I know Darrelle Revis had a great year. I know he’s the only true shutdown corner in the game. And I’m starting to get the feeling that after only 3 years in the game not only could he be the greatest corner ever, but he could quite possibly be the best defensive player in the history of the game. That’s hype ladies and gentlemen.
Enter Vincent Jackson. This guy is a stud. He’s really come into his own catching the football. He had a tendency to drop passes early in his career, but it seems he’s dropped that bad habit (pun totally intended). He attacks the football, which is really what separates a lot of these big receivers. Guys that can use their body and strength to really get after the football at it’s highest point of attack are the guys that really excel.
Revis hasn’t faced a receiver with all the tools Jackson possesses. He has stopped a lot of really good receivers, Andre Johnson is probably the most impressive. But Jackson is a really bad matchup for Revis.
What separates Jackson from most other receivers is his physical stature and ability. He’s 6-5 230 pounds, he’s got a long wingspan, he’s got huge hands, he jumps out of the stadium and he’s fast. He’s in the mold of Larry Fitzgerald and Calvin Johnson, almost uncover-able one on one.
Revis is around average height for a cornerback at 5-11. But he’s physical and likes to keep his hands on the receivers. If he gets into a game of patty cakes with Jackson it won’t work out well for him. Jackson can use his long arms to create some separation, if Revis keeps his hands on him he’ll be getting flagged all day.
Jackson also has speed on Revis. If Revis gets too physical on him at the line of scrimmage Jackson can break away and leave Revis behind him. Call him a shutdown corner all you want but he’ll need over the top help, and that’s where it will go down hill for the Jets.
The Chargers passing offense may just be too much for the Jets to handle. Throw in guys like Antonio Gates, Malcom Floyd, Kassim Osgood, Legedu Naanee and you’ve got yourself a pretty good passing attack. Revis may do a great job on Jackson, but there’s more bullets in the Charges gun than that.
T. Jay is the writer and founder of http://www.GridironInsight.com, a blog dedicated to giving people a different view of the NFL. You can follow everything on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/GridironInsight.
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Over the Hill? Tomlinson’s NFL Career Not Over
The expected axe finally fell on LaDainian Tomlinson as the San Diego Chargers gave him his walking papers today after nine seasons.
The LT post-mortems all point out how he struggled last season getting just and average of 3.3 yards a carry and disappeared in the San Diego Chargers playoff loss to the Jets, but that’s a load of something that begins with c and rhymes with rap.
LT will miss the Chargers Cheerleaders
The Chargers Darren Sproles didn’t do much better picking up 3.7 yards per carry. The problem wasn’t Tomlinson, but rather the offensive line who couldn’t open enough holes for LT. Or at least it isn’t just LT’s fault.
Then pointing out his poor performance against the Jets is disingenuous. The Jets have the best defense in the NFL. Offenses are supposed to struggle against them. And again, the offensive line could have done a lot more to help San Diego’s running backs.
LT isn’t an elite running back anymore, but he can still be a contributor he just needs to find the right situation.
What kind of situation is that?
While I’m sure his veteran leadership will be appreciated on a rebuilding team, he needs to find himself a contender with an offensive line that can open holes with some consistency and an every-down running back to take most of the punishment. Preferably a big bruising running back, so they can switch LT in to change the pace.
Even though they’ve moved on, the Chargers still have some work to do if they want to close to the top echelon teams. They need to find a kicker who can kick in the playoffs too and their offensive line could use a little help. They currently sit at +975 in 2011 Super Bowl odds.