Revis Island returns in Week 2: Looking into the advanced stats
The Patriots did not use Darrelle Revis for what he is famous for in the team's first game against Miami.
Customarily, Revis has lined up against a team's best receiver and taken him out of the game. Thats where the term "Revis Island" came from.
Against the Dolphins, Revis just played on the left side. Sometimes he'd cover Mike Wallace, but he was not exclusively used to take him out of the game. Against the Vikings, the Pats apparently had a different strategy - and used Revis to shadow receiver Greg Jennings.
Jennings had only one catch.
CSNNE:
When Sunday’s game ended and the Minnesota Vikings were skulking toward their locker room, Greg Jennings sought out Darrelle Revis the way Revis sought Jennings out for the previous three hours.
“How did you do that,” Minnesota’s veteran wideout was overheard asking the Patriots corner.
Jennings, the former Green Bay Packer and last year's free agent prize, is not necessarily the team's best wideout. That distinction might belong to Cordarrelle Patterson, who is certainly a more dynamic playmaker. However, the team felt Jennings was a dangerous enough of a threat to warrant blanket coverage from one of the league's top corners.
Revis was also able to deliver one of his first highlights as a Patriot, nabbing a ball from Matt Cassel intended for Jennings. Looking at the play, it looks as if Revis is running Jenning's route for him almost.
In fact, Revis kind of was running the same route. This was a case where film study pays off.
Providence Journal:
“Just film study. Seeing the formation, they ran it earlier, so we made them pay. Seeing the formation again and made a great play on it,” Revis said. “It’s great. It wasn’t just me out there. Everybody was making plays. I think it was a great team win. We were clicking on all cylinders. We played well.”
Overall, according to ProFootballFocus, Revis was targeted five times in the game, giving up only one catch for four yards. He falls to PFF's 29th best corner of the week (so far) with a 0.6 rating, and somehow ranks worse than his performance in the opener. He was penalized once, which may have effected his rank. Former Patriot Aqib Talib is currently PFF's number 1 corner of the year, with a 4.3 overall rating.
For what it's worth - Greg Jennings ranks as PFF's worst receiver of week 2 with a -3.7 overall rating.
Either way, this was clearly an encouraging showing for Patriots fans. Granted, it was against Matt Cassel at quarterback and Greg Jennings is no world beater anymore. Still, the defense showed a glimpse of what they are capable of with Revis at the helm, and that should be exciting for Patriots fans.
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