It’s been quite the rough start to the 2016 season for New York Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis, but teammate Brandon Marshall still sees him as the best the NFL has to offer.
"@Revis24 is the best CB in this league.
That's how you support your teammate." – @BMarshall#Respect #NYJvsBUF https://t.co/7jzUcJ0yuj
— NFL (@NFL) September 16, 2016
“I stand in front of the world and I say: ‘Darrelle Revis is the best cornerback in this league.’ That’s what I say. That’s how you support a teammate. He’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer. That’s what he is.”
Revis gave up a ridiculous stat line to A.J. Green in Week 1 when the Jets took on the Cincinnati Bengals at home (more on that here).
He also struggled on Thursday night, giving up an 84-yard touchdown strike while in single coverage against speedster Marquise Goodman (watch here).
While our gut instinct would be to say Revis is finally starting to lose his edge, perhaps we should take a step back. After all, Green is one of the NFL’s top receivers, and Revis hasn’t always been sharp against the Bills.
In 17 career games against Buffalo, Darrelle Revis has allowed 80+ yards 5 times.
In 122 gms against the other 31 teams allowed 80+ 4 times
— PFF (@PFF) September 16, 2016
Marshall touched on this angle during his interview with NFL Network following the game.
“He’s going into Year 10. He gave up some big plays last week. But regardless of how he’s playing right now, he’s still the best. You’ll see him back to Revis Island, back to shutting guys down in a couple of weeks.”
It’s going to be interesting to see if Marshall’s analysis turns out to be correct. Revis clearly has lost a step or two, but that shouldn’t doom him to mediocrity.
We’ll find out soon enough if Revis is just withering in front of our eyes or if he’s just hit a minor speed bump. The Jets have a week and a half to rest up before traveling to face the Kansas City Chiefs — a team that features a blossoming offense and some skilled weapons — in Week 3.