Saints defensive spark Sharper thrilled to face former team

METAIRIE, La. -- New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton said there's so much tape floating around that he wouldn't pick his free safety's brain in how to shut down Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings in Sunday's NFC Championship Game.

You might believe Payton if 2006 Saints starter Josh Bullocks were still the free safety and you were facing the Bears' Rex Grossman.

But when you're talking a rejuvenated Darren Sharper, Payton and his coaching staff would be foolish not take Sharper's recommendations.

Sharper started the process himself, at least with his teammates.

"They don't come to me, I give them the information that I have -- any extra tidbits, tendencies, anything that I know," Sharper said. "Having the experience factor, I think I'm a person they can look up to, can learn from, try to pick my brain, watch how I go about my day-in and day-out activities, how I prepare myself and just being a leader in that area.

"I am not going to be a guy that is going to be too much of a vocal, boisterous type of leader, but I am going to say things when necessary."

It's too important of a game not to be proactive as the Saints have never been in a better position in franchise history to advance to their first Super Bowl as they play host to the NFC title game Sunday.

Linebacker Jonathan Vilma was the unquestioned leader of the Saints defense upon his arrival in 2008 via trade from the Jets. He has been more than open in sharing that role with Sharper this season. Sharper's Hall of Fame-type career statistics gave him instant credibility as soon as he inked a one-year deal during the offseason.

Darren Sharper: 'The motivation is being in the NFC Championship Game. That's all the motivation you need.' (Getty Images)

Sharper's on-field presence might have trumped, at least in the eyes of his teammates, any of his previous accomplishments before setting up shop in New Orleans. Sharper, who the Vikings figured was on his last leg and washed up last season, tied for the league lead with nine interceptions and three returned for touchdowns. The 34-year-old defender was named to his fifth Pro Bowl this season.

If that doesn't earn you enough stripes to become a go-to adviser for the six defensive starters without experience in an NFC Championship Game, look at it this way: Sharper played with Favre from 1997-2004 in Green Bay and played in Minnesota from 2005-2008.

I would say Sharper is the No. 1 authority.

Smartly, Vilma agrees completely.

"It's the veteran experience he has," Vilma said. "He's been in the league 12, 13 years. He's made a ton of plays. I think he's the active leader in interceptions. When you have a guy like that, that means he knows what he's doing.

"He understands the games. He understands the concepts. He knows how to read the quarterback and make a play on the ball. So to have a guy like that, especially with the resurgence he had this year, it definitely wasn't a dropoff. If you compare his stats this year to any time or any point in his career."

Vilma comprehended from the start how important adding Sharper to the defensive unit that had just inked defensive coordinator Gregg Williams to change the culture of a meek defense formerly led by Gary Gibbs, who's the polar opposite of the feisty Williams.

"I remember sitting down with him and Gregg Williams and Mickey Loomis," Vilma said. "We went to Emeril's to go eat. We were trying to basically recruit him to get him here. It was great. I told him he would be a perfect fit for us. He was the guy we needed to help lead our secondary and get us to this spot right now."

Sharper made it obvious who he wanted to battle in the NFC title game. Sharper said you could sort of call it destiny. Any added motivation? Sharper quickly silenced that notion.

"The motivation is being in the NFC Championship Game," Sharper said. "That's all the motivation you need."

Then when posed with a follow-up question, Sharper recognized a small personal vendetta against the Vikings.

"First, I was excited to be playing in the championship game -- the game that is the next step in getting to our goal of reaching the Super Bowl," Sharper said. "Once I found out it was Minnesota, it adds a little bit extra to it because of the time spent there.

"Whenever you face your old [teammates], it's just like going in the backyard. You're playing against someone that you know or are familiar with, it is always going to be extra motivation because you want to beat them because you know the guy that is right across from you. That will be the extra motivation right there."

There has been plenty of the backyard smack talk between Sharper and former Vikings tight end and locker room neighbor Visanthe Shiancoe.

"He's been practicing that for a while, but I don't think his rhythm is good enough to do that dance," Sharper said about Shiancoe's attempt to mimic the Sharper Shake, the safety's end zone dance. "You have to have a lot of rhythm. But we're going to try to keep him from the end zone so we don't have to worry about that."

Shiancoe smacked back.

"So Sharper or whoever the hell comes down there, you know, I don't know, whoever, Richard Simmons whoever, whoever they got, they're going to have somebody to be reckoned with," Shiancoe said implying he's going to lay it on the Saints pretty thick come Sunday.

Favre didn't smack back.

"I see Darren and he looks as good physically as he's ever looked," Favre said. "His instincts, those are the things you can't coach. He makes a lot of plays. The thought is, from people when you play a guy like Sharp, is that you can trick him and get big plays. In all honesty, you really don't see that this year."

So much for being washed up in Minnesota.