Yeah, I'm a Jets fan, but this is not a case of home cookin' -- I promise.
My teams are the Jets, Mets, UConn Huskies, Nets and Islanders, and I'm not the kind of fan who praises every player on those teams, simply because they're on those teams.
I take pride in evaluating players for their abilities, regardless of their team and my personal, individual opinion about them. For example, I hate Tom Brady and Chipper Jones for the things they've done to my Jets and Mets over the years, but that doesn't mean I'll rank Peyton Manning or Ben Roethlisberger over Brady simply because he's torched Gang Green a few times.
Tom Brady is the best quarterback I've ever seen. That statement has no connection to the fact that the Patriots are my least favorite team in professional sports.
And that brings us to Revis Island.
To be honest, I'm tackling this subject because one of my friends asked me to. Where I'm from, there's a bit of an ongoing Jets/Giants feud, and this particular friend cannot stand the Revis bashing that comes from the Big Blue fanatics.
And Giants fans aren't the only ones calling Revis "overrated" these days -- Jaguars WR Jason Hill also ran his mouth without substantiation. Why a worthless receiver with no track record of success decided to verbally attack a legitimate NFL superstar...well, that's a rant for another day.
The point is that people seem to want to disrespect Revis. I suppose only the greatest have haters.
As for the man himself, why do I believe he's the best cornerback I've ever seen?
Because he has no weaknesses. None. Not a one.
What do we, as fans, ask of our team's cornerbacks? And what do coaches ask of them? Put those questions together and here's my answer:
Jam opposing receivers before five yards to disrupt routes, be physical without committing penalties, have the versatility to cover both burners and possession receivers, understand all schemes so coverage breakdowns can be avoided, have the ability to blitz effectively when called upon, finish the plays that need to be finished, create turnovers and last but not least...be able to guard one-on-one, on an island.
Darrelle Revis does all of those things, and more -- if that's even possible.
And we all know he has the numbers to back it up. No one holds elite receivers to less production than Revis. The only corner who even seems to come close is Nnamdi Asomugha, formerly of the Raiders, now an Eagle. But even Asomugha has flaws that Revis doesn't. He has just 12 interceptions in eight seasons, whereas Revis has 15 in only four seasons.
What's the point? Well, both players get consistently avoided by opposing offensive coordinators and quarterbacks. But naturally, within the flow of each game, teams eventually take their shots.
When teams foolishly come after either superstar, Revis finishes more plays than Asomugha.
With these two corners already in the discussion, here's my list of the greatest corners I've ever seen:
5. Nnamdi Asomugha
4. Champ Bailey
3. Charles Woodson
2. Deion Sanders
1. Darrelle Revis
At this point I could go on and on for days about Revis' unparalleled ability, but I won't. It's 11:13 p.m. and I'd like to pretend I have a life now.
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