“I will leave one year too early instead of one year too late.”
Shannon Sharpe said that midway through the 2003 season, one which saw him score more touchdowns and average more yardage per catch than any year since the Broncos’ back-to-back Super Bowl seasons. His productivity that year (62 catches for 770 yards and eight touchdowns) and his return to health after painful seasons the previous two years showed that he had more in his tank — or at least enough to get through the 2004 campaign.
However, those words lingered — and proved prophetic on this date in 2004, when Sharpe announced his retirement to become one of the hosts of The NFL Today. Given that he still holds the job six years later, one cannot quibble with the wisdom of Sharpe’s choice; such gigs are rarely attained and even more scarcely held for five years or more (the rabble of players and coaches who couldn’t stick as broadcasters is like the list of first-round quarterbacks who live up to their billing: long and filled with familiar names).
Back in the spring of 2004, numerous Broncos players and their head coach spoke of their belief that Sharpe would return for a 15th season. All the while, someone knew better: defensive lineman Trevor Pryce, at the time not only the Broncos’ most consistent pass rusher, but resident contrarian. Six weeks before Sharpe announced his retirement to go into broadcasting, Pryce was the only Bronco to go on record and say that the most productive tight end in league history would walk away.
“I don’t (think Sharpe will return). I just think that he’s ready to do something else. But whatever he does, he will be an announcer. When he retires, I don’t think he’s actually retiring. Shannon’s not going to go away. As long as he’s around the game, I think he’s going to be happy, so I think he’s going to retire.”
I remember Pryce’s words more than any Sharpe uttered during his retirement press conference. But that’s how our minds work; the exception is more often recalled than the rule.
Sharpe’s absence did create something of a void in the lineup; a future Hall of Famer — and he will be, don’t fret — isn’t easily replaced. But in honor of Pryce’s contrarian perspective, it must be noted, that the Broncos have received comparable production from the tight end position the last six years as they did in Sharpe’s final season.
| BRONCOS TIGHT END PRODUCTIVITY | |||||
| YEAR | CATCHES | YARDS | YPC | TD | TD PCT. |
| 2003 (W/ SHARPE) | 75 | 887 | 11.8 | 9 | 12.0 % |
| 2004-09 AVG. | 65.3 | 785.0 | 12.0 | 5.7 | 8.7 % |
The demands of the tight end are different in Josh McDaniels’ offense than Mike Shanahan’s, and given the fluid, play-to-the-strengths nature of the scheme, the production of the tight ends can swing wildly. In 2006, the Patriots’ tight ends (which included current Bronco Daniel Graham) accounted for 1,037 yards on 81 receptions; two years later, the tight ends’ yardage production dropped by 70.9 percent, to 302 yards on 31 catches.
The strengths of the Broncos’ now Scheffler-less tight end corps — particularly incumbents Graham and Richard Quinn — rest in their blocking abilities; Graham has one 30-catch season since 2005 while Quinn was a devastating blocker in college at North Carolina but didn’t have a catch last year. Thus, the production of the Broncos’ tight ends this year could be closer to McDaniels’ 2008 offense than his 2006 one. Or it could be like last year (59 for 705 yards) and most of the others since Sharpe’s retirement: somewhere in between.
Either way, the Broncos’ tight ends have remained productive since Sharpe’s retirement, even without No. 84′s flash and flair.
