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A Sharper Linebacker

If you watched the 2004 playoffs it should be easy for you to recall the outstanding linebacker play by the Patriots, Steelers, and Eagles. Each of those squads won games through the power of their linebacking corps. Those games made the inadequacies of the Chiefs linebackers painfully obvious and for many it brought back memories of vicious Kansas City linebackers in the not so distant past. It also appears to have caught the eye of Chiefs personnel brass like Bill Kauharich and Lynn Stiles. Fortunately Kauharich and Stiles did take notice, they urged management to acquire free agent Kendrell Bell which is a fantastic start to strengthening the weakest portion of the Chiefs defense. Kendrell Bell will get the Chiefs closer to a respectable group of linebackers and Bell himself is a monstrous playmaker who is more than capable of producing the kind of plays we have seen out of Teddi Bruschi and Jeremiah Trotter. Unfortunately Kansas City is still only half way there. When you couple Shawn Barber still recovering from his serious knee injury and the poor play of every other linebacker on the roster there is no denying that the Chiefs still have a gaping hole to fill at outside linebacker.

The Chiefs could look to the draft for a potential fix for their linebacking woes or even roll the dice and hope one of their players can improve from within. The problem with that is that linebackers in this years draft are fairly weak and we already know what taking the gamble on improving from within looks like. I for one would like to throw my chips in with proven talent when it comes to netting an NFL playmaker. So for anyone who has ever wished the Chiefs would have never let go of Donnie Edwards I have a suggestion that might make it all better. The best answer for the Chiefs woes is a tackling machine that currently sits in Houston Texas named Jamie Sharper. For the past eight years Jamie Sharper has been quietly brutalizing offenses. He played an integral part in the Ravens 2000 Superbowl defense as 1/3rd of the best linebacking corps in recent memory. He doesn’t receive the same accolades as his former teammates Ray Lewis and Peter Boulware though he is very deserving. After Sharper’s 108 tackle season with the Ravens in 2001 he was acquired by the Houston Texans in the expansion draft. Sharper quickly became the heart and soul of Dom Capers 34 defense. His first year with the Texans he registered 95 solo tackles with 40 assists. The following season Sharper blew things wide open with 164 tackles and then followed that up with a 137 tackle performance in 2004. For the past three years any team playing the Texans has had to account for Sharper on every play. This offseason the Houston Texans have decided to go with a youth movement. Sharper will turn 31 in November and he’s due to make $6.13 million this season. The Texans have taken those salary numbers and factored in age to justify their motives in placing Sharper on the trading block. The latest news out of Houston have the Texans asking for a mere 4th round pick in return for Sharper’s services. Whoever does make that trade will have to negotiate a new contract with him immediately but Jamie wont be missing out on a payday. Rather than his $6.13 million dollar salary he would simply see it in a $6 million dollar signing bonus on a five year cap friendly deal.

Any team that happens to be a couple of defensive players away from a Superbowl needs to give Sharper a serious look. The Chiefs should undoubtedly be the first in line, especially now that Ed Hartwell has signed with the Falcons. Sharper would give the Chiefs a sideline-to-sideline linebacker who still has the power to handle the contact at the point of attack. Not many players have that ability. If Sharper were playing next to Kendrell Bell the Chiefs would have their best linebacking duo since Thomas and Edwards or maybe even Lanier and Bell.

Unfortunately my sources that are close to the Chiefs say that they have not heard Sharper’s name mentioned at all when they bring up player acquisitions. So you could call this article my desperate attempt to bring Sharper to the attention of the Chiefs. If Whitlock can call for Ty Law then I suppose I can call for Jamie Sharper. Not only is Sharper free of a walking boot, he’s never missed a game in his eight year career. I would say he is the safest, surest, most logical signing the Chiefs could make at this point.

Wrtten By Mike Campbell
Columnist for ChiefsCoalition.com

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