DeAndre Hopkins Really Helped The 'Revis Sucks Now' Argument For Patriots Fans
By Matt Dolloff (@mattdolloff)
BOSTON (CBS) -- It happens every time the Patriots let a good player go or trade him to another team. Well, Bill Belichick wouldn't keep him so he must not be good anymore! The narrative has come true in so many cases, it's hard not to believe in it.
I didn't want to believe that the same thing was happening with Darrelle Revis. The future Hall-of-Fame corner was outstanding in 2014 and a major reason the Patriots finally closed the deal on a fourth Super Bowl title. But he has been hit & miss and battled multiple injuries so far this season in his return to the New York Jets.
Revis Island may be finally showing signs of erosion, and Sunday's game against DeAndre Hopkins and the Houston Texans did plenty to prove it.
Hopkins, enjoying a massive breakout season and emerging as one of the top receivers in the NFL, got the best of Revis in their one-on-one matchup when it really counted. He torched No. 24 for a 61-yard touchdown late in the second quarter, getting a few yards behind Revis in coverage. He also made a Randy Moss-esque one-handed catch after getting behind Revis that he made look effortless, and added a second touchdown against Revis' backup after the All-Pro corner left the game with a concussion.
Revis may be playing hurt. He may not always be in the best defensive scheme for his skills. But it was clear that Revis couldn't consistently keep up with the bigger, faster Hopkins and could have similar struggles in the future against athletic No. 1 receivers.
It's too early to say that Revis isn't Revis anymore, that he's become ordinary or slipped out of No. 1 corner status. He's still a legit No.1 corner and one of the best in the league until further notice. But Sunday proved that Revis is no longer the guaranteed lock-down corner who is invariably going to wipe teams' top targets out of games. In previous seasons, perhaps as soon as last season, Hopkins would have barely sniffed the ball - ostensibly, that's no longer the case.
Patriots fans who were fine with Belichick's gutting of the Patriots secondary will point to yesterday's game as why the Pats wouldn't pay the money required to keep Revis in the fold. And it looks especially good for New England after Malcolm Butler blanketed Odell Beckham Jr. just last week. Sunday was a major win for those around here who believe Revis isn't worth the money anymore.
In the interest of avoiding an overreaction, I'm going to say Revis simply had an off day on Sunday. He's far from "done" and I think he has plenty of good shutdown games left in him. The fact that his performance was so glaring on Sunday is evident of how great he's really been in his career. But Sunday was perhaps the first significant sign of slippage for No. 24.
Revis Island simply isn't the Alcatraz it used to be. Some talented prisoners are beginning to escape.
Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read more from Matt here. Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.
