All eyes on Darrelle Revis and Hines Ward ahead of AFC championship game
Hines Ward is going to Revis Island on Sunday in the American Football Conference (AFC) Championship game. The New York Jets are scheduled to play the Pittsburgh Steelers on 23 January and Hines Ward is in focus.
New York’s Antonio Cromartie took a swing at Ward today, and said that Ward wasn’t “man enough to hit you when you're looking at him.” Cromartie’s antics, while amusing are irrelevant, because on Sunday Darrelle Revis will most likely be covering Ward.
Revis has had an amazing 2010-11 season. His numbers aren’t as spectacular as they were last year but that isn’t because he hasn’t been performing as well. The drop in his statistics is because quarterbacks avoid Revis like the plague. Revis has allowed
no one to get the better of him in the 2010-11 season. No receiver has gotten past Revis to make a big play on his side and make him look helpless. “Nope. It doesn’t happen,” safety James Ihedigbo said.
New York Jets Coach Rex Ryan couldn’t recall the last time a receiver got away from Revis. Even Revis himself has no idea. “Uhhhhh ... I don’t know,” Revis said. Revis has the ability to eliminate a player from a game. He made Indianapolis Colts’ best receiver
irrelevant two week ago. Reggie Wayne caught 1,355 yards in 16 regular season games. That’s almost an 85 yards per game average.
However, when the Jets were up against the Colts, they put Revis on Wayne. In that game Wayne caught just one pass for one yard, and was furious about not getting the ball more times. Wayne was able to get away from coverage but the threat of Revis forced
quarterback Peyton Manning to keep the ball away from Wayne. The Colts lost that game.
This Sunday Ward will receive the same treatment as Reggie Wayne did. Ben Roethlisberger and Hine Ward must now do what Peyton Manning and Reggie Wayne were unable to do. If Big Ben approaches Revis like Manning did, the Jets could focus their energies on
the other side of the field. On the other hand if Ben tries to get the ball to Ward despite Revis, maybe he will catch his first interception of the season.
Revis is as good a cornerback as any and his pro-bowl selection is testimony to that fact. Ward is confident that he can find a way off Revis Island, but is not underestimating the cornerback’s skills. “Can he be beaten? Yeah, he can be beaten,” Ward said.
“But at the same time he's one of those guys you don't want to mess with. If you make a mistake he's a game-changer.”
Ward said that for a receiver, being covered by Revis can be frustrating, because the quarterback wouldn’t even look at you. Ward received the ball just two times in the 2010-11 regular season meeting with the New York Jets. “For me, I just have to stay
focused and not get frustrated,” Ward said. He said that it wasn’t about him and Revis, it was about the Steelers versus the Jets.
Ward said that Revis was probably the best cornerback in the league and he viewed this Sunday’s game as a big challenge. “I have to go out there and work my tail off to get open,” Ward said.
However, the sentiment isn’t shared by Revis. To him, Ward is just another receiver that the Jets want covered. It’s just another day on the job. “If I'm supposed to be on Hines Ward the whole game, that's my job. If somebody else, Cromartie, is supposed
to be on Wallace or Sanders, then that's his job, as well.”
Revis said that covering Ben Roethlisberger’s receivers was different from covering Brady’s receivers. He said that Brady relied on time inside the pocket before throwing the ball to a wide receiver. “But Ben can stand in the pocket if you give him time
to make plays, but also he can extend plays if the rush is getting there,” Revis said. “He can run and scramble with his feet or he can scramble and throw the ball deep.” How well Revis can do against Ward and Roethlisberger remains to be seen.
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