Note to Jets Fans: We Need Darrelle Revis

October 17, 2011; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis (24) and wide receiver Santonio Holmes (10) celebrate Revis

Time to set the record straight on Darrelle Revis. We all know the situation, he might hold out, he might not. He wouldn’t guarantee whether he would report or not, maybe just to get the beat reporters to leave him alone, maybe their is something to it.

That is not what we are talking about this morning. No matter how you feel about him holding out or not, there are some out there that think we don’t need Darrelle Revis anymore. I have heard people say that “we were 8-8 with him, we can be 8-8 without him”. He has received death threats, and finally we hear yesterday that someone told Revis that we would all be done with him if he holds out, and that he should come to work or eat something which I will not repeat.

That fan is way off. We will not be done with Darrelle Revis if he holds out, and the reason is that the Jets need Darrelle Revis. There is no way the defense will be as successful as it can be without him.

Running the 46 defense, which the Jets have alluded to running alot, and especially running the Ryan defense in any form, is based on one thing. Pressure. Pressure, pressure, pressure. Coach Ryan’s defense is an aggressive defense, that relies on getting to the quarterback as much as possible. To do this as much as Rex wants to, you don’t need GOOD cornerbacks. You need SHUTDOWN cornerbacks. You don’t get one as good as Darrelle Revis more often than once in a lifetime. With all due respect to Kyle Wilson, he is not as good. Revis takes the number one threat from the other team out of the game, an essential element to the Ryan way.

If you need further proof, take a look at the Dallas Cowboys last season. They were 23rd in the NFL in pass defense. That is what the Ryan defense looks like when you can’t cover anybody. No, the Jets wouldn’t be that far down without Revis, but they certainly won’t be in the top 10 without him.

Let’s look at some Jets defensive statistics, specifically against the pass.

Starting when Revis came into the league, the Jets have been in the top 10 in pass defense(in passing yardage allowed per game) every year except for 2008. Before Revis got there, the Jets were outside the top 10 two out of the previous three years.

For anyone who wants to give the scheme the credit, take a look at this next stat. Remember 2010, the only season that Darrelle missed any time due to injury? He came out of the New England game in week 2 after pulling his hamstring if you remember. Well, that season the Jets allowed 3,210 yards passing. In week 3 against the Dolphins, the first game that Revis did not play, the vaunted Rex defense allowed a net of 352 passing yards, which accounted for almost 11% of the Jets total allowed passing yards for the year. Coincidence? I think not.

Furthermore, Brandon Marshall caught 10 passes for 166 yards. I wonder who would have covered Marshall that day?

Whether Revis is selfish or not, he has leverage against the Jets. That leverage is the fact that the defense won’t be as good without him. They will not be. Whether Darrelle holds out or not, they need him. If he holds out, the Jets may be forced to pay him. They can’t let him hold out all year.

The Jets will not achieve what Rex and the gang wish to achieve without him. Despite what some erroneous fans say via Twitter.