FanHouse DarrenSharper

Jets rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez's NFL career couldn't have had a better start: New York, eight months removed from the evil clutches of Eric Mangini, began the season 3-0 and for the first time since those heady Chad Pennington days earlier this decade, the team had their franchise quarterback.

Reality abruptly set in last Sunday against the Saints -- Sanchez was just 14 of 27 for 138 yards, no touchdowns, three interceptions and he was sacked four times. He set season lows in just about every statistical category but it was his first pick early in the second quarter that might have been the lowlight of his afternoon.

Saints safety Darren Sharper intercepted Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez Sunday and took it back 99 yards for a touchdown, another career highlight for the man who might be the best interception returner in NFL history.

As he heads into his 13th season, Darren Sharper knows that he doesn't have many years left in his NFL career. He's not as much of a playmaker as he used to be, and the Vikings were OK with letting him go. But he probably has enough left to give the Saints secondary a big boost in 2009.

The Saints offense was one of the best in the league in 2008, thanks to Drew Brees. The defense was one of the worst in the league thanks in part to safeties Kevin Kaesviharn and Josh Bullocks. Even in the twilight of his career, Sharper should give the Saints a much steadier center fielder who has always had a knack for making big plays--he leads all active players with 54 interceptions.

Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.

Gregg Williams hasn't informed a free agent decision for New Orleans yet, hasn't hand-picked the inevitable defensive playmaker the Saints choose with their 14th-overall selection this year, hasn't installed a single scheme in a minicamp. Yet Williams' reputation has preceded him to the Crescent City, and his hiring as defensive coordinator is already considered one of the most important moves in team history.

After almost two decades of guaranteed defensive putridity, the last three of which have revolved around Gary Gibbs' lack of talent identification and bland scheming, the idea of Williams and his history of intelligent, hard-working, active, complex defenses coming to the Superdome is music to the ears. It also might finally push the Saints over the top.

Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.

In an NFC that is heading into the offseason without a clear favorite, the Minnesota Vikings have almost all the pieces to be the presumptive favorite. They have an outstanding defensive line, an improved secondary and the best running back in the business. They also have a very good offensive line and thanks to Bernard Berrian, the receiver corps no longer is a joke.

I try not to get too involved in gossip-type stuff, but this one is too rich to ignore.

Minneapolis Star Tribune "gossip" "columnist" C.J. writes regularly for the newspaper and its website. You may have read about some recent journalistic work of hers.

Needless to say, she's not going to threaten to steal Charles Gibson's job or anything like that. She fills her role at the newspaper, and the newspaper is smart enough not to assign her to cover anything serious.

In her latest hard-hitting investigation, C.J. tracked down Vikings safety Darren Sharper as he was showing up for a television appearance at a Twin Cities station.

Sharper must have been late, because he parked in a handicapped space. While he didn't respond to C.J.'s repeated attempts to get comment, she did track down a P.R. guy for the Vikings, who offered up a perfectly rational explanation.

Or not.

For a brief moment during today's Pro Bowl, a few defensive players forgot where they were and actually started to act as though they were playing in a real football game. Fortunately, referee Bill Carollo was there to set them straight.

It took place early in the third quarter, when the AFC had the ball and the NFC actually started to try on defense -- you know, pressure the quarterback, press the receivers, that kind of thing. But that kind of thing isn't allowed in the Pro Bowl, so Carollo and the other officials called three unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, one on Packers cornerback Al Harris, one on Vikings safety Darren Sharper and one on 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis.

And now that the defensive players have been admonished, we're back to glorified seven-on-seven drills. The AFC leads 30-28 at the end of the fourth quarter, and I'm going to change the channel and watch 60 Minutes.

Here's the video of the NFL's most wholesome player, role model to millions, and all-around swell guy (except when he's losing, then he's kind of a jerk), Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers, talking smack to his Broncos counterpart, Jay Cutler.

Well, I guess it's a start; usually Rivers is yelling at San Diego fans. Whatever, Denver's Champ Bailey ain't impressed:

"And I don't really care for the guy, first of all," Bailey said in a story posted on The Rocky Mountain News' Web site. "He's not a respectable guy right now, because you talk too much trash and do this and that, but you're really not a great player in this league right now.

"You're surrounded by great players, but you're not a great player. I think he needs to understand where he stands in this league -- where he stands on his team first and foremost."

Apparently, Rivers has a problem with keeping his yap shut. Vikings safety Darren Sharper said the former first-round pick was "running his mouth a little bit" when Adrian Peterson treaded the Chargers back in November. (Amazing how Rivers found the time in between completing just 45 percent of his passes and tossing an interception.) And it became such a problem that head coach Norvell Turner had to talk to his quarterback about it.

Every week, NFL FanHouse hits the lowlights from Sunday's action, looking at those players who did the most to move their head coaches that much closer to returning to the Bed and Breakfast business.

Herm Edwards, Chiefs
Two weeks ago, Redskins head coach Joe Gibbs was highlighted in this space because of his inability manage timeouts and the clock. I have no recollection of Gibbs struggling with such problems during his first coaching run back in the '80s and '90s, but I'm convinced that Edwards is, by light years, the league's worst coach when it comes to making in-game decisions.

I don't make that accusation cavalierly, and with the full understanding that in addition to Gibbs, guys like Brian Billick, Marvin Lewis, Mike Holmgren and Norvell Turner make seemingly hair-brained decisions. But none can match Herm's lunacy.

The latest addition to Edwards' legacy came Sunday against AFC West rival, Oakland. With Kansas City trailing 20-17, less than five minutes to go in the game, and the ball on the Raiders' 27, Brodie Croyle completed a four-yard pass on 3rd and 5. Bring in the field goal team, right? Wrong.
Sorry, No Photos

It's been pretty busy in the Vikings locker room in advance of this weekend's game with the Bears. Chester Taylor and Erasmus James threw punches at each other while two other Vikes are verbally sparring with their rivals to the South.

Bobby Wade broke in with the Bears as a fifth-round pick in the 2003 draft but his warm feelings for the team that gave him his first break in the league don't carry over to their current defense.

The Bears "are a good defense," Wade told Minnesota reporters. "[But] I can't put them above any defense we played this year. They're suffering some losses on defense with injuries."

The Vikings have played Atlanta, Detroit, Kansas City and Green Bay this season so he may actually have a point. Chicago outranks only the Lions defensively but the quality of the Lions D makes Wade's statement hyperbole in the extreme. The Bears have gotten healthier, though, and Wade may rethink his comments if a short pattern finds himself in the path of Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs.

Meanwhile, on the defensive side Darren Sharper isn't losing any sleep thinking about the two talented tight ends of the Bears.