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New Jersey – The Darrelle Revis-saga continues, and something that happened today could impact the landscape. Let’s take a look at that, and another issue . . .
Something happened today that heightened the Tampa Bay Buccaneers need at cornerback.
It was kind of an under-the-radar move that didn’t get a lot of attention, but it does have a small impact on the Revis-Tampa Bay situation.
Cornerback E.J. Biggers signed with the Washington Redskins.
Who?
Biggers is a cornerback who played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the last four years.
Last year, with the Aqib Talib in-season trade to New England, and the Eric Wright suspension for taking Adderall, Biggers started 12 games at cornerback.
So now he’s out of the picture, and obviously so is Talib, and Wright is on his way out. The team refuses to pay Wright the $7.75 million he is owed this year, due to his failed drug test last year. They filed a grievance. This is headed for a divorce.
So as you can see, the cornerback cupboard is getting pretty bare in Tampa Bay.
You hear the comments from Buc’s coach Greg Schiano (pictured above with all of the NFL head coaches) in Arizona today, and he certainly sounds like a person very interested in adding Revis to his team.
“I can’t comment on guys under contract with another team,” Schiano said. “I think anything we can do to help improve our football team, we’re going to do.”
Later on he was asked specifically about getting a shutdown corner.
“Any coach will tell you if you can take away the No. 1 receiver on the football team, it’s going to make your job easier as a defense,” Schiano said.
The guy loves Revis, and I like I’ve said before, it goes back to their time competing against each other in the Big East, Darrelle played for Pitt, and Schiano coached Rutgers.
Schiano loves this football player.
So you get the sense a Revis-trade to Tampa Bay isn’t a matter “if,” but a matter of “when.”
But the Jets won’t give him away. They will keep him, unless they get a king’s ransom in return.
Tampa Bay needs Revis badly when you look at their dire cornerback situation, so if John Idzik waits this out long enough, Buc’s management could very well blink, and up the offer . . .
Daily News writer Manish Mehta had a story today that got a lot of play nationally (I have to admit, he’s very good at this, and his bosses have to love it). He wrote that Rex Ryan is going back to calling the Jets defense.
In other words, new DC Dennis Thurman won’t be calling the defensive plays during the game, but Ryan will.
“Dennis and I worked side-by-side with each other literally for years now,” Ryan told The News at the league meetings on Tuesday. “It’s something that we talked about and we want to do. I want Dennis to just be totally involved like he always is, but I’ll make the calls (and have) the final say on the calls. But again, the process will be very similar.”
I have to politely disagree with Manish’s premise here.
Ever since he arrived with the Jets in 2009, Ryan has had a significant role in calling the defensive plays, and has essentially been the co-defensive coordinator since Day One.
Who is doing what at any given moment during a game, is subject to debate, and has never been made clear to the media or public, but Rex has always been heavily-involved.
It’s kind of like when Bill Parcells was the Jets’ coach, and Charlie Weis was the offensive coordinator. Parcells was heavily-involved with the offensive play calls, and it was unclear who was doing what during a game.
This is no different.
And what is going on right now, with D.T. taking over as D.C., not much has really changed.
March 20, 2013
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