Jamie Sharper

Jamie Sharper has stood on the sideline, watching the Ravens lose and feeling powerless to do anything about it - or watching them win and being unable to enjoy it on the field. With his pass coverage viewed at times as a liability, the fifth-year outside linebacker grew accustomed to the view from the sideline even though his run-stopping abilities were unquestioned. "I would get mad, disgusted," Sharper said. "But I knew there would come a time when I would have a chance to prove again that I should be back out there.

FORMER Ravens linebacker Jamie Sharper is finally getting his due respect in Houston. He could some day own this franchise, much like the Ravens are Ray Lewis' team and the Green Bay Packers are Brett Favre's team. Hmmm. Jamie Sharper's team. Texans coach Dom Capers likes the way it rolls off the lips. "The way you really lead in this business is by going out and doing it between the lines," said Capers. "That's how you gain respect. That's what leadership is all about, and that's what you see in Jamie.

The bonding process began almost immediately, one week after the NFL draft in April, when the Ravens held their rookie minicamp. That's when second-year linebacker Ray Lewis huddled with rookies Peter Boulware and Jamie Sharper off the field several times.L The meetings were not long, but there was a running message."Everyone of us came from a winning program in college," Lewis said. "We're all young, intelligent and athletic, and we're all hungry. We're going to be together for at least three to four years.

The Ravens mixed a little of the unexpected with the expected yesterday. The club informed tight end Shannon Sharpe that he will be cut this week, two seasons into a four-year, $13.2 million contract that included a $4.5 million signing bonus. While his seemingly sudden release may come as a surprise to many, Sharpe said he expected it to happen, and expressed more dismay about the departures of linebacker Jamie Sharper and return specialist Jermaine Lewis. The Ravens left Sharper and Lewis exposed for yesterday's expansion draft, and the Houston Texans, as anticipated, selected them with the fifth and sixth picks, respectively.

While the Ravens continued negotiations with Jamie Sharper over the weekend, the free-agent linebacker will continue to shop himself. "We've decided he's going to make another trip," Tony Agnone, Sharper's agent, said yesterday. Although Agnone would not confirm any details of the trip, league sources said Sharper is headed to visit the Miami Dolphins. Another Ravens free agent, center Jeff Mitchell, will meet with the Carolina Panthers tomorrow. Mitchell's agent, Ed Cunningham, said he has had serious contract talks with the Panthers and expects a decision early in the week.

In searching for a standout football moment involving himself and his brother Darren, Jamie Sharper remembers the hit that did not happen. It was back in college when Jamie, older by a year, was at Virginia, and Darren was at William & Mary. Darren was returning a punt down the sideline when he came face-to-face with Jamie, a key member of the Cavaliers' punt team. "He jumped out of bounds right before I had a chance to hit him," Jamie Sharper, 26, said. "Then he started talking junk.

The Ravens reached agreement on a three-year contract with second-round draft selection Jamie Sharper yesterday, and the team will now turn its full attention to signing top draft pick Peter Boulware, the Florida State defensive end who is the only unsigned player among the team's 12 draftees.Sharper, the outside linebacker from Virginia who is expected to start for the Ravens, ended his nine-day holdout from training camp by agreeing to a three-year deal worth $1.7 million, including a $727,000 signing bonus, according to sources from both sides.

A day after some off-season clamoring, the Ravens are anticipating a quiet couple of weeks. Pat Moriarty, the Ravens' director of football administration and chief negotiator, said he had a "broad-based discussion" yesterday with Tony Agnone, who represents starting free-agent linebacker Jamie Sharper. On Monday, Agnone voiced his displeasure over the Ravens' silence in free-agent talks and was told by the team that he needed to first send a proposal. But Agnone, a Baltimore-based agent who lives in the same neighborhood as Moriarty, has not decided when he would deliver his first set of numbers to the Ravens.

The Ravens huddled for nearly four hours yesterday and laid down an informal deadline concerning their free-agent linebacker Jamie Sharper. "We should have a resolution of this one way or another this week," owner Art Modell said. "We're going to try our best to negotiate a deal that we can live with and he can live with. Nothing has been decided, but we'll continue our discussions [today]." After signing quarterback Elvis Grbac and right tackle Leon Searcy, the Ravens have had Sharper as their top free-agent priority for nearly two weeks.

Running backsRookie Jay Graham was superb, showing explosiveness and quickness, but he still needs to lower his body and stop juking on short-yardage situations. -- BQuarterbackVinny Testaverde seems to be lacking a bit in confidence. His interceptions, however, were excusable because linebacker William Thomas made a great play on one and the other was tipped. Testaverde made some nice scrambles but still needs to tuck the ball when he runs. -- C-ReceiversAfter Michael Jackson caught his touchdown pass and dropped a possible long reception, he disappeared.

Long snapper Dale Hellestrae estimated it would take a couple of days for the timing to come between himself and punter Kyle Richardson. Judging by last night, that timeline was off. Hellestrae rolled one snap back, sailed another to the right that Richardson handled (before shanking a punt) and sent another one low that Richardson could not handle in the Ravens' 19-3 win over the Minnesota Vikings at PSINet Stadium last night. "Obviously it was a struggle at the beginning," Hellestrae said.

In searching for a standout football moment involving himself and his brother Darren, Jamie Sharper remembers the hit that did not happen. It was back in college when Jamie, older by a year, was at Virginia, and Darren was at William & Mary. Darren was returning a punt down the sideline when he came face-to-face with Jamie, a key member of the Cavaliers' punt team. "He jumped out of bounds right before I had a chance to hit him," Jamie Sharper, 26, said. "Then he started talking junk.

Jamie Sharper has stood on the sideline, watching the Ravens lose and feeling powerless to do anything about it - or watching them win and being unable to enjoy it on the field. With his pass coverage viewed at times as a liability, the fifth-year outside linebacker grew accustomed to the view from the sideline even though his run-stopping abilities were unquestioned. "I would get mad, disgusted," Sharper said. "But I knew there would come a time when I would have a chance to prove again that I should be back out there.

THE RAVENS HAD the last selection in the first round of the NFL draft yesterday, and they came away with Arizona State's Todd Heap, the consensus pick as the best tight end in college football. Unbelievable. You can call it luck. You can call it fate. Call it whatever you want, but the Ravens are on a roll this off-season. They upgraded their passing game in early March by signing free-agent quarterback Elvis Grbac, and then added perhaps the best right offensive tackle in the game nearly two weeks later in Leon Searcy.

The Ravens' war room was abuzz with anticipation on draft day two years ago. The team was on the clock with the 10th pick. There for the taking sat two of the most tantalizing athletes in the Class of 1999: cornerback Chris McAlister and linebacker/end Jevon Kearse. A debate ensued. Should the Ravens take the sure-fire cornerback or the big-play pass rusher? As he usually does, Ozzie Newsome, the team's vice president of player personnel, ended the discussion with a nod toward the big board, where McAlister was the fifth-rated player and Kearse the sixth.

The Ravens huddled for nearly four hours yesterday and laid down an informal deadline concerning their free-agent linebacker Jamie Sharper. "We should have a resolution of this one way or another this week," owner Art Modell said. "We're going to try our best to negotiate a deal that we can live with and he can live with. Nothing has been decided, but we'll continue our discussions [today]." After signing quarterback Elvis Grbac and right tackle Leon Searcy, the Ravens have had Sharper as their top free-agent priority for nearly two weeks.

While the Ravens continued negotiations with Jamie Sharper over the weekend, the free-agent linebacker will continue to shop himself. "We've decided he's going to make another trip," Tony Agnone, Sharper's agent, said yesterday. Although Agnone would not confirm any details of the trip, league sources said Sharper is headed to visit the Miami Dolphins. Another Ravens free agent, center Jeff Mitchell, will meet with the Carolina Panthers tomorrow. Mitchell's agent, Ed Cunningham, said he has had serious contract talks with the Panthers and expects a decision early in the week.

A day after some off-season clamoring, the Ravens are anticipating a quiet couple of weeks. Pat Moriarty, the Ravens' director of football administration and chief negotiator, said he had a "broad-based discussion" yesterday with Tony Agnone, who represents starting free-agent linebacker Jamie Sharper. On Monday, Agnone voiced his displeasure over the Ravens' silence in free-agent talks and was told by the team that he needed to first send a proposal. But Agnone, a Baltimore-based agent who lives in the same neighborhood as Moriarty, has not decided when he would deliver his first set of numbers to the Ravens.