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New Jersey – I don’t think the Jets should trade Darrelle Revis, but I can understand the Jets tipping their toe in the water on a potential deal.
Aside from trying to get something for him now, as opposed to him walking away for nothing next year, there is more to it than that.
He is a great player – there is no question about it.
But you make an argument that Revis and his camp push the envelope too much.
Revis’ agents are very media-friendly, and are a good at planting information in the press that helps their clients from a PR standpoint.
You saw a good deal of this during the vitriolic 2010 holdout.
Woody Johnson and Mike Tannenbaum were tarnished quite a bit with a ton of background leaked to the press from the agents.
It was one thing after the other, including repeatedly painting Tannenbaum as a liar.
Woody Johnson is clearly getting tired of the soap operas created by the Revis’ PR machine about his contracts.
For instance look what happened right after the La Canfora story hit.
First it’s leaked to NBC’s Mike Florio that Rex Ryan doesn’t want to trade Revis.
So this pitted the coach against the owner, publicly – smart strategy.
Also, Revis jumped into the fray on twitter.
“I’m speechless by far but more importantly I feel more upset for the Jet Nation for having to go through this,” tweeted Revis.
While Revis was acting like a Dali Lama on this tweet, it seems to me he was trying to pit the fans against the owner.
This stuff is constantly going on between the Revis’ camp and the Jets – the Revis’ camp going out of there way to make the Jets look bad.
And here is another one – remember when he blew his knee out last year, he went to THE GIANTS’ TEAM DOCTOR, Russell Warren for the surgery, not the Jets’ doctor, Ken Montgomery.
I’m sorry, while he can go to any doctor he wants, this a major slap in the face to the Dr. Montgomery. Look, I know that Warren has a great reputation, but is he that much better than Montgomery?
And if you were going to choose another doctor, why not go to the legendary Dr. James Andrews. That wouldn’t be a big deal. A lot of top players go to him.
But to go to the Giants’ doctor? I’m telling you, it’s one thing after the other with the Revis camp. Maybe “diabolical” is a little strong, but sometimes it’s a word that enters my thinking about these guys. Can you see how Woody might be reaching his breaking point?
And also, while Revis is a great player, it’s become clear that all the accolades about his greatness, from people like Rex, and the press, might have gone to his head, a bit.
I will never forget an exchange with ESPN’s Sal Palaotonio, in Cortland, last summer.
The star cornerback was out a few days with an injury, and “Sal Pal” said the defense looked pretty good out there, and Revis took offense to that.
He took it as a personal affront as opposed to being proud of his teammates for stepping up in his absence.
Something else happened last summer, that also caught my attention regarding his attitude.
He was asked for his thoughts on the development of the two rookie safeties – Antonio Allen and Josh Bush – and he said he wasn’t paying attention.
The leader of the secondary not paying attention to the development of two draft picks at safety?
I know this might be sacrilege for a reporter to question Revis, since most reporters fawn over him (just look at the coverage the last few days), but while he’s a great player, he needs to improve his attitude.
And if he doesn’t, and doesn’t pull in the reins on his agents, and there non-stop behind the scenes attacks on the Jets’ brass don’t stop – you can understand Woody considering a trade.
January 25, 2013
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