Shannon’s Been Less Than Sharp Against Hawks

Against the NFL, Shannon Sharpe is sharper than any tight end in the NFL.

His 71 receptions for the Denver Broncos ranks him second in the AFC behind Carl Pickens of Cincinnati for the conference reception lead. He has 20 more receptions than the next best tight end, Ben Coates of the New England Patriots.

But against the Seattle Seahawks, Shannon hasn’t been at his sharpest. His 32 career receptions for 394 yards are modest. He’s grabbed 69 passes for 828 yards against the Kansas City Chiefs, for example.

Sharpe hopes to crack that difficulty Sunday when the Broncos host the Seahawks in Mile High Stadium.

“They’ve done a pretty good job,” Sharpe said. “I’ve never had what you’d call a Shannon Sharpe game against those guys. I’ve never had 100 yards. I’ve never had more than one touchdown in a game. So I think they’ve done a pretty good job defensing me.”

One of the keys is the Seahawks don’t cover Sharpe man-to-man.

“We do a lot of different things covering him, so there aren’t too many chances for me to cover him,” strong safety Robert Blackmon said. “When he catches it, you just have to try to strip the ball …”

Having a good game against the Seahawks is important. If the Seahawks hold Sharpe to three or four catches, his hope of having the first 100-catch season is over. If he gets eight or nine, he has a chance.

“I doubt it,” Sharpe said of his chances of catching 100. “We’re too balanced of an attack… .”