Darrelle Revis And Lovie Smith
March 10th, 2014
A prominent former Bears quarterback weighs in
Yes, Bucs fans are still chattering about if Darrelle Revis, the Bucs’ all-world cornerback, can play defense in Lovie Smith’s scheme. Despite Lovie himself citing Revis as a key foundation to his defense, there are more than a few who think Revis is a goner, partially because his forte is man-coverage.
Don’t tell this to former Bears quarterback and current SiriusXM NFL Radio personality Jim Miller. Friday, Miller, who is also an Bears analyst for CSNChicago, was aghast that anyone would think Revis couldn’t play in Lovie’s defense.
This subject came up during a conversation about the Bucs with Miller’s co-host Pat Kirwan during Friday’s edition of “Movin’ the Chains,” heard exclusively on SiriusXM NFL Radio.
Pat Kirwan: Get a defensive lineman [in free agency] to lead the way and take everything else in the draft. I don’t think Darrelle Revis is going anywhere.
Jim Miller: I don’t think he is going anywhere, either. Everybody says [the Bucs under Lovie] will be playing more man.
Kirwan: Enough of this stuff. Jimmy, you are a quarterback. Can a corner hide from you?
Miller: No! I mean, you are going to utilize the assets you have. Lovie Smith will go man-coverage. He did it all the time with Peanut Tillman, why the hell wouldn’t he do it with Darrelle Revis?
Kirwan: Because someone wrote a story 10 years ago that he runs a Tampa-2. No one is running a Tampa-2 as their only defense any more. You have to have it all.
At the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis last month, Lovie tried to downplay that he’s a zone-defense kind of guy, politely saying that apparently few people have watched tape of his defense when he was the head honcho of the Bears.
Joe, too, doesn’t buy that Revis is going anywhere soon. Sure, it could happen. But unless Bucs general manager Jason Licht gets an offer that blows his socks off, Joe fully expects Revis to be lining up for the Bucs this summer.
March 10th, 2014 at 9:12 am
Revis trade speculation dominated the airwaves for a long time last year, and because there’s an iota of possibility he could be traded this year, they’re going to milk that story for all its worth. Anybody with football sense knows Lovie doesn’t run all cover-2 all the time and we can absolutely maximize Revis’ talents. The average facebook using fan who wants every free agent under the sun to be signed to their team doesn’t know the difference though… And that’s exactly who national media is writing the stories for.
March 10th, 2014 at 9:14 am
Look at Sam Shields new deal and tell Revis deal isn’t more manageable now. I promise you top corners like Sherman and Peterson will now want Revis money since they see what a non-elite cornerback like Shields is making
March 10th, 2014 at 9:26 am
Yeah, let’s get rid of the best corner in the game after one year of service and who is now 100% healthy on a non guaranteed contract. Bucs fans… He ranked out as THE BEST CORNER IN THE GAME last year, all the while doing it hurt.
March 10th, 2014 at 9:28 am
smh
March 10th, 2014 at 9:29 am
Classic water cooler talk.
Most people don’t even know what a Cover 2 means, they just repeat what they heard on ESPN.
This Revis crap is getting old.
March 10th, 2014 at 9:32 am
But I think we can both agree Joe, this is Revis’s final audition. Prove it or lose it.
Can Revis remain motivated? .. I know, I could walk away after making $32,000,000 in two years.
Hopefully Revis will remain motivated to make more going forward, and not just be satisfied with what he’s already made (extorted). 🙂
I would LOVE to see him give us his best effort this season.
What do you think Joes? Should we have great expectations? Should we expect a return on our investment? Should we hold Revis’s feet to the fire?
Should we sell high?
March 10th, 2014 at 9:34 am
Well said Nic! It’s fodder for the airwaves and anyone with any football sense knows that.
There will be plenty of posts that follow stating the Bucs should move him because of his salary. Phooey! They CAN and WILL afford his salary. What they can’t afford is to lose the best DB in the league.
March 10th, 2014 at 9:36 am
With Talib drawing strong interest from Washington-New England is looking more like a strong possibility. Denver is still in play as well. ….Its gonna be a long week
March 10th, 2014 at 9:44 am
LUV- Short of trading the farm, do you really think they’re moving Revis? I just can’t justify it. It makes no sense.
Snook- You’re right, this is getting old!
March 10th, 2014 at 9:54 am
It depends on how close you think this roster is to winning in Lovie’s system. would the talent drop this year by trading Revis? the answer is yes, but with developing more talent down the road. 5 draft picks is terrible if you are retooling a bad roster.
March 10th, 2014 at 10:00 am
I believe that Lovie has the ability to change and adapt his defense to the people he has on the field. I also do not think he is an idiot either. He will plan for who he has on the field. If I was him I would be telling people also that I would not trade Revis. That way if anyone is shopping for him the offer better be damn good for the Bucs. I suspect they are doing this on purpose. they have no PLANS to trade him but if the right deal comes along Revis will be gone. But I suspect that has always been the plan. Hence why his contract is structured the way it is.
March 10th, 2014 at 10:05 am
I think I would move Goldson before Revis.
March 10th, 2014 at 10:07 am
LUV- Short of trading the farm, do you really think they’re moving Revis? I just can’t justify it. It makes no sense.
Yes I do think the trade is Justifiable on several fronts-But Ultimately whatever our Coach & Front Office decides I will be on board regardless.
GO BUCS!!!
March 10th, 2014 at 10:08 am
People tend to forget how much the secondary sucked before Revis arrived & they want to get rid of him for some rookie that is proven yet?
March 10th, 2014 at 10:14 am
The secondary sucked, because we had absolutely no one back there-Blame that on the previous regime-inability to draft and acquire quality depth. There’s plenty of quality corners in free agency & the draft. So If they trade ’em we good-If they don’t-Its whatever. Would just have to hope the 29yr old’s knee holds up-thats all.
March 10th, 2014 at 10:18 am
LUV- I’m with you, it will be someone else’s decision and I too will support it regardless. I’m just a fan.
If I were a GM though, the trade would have to make sense. It would have to make the Bucs better. In that scenario, a team would have to be willing to trade a butt-load of picks, and I mean a BUTT-LOAD!
March 10th, 2014 at 10:21 am
Bucsfanman-Lol, I hear u. Good times on the way brotha!
March 10th, 2014 at 10:28 am
@tomcin
Goldson is untradeable. With all the suspensions, average play, and Overpaid salary. No team would give up anything for all the negatives.
March 10th, 2014 at 10:31 am
Luv- 13 hours, 26 minutes, 21 seconds….but who’s counting!!!
March 10th, 2014 at 10:34 am
Now that a few free agents have singed surprisingly lucrative deals, Revis and his 16 million dollars seem perfectly reasonable. No way Revis is traded!
March 10th, 2014 at 10:39 am
OOPS! I forgot it started at 4am. Now I’m depressed again!
March 10th, 2014 at 12:09 pm
With his instincts I can see Revis leading the league in interceptions next year.
March 10th, 2014 at 12:12 pm
C’mon, this is just blatant “trolling for traffic”.
Of course Revis is a topic for the gristmill – he’s got a reputation for negotiating after a deal is done – and around here for not playing up to the uninformed fans expectations (but his history and ability when healthy have kinda invited the scrutiny).
Of course Revis is the best (man) corner in the game.
Of course Lovie is going to say he loves him and thinks he can build around him – what’s he supposed to say “we think he brings too much horsepower to a position we don’t require a lot of horsepower to play in our defense”…because…
Of course the Bucs are actively trying to create a trade-for-picks deal!
Lovie truly could build a system that utilizes Revis particluar skill-set – but since others could be had for less – and keeping in mind that Lovie may not be the only one looking for a change of venue – Revis, himself, may begin scratching that old “itch” for more, we all know he has that odd tendency to start negotiating when he senses it’s time to move on…
Absolutely this is a topic for discussion – I just don’t see anything new here – so it’s trolling for hit rate…
March 10th, 2014 at 12:14 pm
The speculation only makes sense from a numbers standpoint . It has nothing to do with scheme.bRevis is the best DB in the NFL because if his instincts, technique, and his outstanding ball skills. You can call any coverage in the book and QBs will still shy away from Revis. I just hate all this “Revis is a man coverage corner” crap.