'Revis Island' Jokes Everywhere As Darrelle Revis Gets Lit Up For Second Straight Game
By Matt Dolloff, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Remember when Bill Belichick was a moron for letting this guy go?
The early-season struggles of New York Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis have Patriots fans giddy about yet another masterstroke by the Hooded One, who jettisoned Revis after just one season (and a Super Bowl championship) and turned to Malcolm Butler to lead the secondary for a fraction of a fraction of the cost.
Not only has Butler played better than Revis since the start of the 2015 season, now it's not even close.
It's hard to believe that Revis has fallen off as much as he has, but the proof is right there in front of your eyes ... watching him get toasted by A.J. Green and repeatedly, deliberately targeted by the Bengals in Week 1 was painful, but watching him get burned by the Bills' Marquise Goodwin on Thursday Night Football only made it worse.
It looks like Revis was playing Goodwin as if he had safety help over the top (he did not) and Todd Bowles ostensibly thought it was a good idea to put a 31-year-old Revis on a track & field player who literally tried out for the Olympics (it was not). So I think it's fair to say the Jets had poor coaching and game-planning on that play. But the "old" Revis would not have let Goodwin get behind him so quickly and easily.
As one might expect, the "Revis Island" as it was once known is now open to the public. It has no vacancies. It's burning to the ground. It's flooded due to rising sea levels. It's going out of business. It's literally a piece of toast.
Everyone threw out their best "Revis Island" jokes in reaction to Revis getting roasted on national TV. Here is a sampling of the best ones ...
Poor Deion Sanders predicted on the NFL Network pre-game show that Revis would have a huge bounceback game against the Bills, only for Goodwin to immediately upend that declaration. I actually didn't mind the take from Sanders, as Revis has proven in the past to step up when the lights get brighter - which makes his continued struggles against Buffalo all the more concerning.
But Deion's reaction after Revis gave up that TD was classic. Made me laugh probably way more than it should have. Someone should do a wellness check.
As satisfying of a victory lap this is for Belichick and the Patriots, Revis' downfall is one of the more shocking developments in recent years. Not that it's surprising that a player would cash in with one last big-money deal then drop off, but with Revis the downturn has been incredibly sharp for a player who hasn't necessarily relied on his physical abilities to be so great over the years.
If the truth is Revis just isn't putting in the effort anymore, then he REALLY must not care. Can't believe he'd get torched like he did against the Bengals then do nothing to respond to that. One of the great cornerback careers in NFL history is declining rapidly and in ugly fashion, and it's unclear whether Revis even gives a rat's ass about it.
Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Have a news tip or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.
