If giving up eight catches for 75 yards means Darrelle Revis had a bad day, then please sign him up as a New York Jet for another 10 years
Waking up today to fan’s reactions to Revis’ performance yesterday is quite entertaining, and yet another reminder of how fickle the New York Jets fan base can really be at times.
Yesterday’s win against the Buffalo Bills wasn’t a pretty one by any measure, and you certainly won’t find me giving any player credit unless it’s deserved. I’ll admit that halfway through the game yesterday I even commented on Stevie Johnson’s performance. Why wouldn’t I? I saw one too many completions to a receiver covered by the best cornerback in the game. It’s not common to see a wide receiver catch anything but air when put on Revis Island.
Today, amidst a sea of predictable overreaction, I watched the game again and took a little closer look at Revis’ performance, took it for what it was, and haven’t for one second questioned the rare talent and skill we’ve all know he has.
If you found yourself sitting in front of the computer last night, voting Kyle Arrington into the ProBowl, putting your #24 jersey up for sale on eBay and making ridiculous comments like “Revis is awful”, “He’s been exposed” and “It looked like Revis didn’t even want to play today”……. well this one is for you.
Ryan Fitzpatrick is as accurate a quarterback as Stevie Johnson is a great route runner. Eight catches for 75 yards and 3 yard touchdown really sounds a lot worse then it is. Most other teams stay up all night praying that they had a secondary that could perform that well against a starting wide receiver.
Johnson’s receptions for the most part were under 10 yards. He was effective on making a few quick moves on Revis off the line and getting open for a quick pass. Any defensive back will tell you that it’s hard to defend a slant-a-thon like we witnessed yesterday.
Jets fans complain every week about poor safety play yet never take the time to consider that Revis may actually feel the same way. I’m not sure how much Revis actually trusts Brodney Pool and Eric Smith. All reasons why he played man coverage, gave Johnson a lot of cushion and kept the play in front of him the entire game.
In my opinion, Revis knows how fast Johnson is, and this was his way of making sure that he didn’t get beat over the top. When you can’t trust your safeties to be there, you don’t compromise your coverage, you don’t jump short throws, and you let Fitzy make a few short completions.
Looking at the game and the Stevie Johnson touchdown more closely definitely shows that there was some miscommunication between Revis and Pool. Revis backed off, expecting inside help and like so many other times this season it wasn’t there.
No excuses need to made for his performance yesterday, nor should any credit be taken away from Fitzpatrick and Johnson’s effectiveness against him. The fact is, Jets fans have been spoiled with wide receivers completely disappearing on Revis Island, and have set new standards for what is considered a good or bad performance.
Like I said before, I’ll take the guy whose “bad day” only costs the team 75 yards and one touchdown any day of the week and be grateful.
And in case you didn't hear..... NEWSFLASH: Darrelle Revis is human.
