Good Press Coverage Article

[KRL]

http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2015/10/heres_exactly_why_jets_darrelle_revis_thrives_in_p.html#incart_river

 

FLORHAM PARK — During cornerback Buster Skrine's rookie year with the Browns, in 2011, his position coach was Jerome Henderson. 

The Browns played a lot of press coverage, close to wide receivers at the line of scrimmage. To show Skrine and Cleveland's other cornerbacks how to effectively defend at the line, Henderson put on film of Darrelle Revis.

"He was like, 'Y'all want to know how to press? Watch Revis,'" Skrine said.

Before joining the Browns, Henderson was the Jets' defensive backs coach in 2008. He assisted with that position group in 2007, Revis' rookie year with the Jets. Henderson saw how Revis blossomed into an elite cornerback.  

And during those film study sessions in Cleveland, so did Skrine, who is now Jets teammates with Revis. Through four games, Revis has justified the Jets giving him $39 million fully guaranteed this past offseason. He has two interceptions and three fumble recoveries, and is an important part of a dominant defense. 

Skrine, the Jets' slot corner, gets to watch Revis' press coverage skills up close now. He notices exactly what he did on film four years ago — that Revis' ability to play laterally while in press coverage separates him from so many other corners. 

"He works lateral," Skrine said of Revis' press technique. "When you're a corner and you're working laterally at the line, it's harder for a receiver to get back on track. So he throws receivers off their line. If a quarterback sees a receiver off his line, he's not going to throw it over there. That's why Revis doesn't get a lot of targets.

"A lot of guys end up playing press, and they'll just open up [their hips] and they'll just run with the receiver. Revis is getting hands on you every time within that first five yards." 

So instead of simply pressing up on a receiver at the line, and then turning, letting the receiver run his route, and attempting to track him, Revis often favors a more physically aggressive (and more challenging) approach to press coverage. 

By squaring up with the receiver, moving side to side, and bumping the receiver, Revis aims to make the receiver go around him and adjust the planned route. As Skrine said, this can disrupt the receiver's timing with his quarterback. The seconds (or even fractions of a second) it takes the receiver to adjust and resume his normal route means valuable time (and timing) lost for the offense. 

"The receiver tries to hold that line, just so they can come in and out of breaks [during the course of the route]," Skrine said. "If they get pushed to the sideline, you know there's only so many routes they can run. One thing Revis does well is he's good at the line, so he always makes the receiver run a hump."

By this, Skrine means the receiver must curve his route to get around Revis — a hump shape in an otherwise straight or angular pass pattern. 

"If the receiver has to run a hump, that's like two seconds," Skrine said. "[Revis] always makes receivers run around him. He always has huge bumps in his [receivers'] routes. If you watch film, you see receivers running five yards in and trying to get back straight. By the time you do all that, the quarterback has looked you off. He's going to the next progression."

Said Jets receiver Eric Decker: "If you look at the release of a quarterback, it's three, four seconds. So if you throw off any kind of timing, that's what this game is about. It's small windows. If you can get the quarterback to hold the ball for another half second, that can lead to disruptions, whether it's sacks, whether it's incompletions." 

Playing laterally like Revis does in press coverage is "definitely easier said than done," Skrine said. "A receiver is not just going to let you put your hands on him. But to be consistent every play like that, that's why he makes the big bucks.

"You've got some guys that are really good at it, but then you've got some guys that are inconsistent at it. He's probably the best press corner in the NFL." 

The keys, Skrine said, are Revis' hip movement and hand placement, along with his strength as a 200-pound corner — bulkier than many players at the position. 

"There's not a lot that do it the way he does," Decker said. "He's just smart that he knows every receiver and what their strengths are. He's patient. He does just kind of step laterally and just wait for you to make a move. That, with his smarts and his instincts, just make him a great press corner, to be able to stay square and get [his] hands on players.

"He does everything. He can play that way [laterally]. He'll quick jam you and he'll bail [out and run with the receiver]. He does a good job of mixing it up. He's not just a stay square pressing guy. He's able to do a lot of different things. That's what makes it hard for wide receivers. That's why he's Revis Island. That's what makes him the best corner, for sure." 

[The Crusher]

Great read. Buster was certainly paying attention.

[AFJF]

Excellent article...thanks for sharing.

[greenwichjetfan]

Excellent article, and not for nothing, Skrine is quietly becoming a key player on that dominant defense of ours. 

[roscoeword]

Loved the article - just hope it wasn't giving up too much inside info on Revis's technique to opposing receivers. I know they can look at film, but here it was described in such detail I felt we were giving away state secrets.

[KRL]

Darryl Slater is one of the few beat writers that do "research" on their articles

[Jet_Engine1]

Whan asked for comments for the article, Antonio Cromartie stated,"Yeah, Revis is cool. Tome Brady is an a$$hole.....my hip hurts a little bit....." and proceeded to talk about his 2010 season.

[Jetdawgg]

The mentioning of Darrelle Revis' strength is worth noting. Thanks KRL.