No Revis, No Panic
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Photo Credit Andrew Theodorakis/New York Daily News
Its no secret that the New York Jets face some tough decisions ahead of the 2013 season due the what you might say the mismanagement of the roster and certain contracts. That aside the Jets have created a small cushion with the release of Bart Scott, Calvin Pace, Jason Smith and Eric Smith. Those level minded fans amongst you realise that the upcoming season will be haunted by the term 'rebuilding' queue panic and mass hysteria from those who choose to ignore the bigger picture as they assume that the Jets will compete in the SuperBowl year in and year out. (don't get me wrong I let my mind drift towards this same scenario during the run up to the opening weekend, lets put it this way reality sucks at times).
All that aside, the facts are simple, the Jets have very limited funds to make a huge splash in the upcoming free agency market, the roster has a huge lack of standout talent on either side of the ball, none so more evident than in the skill positions. If we are to embrace the term rebuilding, then we have to accept the possibility of losing/trading some of our most valuable commodities, yes you've guessed correctly ...... Darrelle Revis.
Again the majority of fans go into sheer meltdown/panic mode at the very thought of trading Revis. At first I was sceptical of this approach but then I decided to look at this with an open mind and if you consider the following then hopefully you will too (though I won't hold my breath as I'm convinced some of you live for the drama that unfolds on twitter etc).
Ask yourself this, how many games did we lose last season due to the injury to Darrelle Revis? Now ask yourself how many games did we lose due to the lack of talent elsewhere that coincided with poor individual performances/errors? The truth is that the Jets despite the loss of Revis, the Jets were ranked second against the pass, in fact only four receivers gained more than 85 yards in a single game against the Revis-less secondary (D. Bess 86yds, R. Wayne 87yds, S. Vereen 91yds and S. Johnson 111yds). For arguments sake lets say prior to the season you were told that you'd be without Revis but would be ranked second against the pass, you'd have taken that in the blink of eye. Another cold harsh truth is that Revis wants to be paid (deservedly so in my opinion). So lets address this, paying Revis simply hurts the Jets in terms of the teams future, lets say he holds out again, or see's out his contract to test the free agency market, the conclusion the Jets will not have the cap room or possible draft picks to fully embrace the 'rebuilding' phase, and will only turn those that once applauded him against him. Its a classic case of being stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Now that we've established that life after Revis may not be the doom and gloom that many of you believe it will, and in truth will actually benefit the team in the long term. We need to get younger, faster and add depth and quality to the roster. The question that remains is whats Revis's true value following his injury? Personally I feel a first round pick and a second/third round conditional pick maybe enough to tempt the Jets, though reports and rumours suggest the Eagles are set to offer a second round pick for Revis. The 49ers and Falcons are also said to be interested in acquiring the services of Darrelle Revis, whatever happens expect a lot of posturing from Revis, his camp and fellow suitors in the upcoming days and weeks.
