Saints had sharp sense when they got Sharper
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NEW ORLEANS -- The deal went down during a business meal late last winter at Emeril's.
Among those dining were Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma, general manager Mickey Loomis and the defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.
Their guest of expense-account honor was Darren Sharper, a veteran safety who recently had left the Minnesota Vikings as a free agent.
"We were basically trying to recruit him," Vilma said. "I told him he would be a perfect fit. He was the guy we needed."
Some veterans in Sharper's position, Loomis said, look only for a paycheck, but he sensed Sharper sought team success. He also believed he could fill some of the Saints' needs.
"At the tail end of his career, what can this guy bring to the table for us?" Loomis said. "We needed a veteran safety to help with the young secondary."
Sharper was 33 and contemplating a 13th season in the NFL.
"At my age, you don't want to have a wasted year," Sharper said. "I just had that feeling that night. It just felt right. Something just kind of clicked."
So he signed a one-year contract with the Saints in March and both sides have benefited.
Sharper, who tied for the league lead this season in interceptions with nine, will play for the Saints tomorrow in the NFC championship game against Minnesota in the Louisiana Superdome.
The winner will go to the Super Bowl, and there is more than one coincidence involved.
Not only did Sharper play for the Vikings for the previous four seasons, but he also was a teammate of Minnesota quarterback Brett Favre's at Green Bay, including the Packers' Super Bowl season in 1997, when Sharper was a rookie.
And after Favre left the Jets after last season and contemplated new employment, he consulted Sharper, who told Favre that the Vikings were good enough to contend for the championship.
"So it is kind of ironic that we are facing off," Sharper said. "I just hope I can renege on those words and make us the Super Bowl-caliber team."
Signing Sharper was part of a pattern for the Saints. Many of their pivotal players started with other teams and came here through trades or free agency.
Vilma is one of them, traded by the Jets after expressing, through his agent, a desire to play in New Orleans. Quarterback Drew Brees arrived as a free agent from San Diego.
Defensive end Bobby McCray signed as a free agent from Jacksonville. Linebacker Scott Fujita signed as a free agent from Dallas. Tight end Jeremy Shockey came in a trade from the Giants.
Vilma said the Saints had a growing reputation around the league as a good place for veteran players because the owner, Tom Benson, delegates football decisions to football experts like Loomis and coach Sean Payton.
First Published January 23, 2010 12:00 am
