Oh My God, Revis Gave Up An 8 Yard Reception! Patriots CB A Bargain
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Darrelle Revis has been outstanding all season for the Patriots and is indeed back. (SBalestrieri photo)[/caption]
Back in the spring, the New England Patriots signed two veteran cornerbacks, Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner to upgrade their secondary to now arguably the best secondary in the AFC.
Very little fanfare was heard throughout the summer as Revis, now fully healed from ACL surgery two years ago was outstanding in training camp and then in pre-season. But oh my my….his game has been dissected more than a frog in 7th grade science class in the first half of the season.
Twitter has been alive and kicking during every game this season, “Revis gave up an eight yard gain on that throw” …. “So-and-so caught that pass in front of Revis” etc, etc. Or as Jerry Seinfeld once said….yada, yada.
It is time to put that stuff to rest.
Through the first seven games of the season, the Patriots had the number one pass defense in the NFL allowing only 208 yards per game. But all we heard was, “well they haven’t played anyone yet…let’s wait until Chicago gets in town, followed by Denver.”
Chicago has as talented a group as anyone in the NFL with Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffrey, Martellus Bennett and Matt Forte. Today, they accounted for very little until this one was over and done with. And this is the Patriots generating nearly zero pass rush to boot on the day against Jay Cutler.
Revis covered Marshall like a glove and was outstanding …as he has been all season. He’s still fast, deceptively strong and has the best technique of any corner in the game. And he was ready for this matchup against Marshall today and even got a pick in the process.
Browner was the same as he has been throughout his career, a big, physical corner who can punish opponents when they go out to catch the ball. Browner was beaten on a touchdown by Bennett late in the game and was flagged for pass interference. But there was plenty that could have been called on Bennett as well, who made a fantastic catch by the way.
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Brandon Browner brings a physical edge to the Patriots secondary. (SBalestrieri photo)[/caption]
Chicago had 67 yards passing when this game was essentially over, at half-time with the Patriots up 35-7. And Revis and Browner get a lion’s share of that credit. This secondary is light years better than the unit the team put on the field in 2013 or in any of the past ten years.
Is this defense perfect? Far from it, but the talk about Revis being not worth the money or not being the same player is bunk. He’s back and even with no pass rush, this team has a shot at beating the Denver Broncos on Sunday.
He and Browner give the Patriots, with McCourty at deep safety a secondary that we’ve seen in Foxboro in many a year. Quit the sharp-shooting and sniping over every pass reception allowed and enjoy the ride.
51-23 is hard to argue with…Now we’re off to Denver.
