On August 8, 2015, Ron Wolf will receive his well deserved bronze bust and take his rightful place in the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Next year, Brett Favre will be enshrined. Both of these events will be exciting for Green Bay Packers fans and I too look forward to the party.
On the other hand, every time I watch one of these NFL Hall of Fame ceremonies on TV I am reminded of Sterling Sharpe’s great career as a wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers and what should have been, if he could have played longer.
I hate playing the “what if” game. I hate it, because I beat myself up until I have internally rationalized a satisfying resolution. In the case of Green Bay Packers wide receiver Sterling Sharpe, I’m going to play the “what if” game, because his NFL career was sterling (pun intended) and then he was robbed of his chance at becoming an NFL Hall of Fame bust.
After a fantastic college career at the University of South Carolina, Sterling Sharpe was selected by the Green Bay Packers with the seventh pick in the first round of the 1988 NFL Draft. According to pro-football-reference.com, he started all 16 games as rookie, catching 55 passes for 791 yards and a touchdown. Sterling instantly became a fan favorite in Packer Nation.
During his second season (1989) with the Green Bay Packers, Sterling Sharpe set team records with 90 catches and 1,423 yards. His 12 touchdowns were the second-highest total in the NFL. Sharpe was now beginning to dominate!
In his third season (1990) Sharpe earned Pro Bowl honors. He caught 67 passes for 1,105 yards and six touchdowns.
However, in 1991 Sharpe’s production took a “slight dip.” He failed to top 1,000 receiving yards for the first time since his rookie season. He ended the season with 961 receiving yards.
Be reminded from 1988-1991 Sterling Sharpe played with quarterbacks Don Majkowski, Mike Tomczak, and Anthony Dilweg. It was not until 1992 that Sharpe finally had an opportunity to play with a raw, but talented quarterback, when a young Brett Favre was given the starting job, following Majkowski’s injury.
With Favre pushing the buttons and running the controls, Sterling Sharpe responded with one of the greatest seasons by a wide receiver in NFL history. In 1992 he led the league in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns by a receiver, becoming just the sixth man in NFL history to do so. His 107 receptions that year broke the single-season record set by Washington Redskins wide receiver Art Monk, who caught 106 passes in 1984. Art Monk was inducted into the NFL HOF in 2008.
In 1993, Sharpe broke his own single-season reception record by hauling in 112 passes-setting another NFL record. He became the first NFL wide receiver to top 100 receptions in consecutive seasons-setting yet another NFL record. It was fun to watch Sterling Sharpe catching Brett Favre cannonballs for TD’s. The QB/WR combination gave Packers fans hope and life.
Finally, for the first time in Sharpe’s career, the Green Bay Packers in 1993 advanced to the postseason. In a wild card game against the Detroit Lions, Sharpe scored 3 touchdowns. The third TD was a “come-from-behind-game-winner” from Brett Favre with under a minute to go. At the time he is one in a handful of wide receivers to accomplish this feat in an NFL playoff game. Sharpe now seemed unstoppable.
Then the unimaginable happened. The game Sterling Sharpe loved so much came to a screeching halt in 1994 when he suffered a severe neck injury against the Atlanta Falcons. He never played in another NFL football game and retired at the age of 29.
In his eight-year Green Bay Packers career, Sterling Sharpe played in all 112 games. He caught 595 passes for 8,134 yards and 65 touchdowns. When he retired at the age of 29, only three NFL players averaged more receiving yards per game. Only eight players had more career receptions and receiving touchdowns.
What if Sharpe had played with Favre until the age of 36, rather than 29? It’s too difficult to project, but safe to say, Sterling Sharpe would have posted ridiculous receiving totals. Heck, given Sterling Sharpe’s pace, he could have ended up owning a few more NFL wide receiver records had he played that long with Favre.
One thing is for sure. If Sterling Sharpe had played until the age of 32, he would have earned a Super Bowl ring after the 1996 season and he would have played in another Super Bowl in 1997. He might have been the missing piece which would have helped the Packers beat the Broncos in Super Bowl XXXII. Heck, he may have even been the SB MVP. Who knows?
On the other hand, this we know, Sterling Sharpe proved beyond a shadow of a doubt from 1988-1994 that he was an NFL Hall of Fame football player.
If Sterling Sharpe hadn’t suffered a career-ending neck injury, the Green Bay Packers would be without a doubt boosting of another NFL Hall of Fame player. Including Class of 2015 inductee Ron Wolf, the Green Bay Packers have 23 individuals in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Brett Favre will be #24. Sterling Sharpe should be in there too.
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Todd Stelzel, a loyal Packers fan since 1966, is a contributing writer with PackersTalk.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @ToddStelzel for more Packer news.
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22 responses to “Green Bay Packers Wide Receiver Sterling Sharpe”
Thanks for the invaluable information, and I agree.
Peter, you’re welcome!
I think brett depended on SS to much… Witb SS out he learned to spread around more
Jim, interesting point. Brett did lean on Sterling, but then…who wouldn’t from 92-94?
One thing you have to remember Jim is there weren’t to many options on the Packers Favre could throw to. Brooks and Chewy were drafted in 1992, Mickens and Schroeder in 1994 and Freeman after he was gone in 1995. That’s what made Sharpe all the more amazing, EVERYBODY KNEW the ball was coming to him. Then there’s the fact he never practiced because of the wicked case of “Turf Toe” he played with.
Who else did the Packers have for Favre to throw to? No wonder he concentrated on Sharpe; that & the fact Sharpe was a pretty good route runner who knew how to create space!
Thank you Todd, not enough writers talk about this, Sharpe belongs in the HOF. What he did in 7 years is HOF worthy!
Nick, Completely, completely agree!
Nick, I’ve always maintained that with a full career, Sharpe would have been in the same territory as Jerry Rice.
Sharpe was good but he was a , “Me first player”, he may have become a cancer to the team.
Can’t disagree with you SB Curran…since we will never really know how his career would have ended in Green Bay had he played another 5-7 years with the team.
I just read an interesting article about Bret Favre, to wit that, even though Favre helped Sterling’s numbers a great deal, Sharpe would bitch about Favre getting paid more. Favre was rather happy to see him go so that he wouldn’t have to listen to him bitch anymore. I think if SS had stayed healthy he would have left in free agency or been traded. STill there was nobody better at getting open and fighting for the ball in traffic or running over a cornerback or running after the catch in his time. How many of those Don Majkowski miracle game-winning throws were to Sharpe? I saw a few.
Do you have that link? I’d be interested in ready that.
Hey Nick, I found a few articles regarding Sharpe being a “malcontent” in the locker room and huddle. This is one of those articles for what it’s worth. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1994-01-02/sports/9401020315_1_sterling-sharpe-refuses-media
A “malcontent”? For what? Refusing to speak to reporters after a bad experience as a rookie? Once bitten, twice shy.
Appreciate the comment…
From one loyal Packer Backer to another, please know that I do not think SS was a “malcontent.”
In fact, in my eyes he was a “progressive” role model.
In other words, he tried to make other players around him better via his verbal and non-verbal actions, which in my opinion, spoke volumes.
According to the link above, this “leadership style” apparently ticked off a few players, reporters and fans, but in my mind…it was never a big deal!!
Hope this clarifies my disposition.
Rich, Thanks for the reply. Can’t argue with anything you stated above. No question, SS was a bit of a “tempest in a teapot.” In other words, sometimes over-reacting to an unimportant play, as if it were of considerably more consequence.
Sterling was & always will be my favorite Packer! The most underrated WR in NFL history! Even his own brother Shannon Sharpe stated when Shannon was inducted into the NFL HoF, “I am the 2nd best receiver in my family.”
Well said…
Thank you my fellow Packer Backer! =)
Just one thing I disagree with in your story . . . . “Be reminded from 1988-1991 Sterling Sharpe played with quarterbacks Don Majkowski, Mike Tomczak, and Anthony Dilweg.” Don Majkowski was an extremely talented QB and why do you think Sterling had great numbers? Don’s injuries were as much the reason.
Good point…Majkowski was very talented and he “pumped excitement, hope and life” back into the Packers future after the “Lynn Dickey era.”
Majkowski started 44 games at QB with Sterling in the lineup. Sharpe played in 112 straight until the career ending injury. Both complimented each other very well and were fun to watch.
On the matter of “Be reminded”… I was only trying to “remind” the reader that Sharpe did not play with Favre his entire career.
By no means was I suggesting #7 was a mediocre QB. Far from it, in my opinion. Now Tomczak and Dilweg on the other hand…well, I’ll end it here.
Hope this clarifies my disposition.