How did Darrelle Revis do in his Patriots debut? Looking into the advanced stats
Much has been made about new Patriots cornerback Darrelle Revis.
With good reason, Revis has spent most of his career with the crown of "best cornerback in the NFL". Even in a supposed down year last season, Revis was ProFootballFocus' top rated corner in the league.
So, how did he do for the Patriots?
According to PFF, Revis had an overall rating of 1.6 which is good for the 18th best corner in the league in the season's first week. He did not do horrible, but he was not playing at an elite level.
Revis allowed a 40% completion rate, as he was thrown at five times and only allowed two catches. Of course, one of those catches was a 22 yard catch by Mike Wallace as Revis couldn't keep up with him across the middle of the field on a crossing route. Another lowlight for Revis came against Wallace in the first half. Wallace streaked down the right sideline, got the aggressive Revis to bite on a double move and beat him to the endzone for a would-be touchdown. Wallace caught the ball but just barely stepped out of bounds. A better throw and it would've been a long touchdown, Revis was not much of a factor in the play.
Still, he defended two passes and his performance might not look as bad if it weren't for the touchdown he technically gave up to Wallace. On that play, Revis did some spot on coverage but Wallace made a spectacular - if not flukey - catch in the endzone. The corner also recovered a fumble.
What may depress some Patriots fans is former Pat Aqib Talib had a great debut with rival Denver Broncos. Talib was the sixth best corner this week with a 2.6 rating. Pass coverage wise only (the overall rating factors in run defense) Revis falls to 30th for the week, while Talib stays at sixth.
There was a lot of speculation heading into the season about whether Revis would play his old role with the Jets of taking on the opposing team's best receiver. That was not the case on Sunday as Bill Belichick employed Revis strictly as a left cornerback. Seeing as Wallace totaled 81 yards on the day, with only 24 of those coming against Revis, perhaps the damage would've been limited if the star corner was shadowing him the entire time.
Revis is of course known for the "Revis Island" nickname and his reputation that quarterbacks simply don't throw in his direction. While it may be true that quarterbacks may throw in his direction less often, fans should not get carried away with the idea that Revis will never see any balls thrown his way, or ever see any completed either.
According to PFF, in 2011, Revis' heyday with the Jets, he was thrown at an average of five times a game, exactly what he saw in the Patriots' season opener. He allowed a completion on 41.2% of those plays, just above what he did against the Dolphins. Truly remarkable of course was that Revis allowed just one touchdown that year.
So, Revis' debut may not have wowed, he's not invincible, but it was not quite as bad as you might've thought. I still believe his best days are ahead of him as a Patriot.
Were you disappointed with Revis' debut? Let us know in the comments.
Follow me on Twitter @MikeASaver
Read more of my work at PatriotsLife here
Read more of my work at CelticsLife here
With good reason, Revis has spent most of his career with the crown of "best cornerback in the NFL". Even in a supposed down year last season, Revis was ProFootballFocus' top rated corner in the league.
So, how did he do for the Patriots?
According to PFF, Revis had an overall rating of 1.6 which is good for the 18th best corner in the league in the season's first week. He did not do horrible, but he was not playing at an elite level.
Revis allowed a 40% completion rate, as he was thrown at five times and only allowed two catches. Of course, one of those catches was a 22 yard catch by Mike Wallace as Revis couldn't keep up with him across the middle of the field on a crossing route. Another lowlight for Revis came against Wallace in the first half. Wallace streaked down the right sideline, got the aggressive Revis to bite on a double move and beat him to the endzone for a would-be touchdown. Wallace caught the ball but just barely stepped out of bounds. A better throw and it would've been a long touchdown, Revis was not much of a factor in the play.
Still, he defended two passes and his performance might not look as bad if it weren't for the touchdown he technically gave up to Wallace. On that play, Revis did some spot on coverage but Wallace made a spectacular - if not flukey - catch in the endzone. The corner also recovered a fumble.
What may depress some Patriots fans is former Pat Aqib Talib had a great debut with rival Denver Broncos. Talib was the sixth best corner this week with a 2.6 rating. Pass coverage wise only (the overall rating factors in run defense) Revis falls to 30th for the week, while Talib stays at sixth.
There was a lot of speculation heading into the season about whether Revis would play his old role with the Jets of taking on the opposing team's best receiver. That was not the case on Sunday as Bill Belichick employed Revis strictly as a left cornerback. Seeing as Wallace totaled 81 yards on the day, with only 24 of those coming against Revis, perhaps the damage would've been limited if the star corner was shadowing him the entire time.
Revis is of course known for the "Revis Island" nickname and his reputation that quarterbacks simply don't throw in his direction. While it may be true that quarterbacks may throw in his direction less often, fans should not get carried away with the idea that Revis will never see any balls thrown his way, or ever see any completed either.
According to PFF, in 2011, Revis' heyday with the Jets, he was thrown at an average of five times a game, exactly what he saw in the Patriots' season opener. He allowed a completion on 41.2% of those plays, just above what he did against the Dolphins. Truly remarkable of course was that Revis allowed just one touchdown that year.
So, Revis' debut may not have wowed, he's not invincible, but it was not quite as bad as you might've thought. I still believe his best days are ahead of him as a Patriot.
Were you disappointed with Revis' debut? Let us know in the comments.
Follow me on Twitter @MikeASaver
Read more of my work at PatriotsLife here
Read more of my work at CelticsLife here
