It’s been the talk of the off-season so far this year: What will the Jets do with Darrelle Revis? The rumors had been swirling around the media circuits, would he remain a Jet or would he be dealt? Revis signed a four year deal extension with the Jets in 2010 after holding out of workouts and a very good portion of training camp as well due to the fact that the Jets and Revis were extremely far apart in contract negotiations. This was the third year in that four year deal and Revis was seeking a contract extension. He even said that he’d want to remain a Jet for life. The talks kept heating up and three teams were in the hunt to acquire the pro bowl cornerback. The 49ers, Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Sunday, the most talked about traded throughout the off-season finally happened: Darrelle Revis was traded to the Buccaneers for a draft pick this Thursday’s upcoming draft. Let’s also remember that Revis is coming off a torn ACL that he suffered in week 3 in Miami last season.
I like this trade a lot from the Tampa Bay perspective. The Buccaneers had the worst pass defense in the National Football League last year, plain and simple. They gave up 297.5 yards per game which was by far the most given up in the league and the worst in the league as well. Teams would stretch their secondary out and really attack it. Their corners would give up many big plays down the field in very crucial times of the game and they couldn’t stay with anybody nor defend or stop them in the process. This secondary has improved immensely this off-season. They signed free agent safety Dashon Goldson to a 5 year/$41 million deal, they have last years top ten draft pick in Mark Barron who will only get better as the years pass along. He has a very bright future ahead of him and now you add Darrelle to the mix. Everyone had been saying that the Seahawks have the best secondary in the league, they may have some competition right now.
Darrelle Revis is still the best cornerback in the game as we speak. There are many great cornerbacks in football today. Asante Samuel is one of them, Patrick Peterson is another one, Nnamdi is still a good cornerback despite the fact he had two lackluster seasons in Philadelphia. Jonathan Joseph and LarDarius Webb are some others to name but there’s only one Darrelle Revis. Remember when Rex Ryan took the job in East Rutherford as the Jets head coach? He predicted a Super Bowl title which hasn’t happened but one of his predictions have been right on though. He stated Darrelle would be the best cornerback in football. Let’s look at who he’s defended and shut down. Andre Johnson, Randy Moss, Terrell Owens, Reggie Wayne, Vincent Jackson, OchoCinco, Wes Welker, Megatron. All those names I’ve listed are all number ones on their teams depth charts. Darrelle shuts down one side of the field and one thing he hasn’t received credit for is his versatility. He can play man to man, nickel, dime, bump and run and zone coverage and be effective in every package in the process. He’s also excellent at tackling in the open field. The Buccaneers will be a bit more competitive now but I’m still not quite ready to put them in the playoff category just yet.
