Best way to get off Revis Island: Get physical with Darrelle Revis
Eventually, all elite cover corners end up trailing something. Trailing a top-shelf receiver. Trailing the high standard they put into place. Trailing a massive salary slot that can’t be justified forever.
Darrelle Revis isn’t quite there. But cornerback is a cruel position in the NFL. The plateau and dissent come quickly for many of the best cover corners. And the New York Jets have to be seeing the trend with Revis.
To be fair, Revis is coming off a week where he struggled mightily against the Cincinnati Bengals’ A.J. Green, a receiver who qualifies as one of the most difficult two or three wideout assignments in the NFL. But this is why Revis signed that ownership-driven, five-year, $70 million deal prior to the 2015 season: to cover guys like Green. It’s why he’s being guaranteed $17 million this season, despite being 31 years old. Because his skills made Revis Island possible. In past years, Green would have been stranded there.
A.J. Green had his way against Darrelle Revis on Sunday. (Getty Images)
Then came Sunday, when Revis Island looked surprisingly inviting. Maybe more like Revis Sand Bar. Green parked himself to the tune of 10 completions for 152 yards and a touchdown. It could have been worse: Green had an 11th completion for another 9 yards wiped out by a penalty.
Not that one bad performance suggests that Revis’ best days are completely gone. Aside from the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Antonio Brown, it could be argued that Green is easily the best receiver Revis will follow this season. But there is some pressing concern here. And it started last season, when Revis began to show cracks and the talk shifted to where this was headed. By training camp, questions like, “Will Revis get help over the top?” and “Can he eventually transition a safety?” were not considered wildly inappropriate. The Jets weren’t wading into that swamp, of course. But nobody was getting thrown out of the Florham Park practice facility for asking, either.
Where does the concern lie? That’s a debatable point supported by game film. But a handful of pro personnel sources said the coming Revis problems could lie in two pressing areas. First, is Revis’ surgically repaired wrist OK? If it isn’t, the physical nature of his game in press coverage (and also in 50-50 situations) could consistently be impacted. And second, if Revis’ wrist changes the way he covers the fastest receivers, does he still have the closing speed to make up the difference from laying off them, but also correct coverage mistakes?
The answers may not be encouraging judging from Green’s completions against Revis on Sunday.
Not only were the Bengals seemingly unafraid to go after Revis, they also seemed to consistently test him. Revis laid off Green repeatedly in pre-snap coverage, which isn’t an uncommon approach against speedy receivers. But he also paid for it consistently, as the Bengals took measured shots and consistent short and medium yardage gains. The Bengals also threw a number of formations at Revis that forced him to deal with an additional blocker in space. He didn’t do well on almost any of those looks. And when Cincinnati challenged Revis down the seam (out of a slot look), he was heavily dependent on deep safety help that failed.
Here’s a look at the 11 completions that Green managed (including the one negated by penalty). The trend? Revis is giving Green space and short gains – seemingly trying to keep him in front of him. He’s rarely getting physical at the line in a handful of press coverage looks. And he’s struggling against screen looks, when plays are designed to make Revis work through an additional blocker in coverage.
• Completion 1: In a two-wideout set on second-and-10 at the Bengals’ 25-yard line, Revis laid off Green nearly 10 yards and was walking backward at the snap. Green ran an out route for a simple 8-yard sideline gain.
• Completion 2: Green lined up in a bubble screen alignment with two blockers in front on first-and-10 on the Bengals’ 21, 4 yards behind the line of scrimmage. Revis was 7 yards off Green, then dropped to a full 9 yards off by the time Green caught the screen. A block by tight end Ryan Hewitt took Revis out of the play on a 15-yard gain.
• Completion 3: Green lined up in the slot on first-and-10 at the Bengals’ 46 and was picked up by Revis during a fake end-around. Revis was roughly 8 yards off Green at the snap, walking toward the middle of the field. Revis surrendered the seam, and poor deep safety coverage allowed Green to run by Revis for a 54-yard touchdown down the middle of the field.
• Completion 4: Revis lined up 8 yards off Green on first-and-10 at the Jets’ 18. After the snap, Revis dropped an additional 2 yards, allowing Green to sit down in the flat for a 4-yard sideline completion.
(Getty Images)
• Completion 5: Revis lined up roughly 8 yards off Green on second-and-6 at the Jets’ 14. After the snap, Green drove hard on Revis and then turned to the sideline in an out route. As Green turned, Revis slipped and allowed a 7-yard completion for a first down.
• Completion 6: Initially lined up in press coverage on first-and-10 at the Bengals’ 8-yard line, Revis dropped nearly 10 yards off Green after the snap, allowing him to sit down at the line of scrimmage on a wide-receiver screen. Safety Marcus Gilchrist released his coverage of wideout Brandon LaFell to pursue Green, which allowed LaFell to block Revis completely out of the play. Bengals tight end Tyler Kroft picked up Gilchrist, freeing Green to pick up 29 yards on the play.
• Completion 7: Revis lined up 8 yards off Green on second-and-8 at the Jets’ 20. Green ran an easy flat route for a 6-yard gain.
• Completion 8: Revis lined up in press coverage on first-and-10 at the Jets’ 36. Despite being in the press, Revis didn’t engage off the line, allowing Green to set Revis up with several inside steps. Green then redirected back out and up the sideline, forcing Revis to turn around in coverage. The redirection allowed Green to gain a step and make a difficult catch on a perfectly thrown 32-yard pass. The pass and catch made this one largely indefensible. However, Green gained an advantage against the press look when he came off the line without contact.
• Completion 9: Revis lined up in press coverage on first-and-10 at the Jets’ 16. Unlike the previous completion, Revis jammed Green coming off the line of scrimmage. Green engaged and then stepped back inside and sat down in his route, allowing Bengals wideout Tyler Boyd to step down and block Revis out of the play. Green picked up 6 yards before being tackled by Revis and cornerback Buster Skrine.
• Completion 10 (negated by penalty): Revis lined up roughly 9 yards off Green on first-and-10 on the Bengals’ 28. Green took two steps and sat down in the flat for an easy completion, then shed a Revis tackle and gained an easy 9 yards. A facemask penalty wiped this off the books, but it was an interesting look nonetheless.
• Completion 11: Revis lined up in press coverage on third-and-13 at the Jets’ 40. Green drove inside off the coverage and then pivoted off a hand-check by Revis, back into an out route to the sideline. Green caught the pass and tripped through a Revis tackle for an 11-yard gain. This reception set up the Bengals’ game-winning field goal.
What does all of that mean? For now, it’s just one bad game. And that’s what the Jets are counting on. But in the larger perspective, other teams are going to look at this and try to play a more physical brand of football against Revis. He’s laying off Green’s speed, and other teams will take those shorter gains if he’s giving them.
Opponents are very likely to test Revis consistently now that he’s showing weak spots. And that’s not great news for the Jets, who are already salary cap pressed and have elite level money attached to him for several seasons. While it’s still too early to talk long term, it’s clear that 2016 could bring a forced transition. Either Revis is relegated to a highly paid No. 2 cornerback, or he starts considering a move to safety – which will be possible only if he maintains the ball skills necessary to play the middle of the field.
The plateau appears to be here for Darrelle Revis. And you can bet the Bengals won’t be the last team headed for it.
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