NFL

Veteran safety Sharper makes key interception

NEW ORLEANS — Saints free safety Darren Sharper had heard all the barbs from his teammates about being 75 years old and needing friendly assistance to cross the street at a busy intersection, but all the veteran ball hawk and potential Hall of Fame defensive back did yesterday was turn Mark Sanchez into a rookie NFL quarterback.

Sharper, the 33-year-old Free-agent pickup for the Saints in the offseason, intercepted Sanchez twice in yesterday’s 24-10 victory over the Jets, returning one of them 99 yards for a game-turning touchdown in the first half.

It was the 10th time in Sharper’s 13 NFL seasons that he has had a pick-six, second only in league history to the Steelers’ Rod Woodson, who had 12 in his Hall of Fame career.

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Sharper’s game-changing interception on the first play of the second quarter, which put the Saints up 10-0, was a combination of athletic ability and meticulous videotape study. He had gathered Saints’ defensive back for several extra meetings in the days leading up to the game and told them how he had spotted Sanchez’s tendency to stare down receivers.

Cornerback Tracy Porter had outside coverage on tight end Dustin Keller, who ran a curl to the inside. Sharper, hiding in the middle of the fields, saw the play develop, baited Sanchez into the throw and then stepped in front of Keller near the goal line. He ran untouched for the score.

“We had a little combo coverage, and I knew once I saw one of their receivers go a certain way that the tight end was trying to run a little stop route,” Sharper said.

“Our coverage allows me to be aggressive. I just attacked the football. I don’t think Sanchez saw me coming because initially [Keller] looked open. I was able to get my hands on it and hold it.”

Sharper added a second interception in the fourth quarter, his fifth in four games. He has returned two of those picks for scores.

Sharper said like most young quarterbacks, Sanchez can tip off where he’s going with the ball. It’s a tendency most quarterbacks have, he said, especially early in their development.

Did he bait Sanchez into making the throw?

“I little bit,” Sharper said, smiling. “But that’s just in our [defensive] calls. Once we see them do a certain thing, it allows me to be aggressive and just attack the football and make the play.”

“It’s not just being a rookie,” Sharper added. “Any quarterback you can get a good read on if you know certain tendencies that he has. Guys say that quarterbacks will try to fool you, but at the end of the day, once pressure is in your face, you’re going to go back subconsciously to what you’ve done in the past. You can get a good read on most quarterbacks in this league, except for Drew [Brees]. I can never get him in practice.”

Saints cornerback Randall Gay, who also picked off Sanchez late in the game, said Sharper is a master at dissecting any bad habits a quarterback, especially a rookie, might have.

“It’s a little different in the NFL,” Gay said. “They tend to stare their target down a lot. For somebody like Darren, who’s been through a lot of quarterback in his career, that little key can be the difference between a pass break up and an interception. He must’ve read Sanchez well because he got two picks.”

The Saints’ defense played so well — with four sacks, including an end zone sack and strip of Sanchez by Will Smith that resulted in another defensive score — that Brees didn’t have to throw a touchdown pass for the second straight game. Brees threw nine touchdown passes in the first two weeks.

Brees said he has been amazed at the play-making ability Sharper has brought to the Saints, who needed to improve its defense in order to be a serious playoff contender.

“He’s been a great addition,” Brees said. “What this defense allows him to do with [defensive coordinator] Gregg Williams’ aggressiveness and pressure, it really allows Sharper to do what he does best — and that’s sit back and be the quarterback of the defense.”

Saints coach Sean Payton said Sharper has “good presence” and has brought a maturity and play-making ability to a defense that was sorely in need of that commodity.

“He spends time on [reading] the eyes of the quarterback,” Payton said. “He’s played a long time and was able to pick up on a few things and jump underneath that red zone play. That was a big play.”

For Sanchez, it was a 14-point turnaround, something from which he never could recover.