and who will play Ray Lewis?
Revis
http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2015/01/darrelle_revis_used_to_come_to_blows_with_jets_teammates_when_they_screwed_up_at_practice_per_report.html
Darrelle Revis, as a Jets player, fought teammates when they screwed up at practice, per report
Darrelle Revis, the Jets' former star cornerback, returns to the NFL playoffs Saturday afternoon, when his Patriots host the Ravens.
Even deep into Revis's first season in New England, it still feels odd to see him wearing a Patriots uniform, though he has fit in quite well there.
Revis hasn't been in the postseason in four years, since the Jets made their second of two straight runs to the AFC Championship Game, following the 2010 season. He has two career playoff interceptions -- one each in his first two playoff games, in 2009, at the Bengals in a wild card game, and then at the Chargers in the divisional round.
On Friday, Jackie MacMullan published a fascinating piece about Revis on ESPNBoston.com. You can check it out here. It's worth your time, as most stories written by MacMullan are.
The story addressed all the details that make Revis one of the NFL's best cornerbacks. MacMullan caught up with retired NFL safety Jim Leonhard, who played for the Jets from 2009-11, to gather a few interesting anecdotes about Revis.
Here's one of them, which highlights Revis's burning competitiveness:
"When I was with the Jets, we'd have a big game coming up and the [national] broadcasters were watching our practice on Fridays," Leonhard said. "We'd run a play and if Darrelle didn't feel like the receiver gave him the look a certain way that he wanted it, he'd be in that receiver's face. He would demand he got it right, and if he didn't, they'd come to blows sometimes.
"It was critical in his mind to get it right during the week so when we got out there in a game he wasn't seeing a route for the first time live."
The most entertaining afternoons, Leonhard said, were when Braylon Edwards or Santonio Holmes would burn Revis for the occasional big gain.
"If they got him early in practice, it was going to be a long day for them," Leonhard said, "because he was set on beating them up the rest of practice."
Former Jets coach Rex Ryan used to talk a lot about how Revis ran a receiver's route for him, because Revis studied so much film that he could predict the receiver's route based on the pre-snap look the offense showed.
In the part of her story that touches on Revis's film-studying acumen, MacMullan has Leonhard address this very topic.
Here's MacMullan again:
"It's interesting," Leonhard said. "I've seen him do this so many times. We're in formation, the ball is snapped and he's running the route before the receiver does. I'd watch him sometimes and think, 'He's guessing,' but he's never wrong."
Revis capitalizes on nuances of his opponent: Some receivers lean ever so slightly in one direction when their number is called; others crouch a little lower when they are preparing to run a route underneath and some show their hand by assuming one stance for a run play and a slight variation for a pass play.
Eight years into his NFL career, after spending the first six with the Jets and last year in Tampa Bay, Revis shows no signs of slowing down. Pro Football Focus rated him as the league's fourth-best overall corner this season, including fourth in coverage.
Revis was a first-team All-Pro selection by the Associated Press, along with Seattle's Richard Sherman. Revis was also a first-team All-Pro from 2009-11 with the Jets.
Speaking of the Jets, might Revis return to them after this season, when he could hit free agency for the second straight year? Revis isn't saying where he wants to play next season. He is technically under contract with the Patriots for 2015, but his salary cap figure is insanely high ($25 million) for the final year of his deal.
Jets owner Woody Johnson had a loose-lips moment recently, when he said he would "love" for Revis to return to the Jets. It would be quite a coup, considering the Jets used a first-round draft pick acquired in the Revis-to-Tampa Bay trade to select Defensive Rookie of the Year Sheldon Richardson.
Revis's next move -- staying with the Patriots or hitting free agency -- is a couple months away. For now, he is continuing to pursue his first ever trip to the Super Bowl, with his own unique style.
