Though Exercise: How would you make Revis relevant vs. this Pats' O?

[lamafist]

On Monday night's game, Brady and the Patriots offense dealt with Revis Island the way the United States has historically dealt Cuba -- a total embargo.

Whoever Revis covered on a particular play, Brady just threw elsewhere, and thus, Revis was denied the ability to have that much of an effect on the game. I think by now, all of Patriot nation has come around to the wisdom of Belichick's offensive stimulus plan, overcoming any reservations that redistributing the ball amongst receivers more evenly smacked a bit of socialism.

Thinking about how the game went down, I was left wondering what a coach like Belichick would have done were he in the position of the Commadante Rex? How would you deploy probably the best all around corner in the NFL against a multi-pronged attack like the Pats'? How do you keep your former Weapon of Moss Destruction relevant against the Pats' new look O... or is it the case that no matter where you line him up, Revis would always come up close, but no cigar?

 

[Sicilian]

Well, if the gameplan was to actually never (or rarely) throw at Revis no matter who he was covering, then there's not much you can do. I would probably just make sure Revis was on whoever was most likely to burn me on that particular play. Welker for first and second down and short third downs, and Branch for longer 3rd downs. It's not perfect, but plays the odds.

If the gameplan was more open (basically, the best matchup was usually not against Revis), I think what I would do honestly is play Revis just a little bit out of position. For example, put him on Branch, but maybe a half step deeper than you would normally play him. Something that would trigger in Brady's mind that the positioning provides a mismatch. Then rely on Revis' ability to make up the gap. Not sure it would really work, but it would be a thought.

 

[ausbacker]

On Monday night's game, Brady and the Patriots offense dealt with Revis Island the way the United States has historically dealt Cuba -- a total embargo.

Whoever Revis covered on a particular play, Brady just threw elsewhere, and thus, Revis was denied the ability to have that much of an effect on the game. I think by now, all of Patriot nation has come around to the wisdom of Belichick's offensive stimulus plan, overcoming any reservations that redistributing the ball amongst receivers more evenly smacked a bit of socialism.

Thinking about how the game went down, I was left wondering what a coach like Belichick would have done were he in the position of the Commadante Rex? How would you deploy probably the best all around corner in the NFL against a multi-pronged attack like the Pats'? How do you keep your former Weapon of Moss Destruction relevant against the Pats' new look O... or is it the case that no matter where you line him up, Revis would always come up close, but no cigar?

That's not exactly correct. There were times where the Patriots designed the play to throw "at" Revis Island that included putting players in motion or using receivers etc to pick Revis and free up Branch or Welker. There's plenty of ways to exploit match-ups without it seeming to be a downfield or contested throw. There was quite a few plays where Revis was drawn into traffic to confuse his assignment too.

The offensive play design was almost flawless against the Jets and perfectly executed for the most part. I wouldn't be surprised to see BB send Revis on blitzes against the opposing offense for something different or perhaps even float the idea of putting him at safety for some snaps.

 

[slam]

Have Revis and Cromartie switch jerseys and hope the Pats don't notice.

 

[TealSox]

I hesitate to say that there is a simple answer to the question, but my best attempt to provide a simple answer would be to move Revis around the field and keep Tom Brady wondering where he will line up next and against who.

As simple as this is, it is harder to do with a corner than a safety. Basically, it is the defensive version of Belichick's offensive scheme in which he moves around running backs, tight ends and receivers to put the defense on it's heels and confuse them.

As good as Revis is, a great scheme with good players will beat a team with a few great players.

 

[Nikolai]

Play Revis to one side of the field and reorient the defense to handle a bigger workload on the other side/up the middle. But I'm not really an Xs and Os guy yet, so take it with a grain of salt.

 

[TheGodInAGreyHoodie]

If I had a single dominant CB that I didn't think the other team is going to throw on but no opposing single dominating WR...I would play zone and have both safties favor the other side.

I would switch up the sides from time to time to keep the offense off balance but I would not assign the CB to a WR but a half of the field.

 

[BSR]

Do what BB did with Law and Harrison in that playoff game against Manning. Law basically played saftey and Harrison played corner. Confused the hell out of Manning and made him throw three picks.

 

[xmarkd400x]

Do what BB did with Law and Harrison in that playoff game against Manning. Law basically played saftey and Harrison played corner. Confused the hell out of Manning and made him throw three picks.

I agree. The Patriots offense is predicated on both the QB and WR making the same coverage reads at the same time. You only need to confuse one of them in order to make them make a mistake.

However, by shutting down one WR the whole game, I would say Revis was relevant. His name wasn't called at all, but that doesn't mean he was irrelevant.

If I had the Jets D, I would probably try to get a good push up the middle of the pocket and try to disguise my coverage as best I could. Even having Revis blitz would be a good idea (some other posters mentioned this).

However, all of this is useless if Brady is red hot. Which he was.

 

[aluminum seats]

It's a good question, and really goes beyond Revis (you should add a T to the end of Though in your title). How do you defend a team that doesn't rely on any particular weapon?

Answer is, it's tough. I think the smartest thing is to do what Cleveland did; they ran that "amoeba" defense, where guys are just milling around pre-snap, taking away Brady's ability to read the defense before the play.