Jabaal Sheard

Jabaal Sheard

refer to caption

Sheard in training camp with Browns
No. 93 New England Patriots
Position: Defensive end
Personal information
Date of birth: (1989-05-10) May 10, 1989
Place of birth: Hollywood, Florida
Height: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight: 265 lb (120 kg)
Career information
High school: Hollywood (FL) Hills
College: Pittsburgh
NFL Draft: 2011 / Round: 2 / Pick: 37
Career history
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 12, 2016
Tackles: 252
Sacks: 34.5
Forced fumbles: 11
Passes defensed: 18
Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

Jabaal Lamar Sheard[1] (born May 10, 1989) is an American football defensive end for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Pittsburgh, and was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft.

Early years

Sheard was an All-Broward County defensive lineman who had 54 tackles and 11 sacks as a senior at Hollywood Hills, a Florida 5A (second largest classification) school. He was rated as the nation's No. 23 weakside defensive end and was one of the top 60 prospects in the state of Florida according to Rivals.com. He was a PrepStar All-Southeast Region.He was rated one of the top 100 prospects in Florida by SuperPrep. He was rated one of the top 75 prospects in the southeast region by Scout.com.

Sheard was also a track and field letterman. In 2007, he placed fourth in the shotput at the FHSAA Outdoor State Championships with a throw of 16.20 meters (53-0). He also earned All-Broward County honors in the discus. He was timed at 4.6 in the 40-yard dash at the Nike combine prior to his senior season.

College career

He was described as someone who didn't get enough credit on the Pittsburgh defensive line[2] and noted for his "extraordinary game" against Notre Dame and the pressure he put on quarterback Jimmy Clausen.[3] He had four tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack, one pass breakup and four quarterback hurries in the game, as he "simply overwhelmed right tackle Sam Young off the edge with his speed".[2] Commentator Wes Bunting describes Sheard, a 6–4, 260-pound lineman, as being balanced and exhibiting impressive body control, "an explosive first step", and "keeping his pad level down and making himself small when turning the corner".[2] As a junior in 2009 Sheard was overshadowed by teammate and fellow defensive lineman Greg Romeus, but "is a gifted pass rusher in his own right, and his combination of burst, balance and closing speed will find him a spot on an NFL roster".[2] Dave Wannstedt, Pittsburgh's coach and a former National Football League (NFL) coach has also said that he thinks Sheard and Romeus will both play in the NFL.

Teammate Brandon Lindsey, who believes Romeus and Sheard, credited them with helping him develop as a player saying, "They’ve really shown me how to work hard every day in practice and to not get frustrated when things don’t go your way."[4] The Panthers lead the country in sacks.[5]

Sheard was suspended from the Pitt Football team indefinitely after his July 18, 2010 arrest on charges stemming from an off-campus brawl that occurred on East Carson Street in Pittsburgh.[6] He was restored to the team after charges were reduced to a misdemeanor disorderly conduct, and paid restitution for injuries and damages incurred during the fight.[7]

Sheard earned first-team American Football Coaches Association All-American honors in 2010 and was named as one of six finalists for the Ted Hendricks Award for the years best defensive end.

Professional career

Cleveland Browns

Sheard was selected with the 37th overall pick in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns.

2011 season

In 2011, Sheard started all 16 games for the Browns and led the team in sacks (8.5) and forced fumbles (5). Sheard and teammate Phil Taylor were chosen to the Pro Football Weekly 2011 All-Rookie Team. Sheard recorded his first career sack and forced fumble against the Indianapolis Colts in week 2 and recorded a career-high 2 sacks against the Arizona Cardinals in week 15.

2012 season

In 2012, Sheard started all 16 games for the Browns, recording 7.0 sacks and 36 tackles to cap a productive year.

2013 season

Limited by injury, Sheard started 13 games in 2013. He recorded 5.5 sacks and 19 tackles.

2014 season

Sheard improved in 2014 under a new coaching staff led by head coach Mike Pettine. During the 2014 season, he started all 16 games and ended the year on a solid note with 44 combined tackles (25 solo, 19 assisted) and 2 sacks.

New England Patriots

2015 season

As a free agent, Sheard signed a two-year, $11 million contract with the New England Patriots on March 11, 2015.[8] He made an immediate impact on the Patriots' defense, collecting four sacks in his first four games.[9] He finished the season with 37 tackles, 8 sacks, and two passes defensed.

2016 season

After Chandler Jones was traded to the Arizona Cardinals during the offseason, Sheard was expected to fill his starting role on the defensive line. In Week 3, he sacked Brock Osweiler twice in a 27-0 shutout win against the Texans.

NFL stats

Year Team GP COMB TOTAL AST SACK FF FR FR YDS INT IR YDS AVG IR LNG TD PD
2011 CLE 16 55 40 15 8.5 5 1 5 0 0 0 0 0 2
2012 CLE 16 55 38 17 7.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
2013 CLE 13 36 19 17 5.5 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
2014 CLE 16 44 25 19 2.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
2015 NE 13 37 28 9 8.0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
Career 74 227 150 77 31.0 11 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 14

[10]

Key

References

  1. ↑ "Jabaal Sheard Pro Football Reference Profile". pro-football-reference.com.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Wes Bunting Where's the love Scout’s notebook: defensive review
  3. ↑ Ron Cook Romeus, Sheard put bite in Pitt's defense November 27, 2009 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
  4. ↑ Alex Oltmanns Football: Given an opportunity, Lindsey finds success on the field 22 November 2009 The Pitt News
  5. ↑ Fearless Predictions: Cincy vs. Pitt and more College Football News (Fox Sports)
  6. ↑ Ove, Torsten (19 July 2010). "Pitt player refused to stop beating man, police said". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  7. ↑ Bennett, Brian (2010-08-04). "Jabaal Sheard's return is huge for Pitt". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2010-12-04.
  8. ↑ Wilkening, Mike. "Patriots agree with Jabaal Sheard on two-year deal". Pro Football Talk. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  9. ↑ NFL.com
  10. ↑ "Jabaal Sheard Stats". ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved 5 May 2015.

External links

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