Darrelle Revis Plans To Share New York Jets’ “Secrets”

Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Darrelle Revis met with the New York media today ahead of his return to Met Life Stadium on Sunday, this time as a visitor. The new Tampa Bay cornerback, who is recovering from a torn ACL, says he plans to share information on what plays and tendencies the Jets had while he was there plus his insights into the wide receivers. My response to that is just a shrug of the shoulders. This is behavior that happens all the time with free agency. A player goes to another team and tells that team all about his experiences on his team. This isn’t something new, and not only that, it is planned for by the original team.

First of all, his insight into Rex Ryan, while helpful in general is probably useless in practice. Ryan doesn’t have a set defense, he has an ever-evolving set of schemes that are tailored to each year’s personnel. Maximizing the strengths of that team while trying to hide weaknesses. This year’s squad has 7 new starters, including 2 rookies. It is a team that is built completely differently than the teams Revis played for. The Revis teams were built from the back forward with Revis being the focal point. Revis would take his man out and that would let the rest of the defense get into exotic looks and send multiple blitzes especially on an overload from the side Revis was on. Other than 2009 the strength of Revis’ teams were the secondary and as time wore on the threat of the blitz was just as effective as the blitz itself. In 2011 and 2012 the Jets played coverage a lot more than they blitzed and confusion was their calling card.

This year the team is built from the defensive line to the back. It’s strength is the talent along the defensive line with Muhammad Wilkerson, Sheldon Richardson and Quinton Coples among others getting pressure and disrupting the quarterback that way. The tremendous flexibility of the athletes on defense to play multiple schemes and the amount of capable rushers make blitzing the weapon. They need to protect rookie Dee Milliner and hide Kyle Wilson by lessening the amount of time quarterbacks have to throw and forcing mistakes. Darrelle Revis won’t have access to how they have adjusted to him not being there and judging by the acrimonious relationship between Revis’ agents and Jets management, Ryan has had plenty of time to plan for this moment.

Offensively I don’t think Revis can glean any information that will help Tampa Bay from his observations of wide receivers running Tony Sparano’s abomination of an offense. Mornhinweg’s offense is one that is much different from Sparano’s and the players will not be put in the same situations not to mention that it will be a different quarterback running the offense. There is very little tape on Geno Smith so what he might do is a mystery, one that both sides will be trying to figure out.

Josh Freeman said he was confused by the Patriots varying looks after a joint practice. I don’t think there is anything Revis can tell him that will prepare him for the kitchen sink Rex Ryan will throw at him Sunday.