Sports Radio Interviews

Shannon Sharpe: “I would rather be great for X amount of years then be good for an extended period of time.”

Shannon Sharpe believes he did all he could possibly do in his 14-year NFL career to make the Hall of Fame. He caught 815 passes for over 10,000 yards and 62 touchdowns. He retired as the league’s all-time leader in receptions, yards and touchdowns for tight ends. He is regarded as one of the best to ever play the tight end position and is now on his second attempt for the Hall. One guy he played against, Hall of Famer Rod Woodson says he is a “guaranteed Hall of Famer.” The question remains though, is this his year. For a guy that is one of the best ever at his position you have to think, of course.

We will wait until the Hall of Fame’s Board of Selectors will meet Feb. 6 in Miami, the day before the Super Bowl, to select the Class of 2010. He is on a list of many eligible for this year’s class including Emmitt Smith and Jerry Rice, two guys who without a doubt are first ballot guys. He has the one thing that also is always a big thing when it comes to the should he be in or not argument, a few Super Bowl rings. In my opinion he is a no doubter, he proved his worth with Denver and helped them get to and win a Super Bowl. He also was a focus for the defense week in and week out and got the statistics to top all of that. Although this year’s class of guys is star studded, this should be the year Shannon has a bronze made for him in Canton.

Shannon Sharpe joined ESPN 101 in St. Louis with Bernie Miklasz and talked about the upcoming Super Bowl and went on a rant about why he should be in the Hall of Fame.

Asked about his thoughts on the Hall of Fame this year and trying to get in there:

“I am a lot better this year then I was last year. It really consumed me from the time I made the final 15. It really consumed me, I thought about it day and night. Then when it was over and I didn’t make it, I slept so much better that night. I just realized there is nothing I can do. You would like to think that your body of work is worthy. Everyone would like to get in on the first ballot, I know that and sometimes that is unrealistic. I really don’t know what else I could have done that would have said ok, this guy is worthy of getting in when he got in. You look at when I played; you look at my peers I played against and the numbers. That’s the thing Bernie, judge me for the time I played, the era I played in, and don’t look at numbers relative to Kellen Winslow, Mackey or Ditka. Because I didn’t play against those guys. You look at me against the top tight ends I played against, Ben Coates and Jay Novacek, Brent Jones, and Frank Wycheck. Look at my numbers compared to theirs. Look at my numbers in the playoffs compared to theirs, you look at my Super Bowl wins or playoff wins compared to theirs and I think I stack up favorably. Now if you want to say ok, was he as durable as this guy or did he have the acrobatic catches like that guy? That’s fine if you want to do that. I think my body or work is worthy, I played, I had longevity. I have always said this Bernie; I would rather be great for X amount of years then be good for an extended period of time.”

Was told about the amount of support he got last year and he will get into the Hall soon:

“I think the thing is when they look at it like, this guy won 12 consecutive playoff games, he won 12 consecutive playoff games in a row, and nobody in the history of football can say that. (Bernie: That’s pretty impressive man, I didn’t even realize that). It is what it is. Coming out as a seventh round draft pick, I just wanted to play a couple of years in the NFL so one day I can tell my kids I played in the NFL and caught a pass from John Elway. And low and behold, it’s kind of like when you look at Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon, when you have a guy of that magnitude and John would tell me I am counting on you to make this play for me and I am going to come to you. I am not going to go to Vance Johnson, I am not going to Ricky Nattiel or Mark Jackson or anybody else, and I need you to make this play. You don’t know what that does to a guy from Savannah State drafted in the seventh round, to have that guy who has gone to Super Bowls, who has been the MVP in this league to say I need Shannon Sharpe to make a play for me. It did wonders for my confidence and it really helped me become the player that I was. Now the hardest part of my job in my career was playing with the Ravens the way we were playing football games. We weren’t going to put the ball up 30-40 times; we were only going to throw the ball maybe 20 times. In those 20 times, 10 of those were coming on 3rd down. You had to be perfect. So I might not catch but two passes in the game, but I had to make them count. People don’t understand, people are like well Trent Dilfer had the easiest job. No, you know how difficult it is to play the game when you don’t know when you are going to get your next pass. If you drop it, you might not get another one and if you drop it in the first quarter, you might not get another attempt until the 3rd quarter. It is a very difficult way to play football.”

Listen to Shannon Sharpe on ESPN 101 in St. Louis with Bernie Miklasz

Tags: Austin Collie, Denver Broncos, Emmitt Smith, Hall of Fame, Jerry Rice, John Elway, NFL, Shannon Sharpe