By Nick St. Denis
When Rex Ryan took over the New York Jets' head coaching job after the 2008 season, he and new defensive coordinator Mike Pettine approached cornerback Darrelle Revis with their philosophy.
Pettine explained to Revis that he would be playing legitimate man-to-man against the opposing team's No. 1 wide receiver, mostly without safety help so the Jets could roll coverage the other way and disrupt the rest of the opposing offense.
"When (Pettine) drew up the defense, and said this is what I have to do in these defenses, I was like, 'What? I don't think I can do that, I need some help,'" Revis said with a laugh Monday on Inside the Jets on ESPN Radio. "...That was a couple years ago, and it's been working out very well. But I had to learn how to take that job and try to excel with it the best way I can."
Ryan and Pettine knew what they had in Revis when they got to New York, and they were set on using up every ounce of what Revis could provide. It's worked wonders, as Revis lines up against the best wideouts in the league every week and continually keeps them in check.
Revis had a breakout season in 2009, got paid the next summer and was successful last season, though he missed spots of time due to a nagging hamstring injury.
This year, Revis has been thrown at more than expected, and he has four interceptions to show for it.
"I can't leave my teammates out because they help me a lot," Revis said. "... I think it's just a good thing, not to just try to focus on me in zero coverage, because I rely on Calvin Pace and them to get to the quarterback."
Revis went on to explain that when he's in zero coverage, he's coached to stay above the receiver to prevent getting beat up top. The coaches are OK with the occasional underneath receptions, because they're usually not a scoring threat, and Revis is able to bat the ball away most of the time, anyway.
Two weeks ago, Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stevie Johnson gained 75 yards receiving and a touchdown against Revis, which was treated as if Revis had a bad game. The attention that gained proved just how much is expected out of Revis, as any other cornerback would look back at 75 yards in man-to-man coverage and consider it a pretty good day.
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