, PHI, or WAS uniform by the end of the week. He's not amazing, but he'd definitely upgrade their secondaries.

 

[johnnyd]

i would do it and draft a young un to groom....that way we wouldnt have to even consider using our first on the safety position this year....unless a no brainer fell to us

agreed , assuming thomas was there at 27 then yeah ,but i want no part of mays at all , and i don't want to force someone like nate allen , jones or burnett.

 

[Cowboys22]

I'd love to have him on a two year deal. Michael Hamlin and a rookie would them have time to be ready to play.

 

[dbair1967]

You could bet your bottom dollar too that if Ken Hamlin got released, he'd be in a NYG, PHI, or WAS uniform by the end of the week. He's not amazing, but he'd definitely upgrade their secondaries.

And I bet Romo and our skills guys would just be licking their chops over it. They could attack the middle of the field like there's no tomorrow knowing Hamlin is zero threat to cut in front of a pass.

 

[LatinMind]

And I bet Romo and our skills guys would just be licking their chops over it. They could attack the middle of the field like there's no tomorrow knowing Hamlin is zero threat to cut in front of a pass.

IMO if dallas was to bring in a player like sharper. sensabaugh would be a goner. not because hamlin is any better, to me theyre the same player. but because jerry owes hamlin alot of money

 

[Bob Sacamano]

IMO if dallas was to bring in a player like sharper. sensabaugh would be a goner. not because hamlin is any better, to me theyre the same player. but because jerry owes hamlin alot of money

A lot of Hamlin's money comes off the books I believe. Don't quote me on that.

 

[casmith07]

agreed , assuming thomas was there at 27 then yeah ,but i want no part of mays at all , and i don't want to force someone like nate allen , jones or burnett.

I don't know about Earl Thomas. When's the last time someone came out of Texas and did something?

I much rather would have Nate Allen. I would draft him based on what we've gotten out of Mike Jenkins alone.

Nate Allen, 2009 - 80 tackles, 1 FF, 5 INT.
Career - 216 tackles, 2 FF, 10 INT.

The only years he had less than 80 tackles were his freshman year where he recorded 2 tackles, and his junior year (injury shortened) where he garnered 53 tackles.

He can already cover pretty well...imagine learning behind Sharper for 2 or 3 years before getting a shot?

Sharper, Sensabaugh, Newman, Jenkins, Scandrick, Ball, Allen, M. Hamlin...I doubt we'd carry that many DBs, but that's a NICE platoon of DBs. At least two of those guys (Ball and Scandrick) would be ready to start in about 1 or 2 seasons if some of the older guys needed to get shipped.

At any rate, Jerry needs to sign Darren Sharper. Like tomorrow.

 

[casmith07]

A lot of Hamlin's money comes off the books I believe. Don't quote me on that.

I think if Hamlin is released this year, his cap hit for the next year or two is significantly less than what it would be if we waited a year.

 

[SLATEmosphere]

I don't know what the hell Jerry is doing.

He's being way too cute.

Get Sharper. Draft Nate Allen. It's not that ****ing hard.

Sharper is 34. Ya I get it. He's old. Get over it. The dude can still play

Alot of people doubted him last year. He looked great. Alot of people doubted Brooking when we signed him. He looked great.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

I think if Hamlin is released this year, his cap hit for the next year or two is significantly less than what it would be if we waited a year.

Yeah, I think your interpretation is more correct.

 

[dbair1967]

I think this is a no brainer replacement for Ken Hamlin at the FS position. Sharper would make Jenkins, Newman, Scandrick, and Sensabaugh all more lethal in coverage because a QB would literally have nowhere to go with the ball.

Thursday, March 11, 2010
Shouldn't Cowboys show Sharper some love?
By Tim MacMahon

The New Orleans Saints haven't made safety Darren Sharper feel loved since the Super Bowl.

"If the love was right, that would have been taken care of," Sharper told the New Orleans Times-Picayune, referring to his free agency. The love would have been reciprocated."

Sharper was one of the NFL's best bargains last season, when he got paid $1.7 million and picked off nine passes during an All-Pro campaign. Now the 34-year-old safety wants a two- or three-year deal for significantly more money.

Shouldn't the Cowboys at least consider using their one big salary slot with the Final Eight free agency rules on Sharper?

Jerry Jones has made no secret that he wants more playmaking from his safeties. Sharper is one of the premier playmaking safeties in NFL history. He has 63 career picks, which leads all active players. He has 11 touchdown returns, more than anybody but Hall of Famer Rod Woodson. His 376 interception return yards last season, when he had three touchdowns, set an NFL record.

The Cowboys value Ken Hamlin because of his savvy and communication skills. They wouldn't lose any of that with Sharper, but they would address the defense's turnover deficiency.

I definitely wouldnt break the bank to sign him. He had a great season, but his previous two or three years in Minnesota were nothing special and alot of people thought he was done.

As someone else mentioned, the ideal thing would be a 1yr deal, which is apparently all that his won team is willing to do for him. Beyond that, the odds he'd be worth the deal lessen greatly.

I'd much prefer to find a long term answer via the draft.

 

[CanuckCowboysFan]

Quote From: the brutal Atogwe thread

Absolutely. I would actually release Ken Hamlin and sign Darren Sharper to whatever we were planning to pay Ken Hamlin over the next 2 to 3 seasons, with most of it front-loaded for this season.

You KNOW you're going to basically generate at least a few more turnovers at this position alone, let alone what Sharper would allow Newman and Jenkins to do to opposing WRs. We'd likely be able to play a lot more press-man and regular man coverage instead of relying more heavily on Cover 2 Flat Zones.

I would not feel bad at all about basically swapping Ken Hamlin for Darren Sharper for the same amount of money.

You could bet your bottom dollar too that if Ken Hamlin got released, he'd be in a NYG, PHI, or WAS uniform by the end of the week. He's not amazing, but he'd definitely upgrade their secondaries.

Yeah, I'm starting to open up to the idea. The fact that he was 34 scared me a little, but after last season I have confidence in the guy. However, I can't get that whiffed tackle on Addai in the SB out of my head. Yeah, he is more then capable of playing man to. A solid CB somewhere in the draft then would basically make the secondary unstoppable.


3 years 14 Mill is what I would offer. And I wouldn't be surprised at all if Snyder was all over him if we released him as well.

 

[SLATEmosphere]

I definitely wouldnt break the bank to sign him. He had a great season, but his previous two or three years in Minnesota were nothing special and alot of people thought he was done.

As someone else mentioned, the ideal thing would be a 1yr deal, which is apparently all that his won team is willing to do for him. Beyond that, the odds he'd be worth the deal lessen greatly.

I'd much prefer to find a long term answer via the draft.

Sharper. 1 yr 4 million dollar contract. Seeya Hamlin.

Draft Nate Allen in the 2nd. Have him learn a year, maybe even getting a few snaps at the star position in some packages.

He takes over in 2011 at FS for the next ten years.

 

[Bluefin]

IMO if dallas was to bring in a player like sharper. sensabaugh would be a goner. not because hamlin is any better, to me theyre the same player. but because jerry owes hamlin alot of money

Ken Hamlin isn't any more appealing to me at strong safety than he currently is at free safety.

He isn't a sound tackler and has poor man coverage skills.

 

[casmith07]

I definitely wouldnt break the bank to sign him. He had a great season, but his previous two or three years in Minnesota were nothing special and alot of people thought he was done.

As someone else mentioned, the ideal thing would be a 1yr deal, which is apparently all that his won team is willing to do for him. Beyond that, the odds he'd be worth the deal lessen greatly.

I'd much prefer to find a long term answer via the draft.

I would hardly call these numbers "done."

2007 - 63 tackles, 8 PD, 4 INT, 1 TD
2008 - 69 tackles, 5 PD, 1 INT

Consider the fact that he was playing on a team that had basically nobody playing cornerback, nobody playing Strong Safety, and nobody playing on offense either except for Adrian Peterson. And they were still a playoff/Super Bowl favorite.

Sharper would be even better in Dallas than in New Orleans - he wouldn't have to play Mr. Cover-Your-Butt for his CBs and pick off passes and roam in double coverage all over the field because you can actually leave Newman and Jenkins on an island and be okay. Mike MacKenzie? Not so much.

3-years, $12M, with a $3.5M signing bonus. Let's make a deal.