Sharper Soaking Up Super Bowl, Says "Grimy" Saints Ready

NFL News - February 3rd, 2010 - Written by John Ritter

New Orleans Saints safety Darren Sharper has become one of the most polarizing figure on the team as a candidate for the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year because of his brash personality and even louder play.

And now, back at the Super Bowl for the first time since his rookie season, Sharper has embraced his role as defensive ambassador during multiple media sessions this week.

“As a rookie, I thought I’d be back many times (to the Super Bowl),” he told ESPN. “So I’ve let everyone know that, so hopefully we can appreciate this and make the most of it. I know one thing: I’m going to appreciate every moment of this and do everything I can to win it.”

He was dead to football in 2004 after leaving Green Bay, but resurrected his career in Minnesota where he was an All-Pro. He was again kicked to the wayside after the 2008 season because the Vikings thought he was too old.

He floundered on the free agent market for two months before the Saints finally picked him up for a paltry $1.5 million. In his third life, he tied for the league lead with nine interceptions, and again is an All-Pro.

And so, he has become the team's life force during the week leading up the the Super Bowl, addressing almost every issue with candid answers and a grin, and keeping his teammates light as many of them prepare for the biggest game of their lives.

When Peyton Manning accidentally referred to him as "Jamie", the retired Houston Texans linebacker who last played in 2005, Sharper fired back by not-so-accidentally calling him "Eli". Few would ever confuse the two. Sharper, for one, has picked off Eli five times and housed him thrice. He has yet to pick off Peyton.

And on the issue of whether New Orleans plays dirty, an insinuation made after Bobby McCray knocked Kurt Warner silly in the second round, then battered Brett Favre in the NFC Championship, Sharper told reporters he thinks of his team as "grimy".

Defensive coordinator, Gregg Williams, was under fire because he alluded to the fact that his team would be instructed to punish Manning in the game.

"We don't know if we want to call ourselves dirty," Sharper said. "[I]t is like taking a shower when you get up in the morning and are going to cut your grass. You are nice and fresh when you cut the grass, but at the end you have a little griminess to you. We want to call ourselves a little grimy; not dirty all the way, but just maybe a little grimy. That is how we like to play."

Defense will likely become the focal point of talks leading up to the championship because no one has been able to phase Manning yet. In all 16 games he's started and completed this year, Indianapolis is undefeated, scoring 66 points against two good defenses in the AFC bracket.

Thus, the game may get record ratings, and Bodog's NFL Player Prop betting has an over/under of a 42.9 Neilson rating that favors the over.

To beat the Colts, Sharper may need to take a key role. He has +240 odds to pick off at least one pass, and is a 28-to-1 favorite to win the game's MVP, according to Bodog Sportsbook.

Long odds. But he's beaten them before. And if you ask how he thinks he'll fare this Sunday, he'll probably point to his track record and ask you to do the math.