- Shannon Sharpe
Infobox NFLretired
position=Tight end
number=81, 84, 82
birthdate=birth date and age|1968|6|26Chicago, Illinois
draftyear=1990
draftround=7
draftpick=192
college=Savannah State
debutyear=1990
finalyear=2003
teams=
*Denver Broncos (1990-1999)
*Baltimore Ravens (2000-2001)
* Denver Broncos (2002-2003)
stat1label=Receptions
stat1value=815
stat2label=Receiving yards
stat2value=10,060
stat3label=Touchdown s
stat3value=62
nfl=SHA468534
highlights=
* 8xPro Bowl selection (1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001)
* 6xAll-Pro selection (1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998)
* 3xSuper Bowl champion (XXXII, XXXIII, XXXV)
*NFL 1990s All-Decade Team
HOF=
CollegeHOF=Shannon Sharpe (born
June 26 ,1968 inChicago, Illinois ) is a formerAmerican Football tight end who played for theDenver Broncos andBaltimore Ravens of theNational Football League . Sharpe is known both for his creative commentary and trash talking. Among tight ends, he was the NFL's all-time yardage leader until Tony Gonzales surpassed his record October 5, 2008..Early life
Shannon, the younger brother of former NFL wide receiver
Sterling Sharpe , grew up poor in Glennville, Georgia. He once joked, "We were so poor, a robber once broke into our house and we ended up robbing the robber." [http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%257E86%257E2154971,00.html 404 - The requested page could not be found ] ]Sharpe graduated with a degree in
criminal justice from Savannah State College (since1996 Savannah State University ). He commented: "I was a terrible student. I didn't graduatemagna cum laude , I graduated 'Thank you, Lawdy!'" At Savannah State he played football andbasketball and competed intriple jump .NFL career
Sharpe was selected in the 7th round of the
1990 NFL Draft , 192nd overall, by the Broncos. [http://www.nfl.com/draft/history/years/1990#round7] He had a mediocre rookie season as a wide receiver, until Broncoshead coach Dan Reeves convinced him to convert to tight end. He remained with Denver until1999 [ [http://www.nfl.com/history/chronology/1991-2000#1999 NFL History by Decade ] ] , winning two championship rings inSuper Bowl XXXII andSuper Bowl XXXIII in the process. After the1997 season [ [http://www.nfl.com/history/chronology/1991-2000#1997 NFL History by Decade ] ] championship, his first, he appeared on General Mills'Wheaties boxes with four other Broncos. [http://www.wheaties.com/champions/championslist.asp?id=76] After a two-year stint with the Baltimore Ravens, where he won another championship ring inSuper Bowl XXXV , he returned to the Broncos. He played there until2003 [ [http://www.nfl.com/history/chronology/2001-#2003 NFL History by Decade ] ] . Then he retired to become an NFL broadcaster for CBS. [http://www.nfl.com/teams/story/DEN/7387886]Career statistics
Ozzie Newsome , Hall-of-Fame tight end, Ravens' general manager, and the man responsible for signing Sharpe before the 2000 season had this to say about him, "I think he's a threat when he's on the field. He has to be double-teamed. He's a great route-runner. He's proven that he can make the big plays. That's what separates him. He's a threat." Sharpe was selected All-Pro 4 times, played in 8Pro Bowl s(1992-1998, 2001) and amassed over 1,000 receiving yards in 3 different seasons. In a 1993 playoff game against theLos Angeles Raiders , Sharpe tied a postseason record with 13 receptions for 156 yards and a touchdown. In the Ravens 2000 AFC title game against the Raiders, he caught a short pass on 3rd down and 18 from his own 4-yard line and took it 96 yards for a touchdown, assisting his team to a 16-3 win. He finished his 14 year career with 815 receptions for 10,060 yards and 62 touchdowns in 204 games.Career receiving statistics
Post-playing career
Sharpe is a
commentator for theCBS Sports pregame show "The NFL Today ", including the "Nextel Halftime Report" and the "Subway Postgame Show", replacingDeion Sanders and co-hosting with James Brown (formerly with "FOX NFL Sunday ") and former NFLquarterback sDan Marino andBoomer Esiason . [ [http://cbs.sportsline.com/cbssports/nfltoday NFL Today - CBSSports.com ] ] In the2004 NFL regular season [ [http://www.nfl.com/history/chronology/2001-#2004 NFL History by Decade ] ] , Sharpe defeated Marino and Esiason in the pick 'em game of "The NFL Today" with a 53-21 record. His critics say that his broadcasting skills are hurt by his poor grammar and pronunciation of words (Sharpe has a very noticeablelisp anddrawl ).Sharpe also appears on SIRIUS NFL Radio's "Movin' The Chains" and writes a column on NFL.com. [http://www.nfl.com/writers/sharpe]
Sharpe now resides in Glennville in his free time. On the
National Football League Players' Association Players Inc. Web site [ [http://www.nflplayers.com NFL Players Association ] ] , while he played in Denver, he cited hishobbies asfishing , basketball, weight lifting, and spending time with hisRottweiler dog s. He also played in the 2005World Series of Poker .Sharpe will be eligible for the
Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009.Memorable quotes
*People Sharpe has commented on:
** TheNew England Patriots : "Mr. President, call in the National Guard! Send as many men as you can spare! Because we are killing the Patriots! They need emergency help!" (during a 34 - 8 rout vs. the Patriots onNovember 17 ,1996 ) [ [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/football/nfl/05/17/sharpe.retrospective/index.html SI.com - NFL - Shannon Sharpe career retrospective - Monday May 17, 2004 10:38PM ] ]
** WRPlaxico Burress : "Plexiglas"
** WRChad Ocho Cinco : "ocho no-show" instead of "ocho cinco"
** RBCorey Dillon , "the biggestrobbery since theLouisiana Purchase " ("Subway Postgame Show",2005 -01-16, AFC divisional game IND 3 - NE 20)
** QBJake Plummer : "They're about to take out the 'SN' in Snake and put an 'F' in front of it." (from "Movin' the Chains") [ [http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~86~2650217,00.html 404 - The requested page could not be found ] ]
** QBKyle Boller : "You do have your teammates behind you: your fullback and your halfback, and that’s only because they have to be." [ [http://ravens.scout.com/2/469290.html?refid=3638 Scout.com: More Sharpe criticism for Boller ] ]
** QBKyle Boller : "I've got a better chance of winning theKentucky Derby on the back of a donkey than they have of winning the Super Bowl with Kyle Boller."
** Head CoachTom Coughlin : "I would rather die in an abandoned building alone, and my family not know what happened, than play for Coughlin."
** LBLondon Fletcher-Baker : "LondonFletcher-Baker.com; he's logged in."
** Jacksonville Jaguars' strategy in a divisional playoff game against the New England Patriots: "Nothing cheap, nothing deep." (January 12 ,2008 )
** CBRay Buchanan , who wore a dog collar to Media Day and has guaranteed an Atlanta victory inSuper Bowl XXXIII : "Had anybody heard of Ray Buchanan before he got to Atlanta?"
** After Buchanan's assertion that Sharpe looked like a horse: "I've never called anybody ugly. Do I think people are ugly? Yeah, I think he's ugly, but I've never said that...Is he my friend? No. Did I ever view him as a friend? No. Do I view him as an acquaintance? No. Do I like him? No. If I see him in a snowstorm, his truck is broke down, mine is going perfectly, would I pick him up? No."
** QBSteve DeBerg : "DeBerg is old enough to be my father, and he's still in the league. How old is DeBerg, 105?"
** TEO.J. Santiago : "Santiago? Who, Benito?"
** FSEugene Robinson : "He can't out-talk me or cover me. He went to Colgate, but I'm smarter than he is. I might bump into him. I know he's not going to be covering me one-on-one. We know that's not going to happen, don't we?"
** About the four people he'd invite to a dinner party: "Bill Gates ,Warren Buffett ,Michael Jordan andHalle Berry . I'd talk to Gates, Buffett and Jordan first, and then me and Halle would go get another table in the back that's candlelit. And I'd let them discuss whatever they want to discuss."
* "I won't talk about someone's mother. I won't talk about their girlfriend or their wife, but if you have a deformity, I would talk about that."
* About growing up in Georgia and hating theAtlanta Falcons : "I've pretty much been in Atlanta my whole life, and I never liked the Falcons. What was there to like about them? They lost all the time. If you had a pair of cleats on and you were in Fulton County, they'd put you in the ballgame, they were so bad. For $20, you could sit in the luxury box with the owner."
* About the Indianapolis Colts Defense winning the Super Bowl: "I have a better chance of hitting a home-run grand slam in Yankee's Stadium with a toothpick."
* On QBRex Grossman 's first-half performance inSuper Bowl XLI : "Rex Grossman is exactly who I thought he was...inconsistent!"References
External links
*
* [http://www.nfl.com/players/playerpage/1329 NFL.com - Shannon Sharpe]
* [http://www.sportsline.com/cbssports/team/ssharpe CBS Sports Team - CBS SportsLine.com]
* [http://www.wheaties.com/champions/championslist.asp?id=76 Wheaties]
*
*
** "The NFL Today" weekly transcripts 2004: Wk [http://www.sportsline.com/cbssports/news/week1nflnotes 1] | [http://www.sportsline.com/cbssports/news/week2nflnotes 2] | [http://www.sportsline.com/cbssports/news/week3nflnotes 3] |4| [http://www.sportsline.com/cbssports/news/week5nflnotes 5] | [http://www.sportsline.com/cbssports/news/week6nflnotes 6] | [http://www.sportsline.com/cbssports/news/week7nflnotes 7] | [http://www.sportsline.com/cbssports/news/week8nflnotes 8] | [http://www.sportsline.com/cbssports/news/week9nflnotes 9] |10| [http://www.sportsline.com/cbssports/news/week11nflnotes 11] | [http://www.sportsline.com/cbssports/news/week12nflnotes 12] | [http://www.sportsline.com/cbssports/news/week13nflnotes 13] |14| [http://www.sportsline.com/cbssports/news/121804_notes 15] | [http://www.sportsline.com/cbssports/news/122604notes 16] | [http://www.sportsline.com/cbssports/news/010304notes 17] | [http://www.sportsline.com/cbssports/news/010905weekend Wild Card]
* [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/writers/peter_king/05/24/king.mmqb/ SI.com - Writers - Peter King MMQB: With Shannon Sharpe, what you hear is what you get - MondayMay 24 ,2004 12:45PM]
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