Trying to be objective, which is not easy, the Patriots and Jets are in different places.
If Revis is healthy and plays close to his current level for 3 years, then the Jets were right and the Patriots should have upped their offer.
If Revis declines, or is injured then the Pats were right and the Jets are hamstrung by missing on an enormous contract and 16 mill on IR hurts a lot.
I think both teams did the right thing.
The Patriots have a sustained success that and should be risk averse, while the Jets are a mess so taking the chance is worth it.
I agree with you that both sides "did the right thing" for their franchise. The Jets were a clown car franchise for the last 3 or 4 years. A literal laughing stock of an organization who can't even compete with the other franchise in their own town, let alone the rest of the league. They had to do SOMETHING to establish their creditability with their own fan base, and they because a perfect foil for Revis' demands.
Where we disagree is you thought that should Revis remain healthy and stay as productive for the next 3 years, it will prove the Pats made a mistake. Did you actually read the OP, Andy. There is no way the Pats could have matched that deal and remain competitive beyond 2015, and that's assuming they could have shaved enough cap space to do a deal, and sign a draft class. The cap situations between the 2 teams are ENTIRELY different.
2 things have come into focus for me over the last 2o hours. First, this has been the most blatant example of illegal tampering in the history of the league. Forget about the lip slip by the idiot owner. The Jets clearly broke EVERY rule of "legal tampering period" there was. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if this deal was in the works weeks a go. If the Pats don't get at least the Jets 2nd round pick, it will be an utter travesty.
Secondly, I doubt the Pats ever had a chance, even if they matched. We made the assumption that give the great time he had here, how well he worked with the players and coaches, and how much MORE success he could have in the future; he would be more inclined to come back if the offers were in the same ball park. If you believed that (as ALL of us did), you were mistaken. Revis got his ring, but more important than getting a 2nd one is first the money. Not because he can spend more, but what the money symbolizes.
Secondly, regardless of how well he plays here in NE, the best he can hope to be here is #4, after BB, Brady, and Gronk. In NJ he's THE man, and no one is even a close second. Clearly THAT is what makes Darelle Revis tick. Otherwise why would you go back to a team where you have to know you will never get to another superbowl, let alone win one.
Now this doesn't make him a bad person. By all accounts he was an excellent teammate. But clearly what moves him is the drive to be great (because he works hard at his craft), but other things as well. While most of us thought him winning a ring would tie him even further to us, the reality was that once he got the ring thing out of the way, it actually made it easier for him to leave with a bucket list item checked off.
The man clearly wanted to be in NYC, on his own terms, and for his own reasons. He got EXACTLY what he wanted. He is the undisputed face of the franchise, and the highest paid defensive back in the history of the league.
