- Joined
- Jul 11, 2005
- Messages
- 15,517
- Reaction score
- 27,504
Twas' the night before Thanksgiving and all through the house....... oops.
Well anyway I was thinking about various things before the week starts up on Thursday, and the next thing you know I was at my computer. I called this the "ambitious edition" mostly because I know I'm going to have a lot of difficulty explaining what I want and do it well So I better just begin.
I can remember specifically when the moment happened.. It was way back in TC when I first saw it. I suppose like most of you, I had heard about it before, but I had never ACTUALLY seen it happen. IIRC it happened on the 2nd day of full pads. I remember it just like it was yesterday...... I never will forget it. (fade out and refocus in)
Edelman and Lafell had lined up in a bunch formation to one side of a 4 wide out formation.. I'm pretty sure it was during a 2 minute drill......and then it happened. Believe me I have seen it several times since, but you never forget your first. You never forget..... the first time you actually see Darelle Revis run the WR's pattern better than he does. I happened to be watching closely that play and I would have have sworn that Revis made his break a microsecond before Edelman. (and don't forget Edelman is a player who builds his success on his quickness)
OK, perhaps that was a bit over dramatic (a bit?) Well, Bite me.
The point was that I was thinking about that play after hearing countless glowing reports of Revis's play this week. It got me thinking of a simple question. "How's he do that?" Remember Revis isn't the biggest corner around. He isn't the fastest, quickest, or strongest guy either. So what makes him so good. And THAT is what I will try" to attempt to do (without a white board)
Now I have a small experience playing a DB(S) from one NFL TC in a long ago era, back when men where men and you played for a minimum of about $15K/season and I was a converted LB, who used to be a small college NT . OK you're right, I have no real experience at all. But most of my knowledge in this area comes from standing in front of boards watching people smarter than you are trying to explain what the principles of their particular system entailed.
So lets begin:
1. Man and Zone principles differ drastically, though when the ball gets there, things remarkably become similar again.
2. In man coverage in order to mirror the receiver so well Revis has to be able to do several things, 2 of which are key.
a. He has to be able to read the pattern.....the whole pattern not just his guy. All pass patterns make sense geometrically in that they al fill needs. For example we often see a pattern that will cover an area of the field , say the sideline, that will wind up with a man in the flat, a man in the middle, and a man deep and alll the QB to hit the open man.
Another is the curl/slide which gives you a good example of how you might read a pattern. Strange at it seems 99% of the time, if you are a LB dropping into coverage, if you see a TE or WR head to the flat, then are are most likely to see a receiver looking for a dead spot in the "hook/curl area".
When run against man coverages, you see less, but you can see some, and those subtle signals can help tell you when your man is likely to go by telling you where some other guy is going.
b. Even more important than reading pattern, is the ability to read your man. Somehow by the end of the week. Revis has to find that in combination with months and sometimes years of tendencies, repetitions, down/distance, weather, etc. he has to figure how which clues will tell him what the pattern is on that play.
For example it might be as finite as noticing that on dig route a receiver might sink his hip deeper than he does in a comeback or with a double move. Or as easy as noticing that a receiver is a decoy when his hands are on his hips at the snap.
And BTW its not just one sided. I'm sure Reggie Wayne has run by numerous young DB's in his career that he "flashed" the decoy signal to and got off the ball lazily.....at first.
4. So now you get the idea. Revis will study all the receivers he's likely to cover. He will scan them for "tells" that might tell him some advanced info. The staff will brake down all the pass plays by formations, position groupings, and down and distance tendencies. Then he'll study those. Then he'll take it out to eh practice field and further reinforce the lessons
5. But here is the problem, guys. So are the rest of the DB is room studying JUST as hard, as well as the rest of the 325 odd DB's currently playing in the NFL are studying. Its not a matter of effort, or even physical talent. There has to be something more. Because there are a LOT of hard working physical freaks out there, but only about 3 are Dareelle Revis types in the league. You can use these explanations to show how Revis can do it, but NOT why 99% of the other DB's can't.....or at least not to that level.
So now that I've eliminated some some of the more ordinary reasons for Revis' success, Lets get the the strange and weird.
6.First let me ask you "what makes a great QB"? We we have seen a bunch come and go in recent years. We know it has little to do with arm strength. It has little to do with speed and running ability. These are all nice things, but no matter how good you your pro day is, it's not going to tell you in advance if you are going to be a great QB in the NFL.
To some degree, I believe that the biggest asset is the QBs ability to not only absorbs large amounts of data in 2-4 second bursts, but to assimilate and spit out the correct decisions just as quickly. AND then, and only then be able to execute an accurate throw.
I think to some degree, the same kind of "hard wiring" is going on in Revis's head, and damned few others on the planet. So to go along with all the studying of route running, pass patterns, tells, and clues, is the innate ability to either anticipate another players'movements, or the physical ability to to move simultaneously as another Receiver.
You can coach a player to be a good DB, but no one can coach him to be a Revis.
He just is.
BTW this was not the outcome of this post that I was anticipating when I started, bt I would add a cautionary tail. Before you spend the farm to get back this statistical rarity please remember what position he plays. Do not forget and that we went to a superbowl with 3 DB's (including 2 starting CB's) who couldn't start on our current team, let alone the rest of improvements we've made to this team
So as much as I want Revis back, and how good he's played, there has to be a certain line that we cannot cross for this guy......and this would be mine. for a 3 year deal.
1. $8.4MM/year guaranteed (unless for cause)
2.$ 388K/game for ever game he's on the roster
3. $1MM/bonus for every year the team makes it to the superbowl
So essentially this is $14MM/yr deal with 60% guaranteed 8.4 up front and the rest he gets paid when he plays...PLUS a million on top with a super bowl appearance. Ever better would being able to amortize it over 4 years BTW- I'd pay $16MM if he were 27, not 29
I havent't figured out the purpose of this thread, but it seemed like the right thing to do at the time....enjoy....or not
Well anyway I was thinking about various things before the week starts up on Thursday, and the next thing you know I was at my computer. I called this the "ambitious edition" mostly because I know I'm going to have a lot of difficulty explaining what I want and do it well So I better just begin.
I can remember specifically when the moment happened.. It was way back in TC when I first saw it. I suppose like most of you, I had heard about it before, but I had never ACTUALLY seen it happen. IIRC it happened on the 2nd day of full pads. I remember it just like it was yesterday...... I never will forget it. (fade out and refocus in)
Edelman and Lafell had lined up in a bunch formation to one side of a 4 wide out formation.. I'm pretty sure it was during a 2 minute drill......and then it happened. Believe me I have seen it several times since, but you never forget your first. You never forget..... the first time you actually see Darelle Revis run the WR's pattern better than he does. I happened to be watching closely that play and I would have have sworn that Revis made his break a microsecond before Edelman. (and don't forget Edelman is a player who builds his success on his quickness)
OK, perhaps that was a bit over dramatic (a bit?) Well, Bite me.
The point was that I was thinking about that play after hearing countless glowing reports of Revis's play this week. It got me thinking of a simple question. "How's he do that?" Remember Revis isn't the biggest corner around. He isn't the fastest, quickest, or strongest guy either. So what makes him so good. And THAT is what I will try" to attempt to do (without a white board) Now I have a small experience playing a DB(S) from one NFL TC in a long ago era, back when men where men and you played for a minimum of about $15K/season and I was a converted LB, who used to be a small college NT
. OK you're right, I have no real experience at all. But most of my knowledge in this area comes from standing in front of boards watching people smarter than you are trying to explain what the principles of their particular system entailed.So lets begin:
1. Man and Zone principles differ drastically, though when the ball gets there, things remarkably become similar again.
2. In man coverage in order to mirror the receiver so well Revis has to be able to do several things, 2 of which are key.
a. He has to be able to read the pattern.....the whole pattern not just his guy. All pass patterns make sense geometrically in that they al fill needs. For example we often see a pattern that will cover an area of the field , say the sideline, that will wind up with a man in the flat, a man in the middle, and a man deep and alll the QB to hit the open man.
Another is the curl/slide which gives you a good example of how you might read a pattern. Strange at it seems 99% of the time, if you are a LB dropping into coverage, if you see a TE or WR head to the flat, then are are most likely to see a receiver looking for a dead spot in the "hook/curl area".
When run against man coverages, you see less, but you can see some, and those subtle signals can help tell you when your man is likely to go by telling you where some other guy is going.
b. Even more important than reading pattern, is the ability to read your man. Somehow by the end of the week. Revis has to find that in combination with months and sometimes years of tendencies, repetitions, down/distance, weather, etc. he has to figure how which clues will tell him what the pattern is on that play.
For example it might be as finite as noticing that on dig route a receiver might sink his hip deeper than he does in a comeback or with a double move. Or as easy as noticing that a receiver is a decoy when his hands are on his hips at the snap.
And BTW its not just one sided. I'm sure Reggie Wayne has run by numerous young DB's in his career that he "flashed" the decoy signal to and got off the ball lazily.....at first.
4. So now you get the idea. Revis will study all the receivers he's likely to cover. He will scan them for "tells" that might tell him some advanced info. The staff will brake down all the pass plays by formations, position groupings, and down and distance tendencies. Then he'll study those. Then he'll take it out to eh practice field and further reinforce the lessons
5. But here is the problem, guys. So are the rest of the DB is room studying JUST as hard, as well as the rest of the 325 odd DB's currently playing in the NFL are studying. Its not a matter of effort, or even physical talent. There has to be something more. Because there are a LOT of hard working physical freaks out there, but only about 3 are Dareelle Revis types in the league. You can use these explanations to show how Revis can do it, but NOT why 99% of the other DB's can't.....or at least not to that level.
So now that I've eliminated some some of the more ordinary reasons for Revis' success, Lets get the the strange and weird.
6.First let me ask you "what makes a great QB"? We we have seen a bunch come and go in recent years. We know it has little to do with arm strength. It has little to do with speed and running ability. These are all nice things, but no matter how good you your pro day is, it's not going to tell you in advance if you are going to be a great QB in the NFL.
To some degree, I believe that the biggest asset is the QBs ability to not only absorbs large amounts of data in 2-4 second bursts, but to assimilate and spit out the correct decisions just as quickly. AND then, and only then be able to execute an accurate throw.
I think to some degree, the same kind of "hard wiring" is going on in Revis's head, and damned few others on the planet. So to go along with all the studying of route running, pass patterns, tells, and clues, is the innate ability to either anticipate another players'movements, or the physical ability to to move simultaneously as another Receiver.
You can coach a player to be a good DB, but no one can coach him to be a Revis.
He just is.
BTW this was not the outcome of this post that I was anticipating when I started, bt I would add a cautionary tail. Before you spend the farm to get back this statistical rarity please remember what position he plays. Do not forget and that we went to a superbowl with 3 DB's (including 2 starting CB's) who couldn't start on our current team, let alone the rest of improvements we've made to this team
So as much as I want Revis back, and how good he's played, there has to be a certain line that we cannot cross for this guy......and this would be mine. for a 3 year deal.
1. $8.4MM/year guaranteed (unless for cause)
2.$ 388K/game for ever game he's on the roster
3. $1MM/bonus for every year the team makes it to the superbowl
So essentially this is $14MM/yr deal with 60% guaranteed 8.4 up front and the rest he gets paid when he plays...PLUS a million on top with a super bowl appearance. Ever better would being able to amortize it over 4 years BTW- I'd pay $16MM if he were 27, not 29
I havent't figured out the purpose of this thread, but it seemed like the right thing to do at the time....enjoy....or not
