| Profootballweekly.com asked
contributing editor Joel Buchsbaum for his thoughts on the major news from around the NFL. 
Ravens re-sign Sharper
The Ravens will keep their starting LB corps intact after all. OLB Jamie Sharper, an
unrestricted free agent who interviewed with several teams, re-signed with Baltimore on
Tuesday for $22 million over five years. In order to make the deal work, Sharper’s
agent, Tony Agnone, restructured the contract of another of his clients, Ravens WR Qadry
Ismail. Sharper, a former second-round pick out of Virginia, finished third on the team
last season with 102 tackles. He also had one interception, four passes defensed, five
forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
Buchsbaum: If he stays as hungry as he was last year, it’s a tremendous plus
because with Sharper, Boulware and Lewis, they may have the best trio of starting
linebackers the NFL has seen since Jack Lambert, Jack Ham and Andy Russell.
ProFootballWeekly.com: What did Sharper do well last year?
Buchsbaum: He was a complete linebacker. He tackled much better than he ever had. His
instincts and reaction were much better, much quicker. He was learning to anticipate
instead of to wait. The last two years, actually, he’s done this. And he was doing a
much better job of reading his keys and getting back into coverage.
ProFootballWeekly.com: Is he much better with the Ravens than he would be elsewhere?
Buchsbaum: Yes. He’s like Carl Banks was with Lawrence Taylor on the other side.
ProFootballWeekly.com: The one thing the Ravens still need to do is re-sign Rod
Woodson. Have you heard anything along those lines?
Buchsbaum: Basically, it’s going to come down to money. They made Woodson an offer
of how much they can afford, and he hasn’t accepted or rejected, to the best of my
knowledge.
Broncos sign Neujahr
Quentin Neujahr, who spent the last three seasons with the Jaguars, signed Tuesday with
the Broncos. Neujahr, a free-agent center, has played in 62 NFL games with 25 starts. He
also has played for the Raiders, Browns and Ravens.
Buchsbaum: He’s a solid backup for their type of system. He’s not an
overpowering guy, but he can get into his blocks quickly, and he’s a good technician.
Westbrook’s contract restructured
The Redskins restructured the contract of Michael Westbrook, practically assuring that
the receiver will return for another season. Westbrook, the only receiver currently on the
roster who has caught a pass in an NFL game, was scheduled to count about $1.8 million
against the 2001 salary cap. The former No. 1 pick missed almost all of last season after
tearing a knee ligament in Week Two.
Buchsbaum: He’s a big-time talent who’s attitude has always been somewhat of
a problem and had distorted views of the world and how it relates to him. But he showed
more signs of maturing and growing up the past couple of years, and he’s done a
better job of controlling his temper, which has always gotten him into a lot of trouble.
ProFootballWeekly.com: How important is Westbrook to this offense with James Thrash
and Albert Connell both gone?
Buchsbaum: Yeah, they had no experienced wide receivers coming back. There’s no
question (he could have a big year), especially with Jeff George throwing the ball because
George will put it in there. I mean, George can zip it in there.
Aikman the broadcaster?
Former Cowboys QB Troy Aikman is on deciding whether to give football another try or
pursue a career in the broadcasting. Said Aikman: "It’s something I think
I’d enjoy doing. I’ve done it over in Europe (with NFL Europe), and I enjoyed it
while I was over there. Various networks liked what they heard, so there’s been some
talks as a result of that. But if that was something I was going to do, it would still be
something pretty new, and I’d have to work my way into it, there’s no
question."
Buchsbaum: I’m a little troubled by that. Troy has a great working knowledge of
the game, but he’s a technician, and if you ask anyone who ever interviewed him, he
was a lousy interview. He’s very yes-no, to the fact with very little humor, very
little charisma in the way he speaks. He’s honest, he’s direct and he knows how
to answer questions, but you’re not going to get any of the John Madden |
