Darrelle Revis makes the tackle against Nebraska
Not known as a huge on-the-field talker, Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis couldn't stop yapping during Saturday's city football classic at the Meadowlands.
"It was great, man. I kept on saying to the guys in the huddle that I'm just happy to be back out here," Revis told newyorkjets.com today. "I guess I got on their nerves because some of them were telling me to shut up. It was just good to be back out there. I'm ready to go. I'm back."
Revis, who was slowed by a tight hamstring in training camp and missed the first two preseason games, made the Jets secondary whole for the first time in game action as all four starters (and nickel corner Donald Strickland) played into the second half.
"I told him once to just shut up and calm down," safety Kerry Rhodes said. "He was just happy to be out there with us and finally be able to play because he's one of those guys who likes to be out there and contributing to the team."
Even with Revis and NT Kris Jenkins back in the lineup, the Giants were able to march 60 yards on their first possession and cash in on an 8-yard scoring hookup from Eli Manning to Brandon Jacobs. But the 5'11", 198-pound Revis made his presence felt early, rocking the 6'4", 264-pound Jacobs for a 2-yard loss two plays before the TD.
"I just read the play. I saw that he was going to try to bounce it outside and I tried to beat him to the corner before he beat me," Revis said. "He came out of the pile and I just made a great play."
The tackle of Jacobs was a snapshot of Revis at his best. The third-year defensive back, who collected eight interceptions in his first two seasons, is a sure tackler and gives the Jets a tremendous physical presence.
"When it's time for me to come up and play, you won't see me getting shook up and missing tackles," he said. "I try to secure my tackles and get the guy down."
The Giants attacked Lito Sheppard early and often during the Jets' 27-25 win and you can expect teams to follow that blueprint throughout the regular season. Revis is the NFL's most complete corner and teams rarely challenge him — No. 24 saw two balls come in his direction Saturday and both went for incompletions.
"It was just a tough start — he was getting PIs called on him, but we have to pick him up as a secondary. We know Lito can play this game," Revis said. "This is his eighth year, he's a two-time Pro Bowler. We know he can play and sometimes you have games where a team comes out and just starts throwing at you. They make money, too, they study on us, too. I don't know if they saw something — I don't even know if they thought I was playing."
In addition to settling down after the Giants' first drive, the Jets forced two takeaways as David Harris' interception led to the Green & White's first touchdown and Bart Scott's strip of Jacobs and subsequent recovery prevented a would-be Giants score. The hope is there will be more opportunities to turn the ball over this season under Rex Ryan and defensive coordinator Mike Pettine.
Last season the Ravens led the NFL in both takeaways (34) and interceptions (26). The Jets' 30 takeaways ranked sixth, but they'd like to improve on their interception total of 14.
"We want to make takeaways. We had a lot last year and this is a totally new defense. We're going to make a lot more plays and we're going to being a physical team," Revis said. "You have a guy like Bart Scott whose helmet flies off when he's making a tackle and he still is stripping the ball. That goes to show you what kind of defense we want to be and that's how we want people to look at us. We want to be physical and we want people to be terrified."
On Thursday night, it's expected Revis and the first-string defense will play about a series against Philadelphia. Eagles head coach Andy Reid called Rex Ryan on Monday and told him that Michael Vick will play a lot, so Revis might get a snap or two against the man attempting to make a comeback.
"I'm interested to see Vick in action. I've never played against him," said Revis. "I always watched him on TV when I was younger and all that. Just to see him on the field and maybe play against him — that will be great."
But the matchup many are looking forward to is Sept. 13 in Houston when the game's top corner will match up with the league's top receiver in Andre Johnson. Revis says there won't be too much talking on that occasion.
"I think it's going to be fun. We're not talk-junkers — we're just going to let our game play. I'm sure he's going to be well prepared as much as I am, too."
