At this point last year Jets fans were on pins and needles wondering what was going to happen with All-Universe corner Darrelle Revis and his holdout. As we know now he ended up holding out all summer and it took him a while to get back to full form injuring his hamstring shortly after his return.

The injury was due to a lack of off-season, but this year there’s no lockout and Revis is up to his usual tricks of wreaking havoc on quarterbacks and wide receivers.

With this news the rest of the league should begin preparing to face arguably the most complete corner in the game when they face the New York Jets this year. This year Revis is having probably his best training camp as a pro and is on a daily basis causing trouble for QB Mark Sanchez.

Sanchez likes to ignore the “Revis Rule” and is constantly challenging him in practice, usually to no avail. Sanchez says that it makes him a better quarterback being humbled by such an outstanding corner.

“They keep saying, ‘The Revis Rule, the Revis Rule,’ but that’s my chance to get after it in practice,” Sanchez said Thursday. “I can see what you can fit in and what you can get by with.

He keeps you sharp, he keeps you accurate…You try to take short vacations on Revis Island and try to get out of there as quick as you can.”

This is great news for Jets fans as having their best player at top form is good news for the defense and having their quarterback square off against him daily can only help Sanchez in his progress.

Rex Ryan said, “He’s the Tom Brady and Peyton Manning of defensive backs in this league. He’s the best I’ve ever been around.”

The Jets will need Revis to shutdown half the field as the question mark that remains from last year is the Jets pass rush. Having Revis do his thing forces quarterbacks to hold the ball for longer giving the line more chance to get to the opposing quarterback.

It’s looking like another Pro-Bowl year for the young DB.

Image Courtesy of  http://www.flickr.com/photos/35602564@N00/

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Things are moving extremely fast in the NFL these days; in fact, sports fans haven’t been able to take in every thing that has been occurring in terms of free agency and trades.  The movement throughout the league is not surprising given the small window teams have to accomplish all of their off season requirements.

Free agency is an exciting time and so far it has been great to cover, the moves should have a big impact on other players still considering where they will take their talents next season. Also, these player movements should impact the success and failures we see during the season.

Let’s examine what has happen thus far and where the surprises lie.

Why not start with the biggest name still available—Asomugha hasn’t moved yet, but would the big name defensive back choose to return to Oakland.  He is a very loyal player but loyalty will not necessarily earn you a ring.  He is reaching a point in his career where he must make a move; the question remains though, where will he play.  Will he decide to play with another great defensive back in Revis and a potential Superbowl team in the Jets, play with another team offering the most money or will he return to Oakland? Only he knows at this point, but I know where the sports world hopes he goes.  It just makes sense to be in a jets uniform next year but will he accept that challenge.

The jets have already taken care of primary receiver Holmes and will likely not attempt to resign Braylon Edwards who had a decent year for them last season.

Other notable signings thus far include big named quarterback Donovan Mcnabb, perennial attack dummy for fans and NFL players alike.  He will take his talents to Minnesota this season and mentor their first round draft pick Christian Ponder until he is ready to take over.

Minnesota will also lose big time receiver Sidney Rice who has chosen to sign with the Seahawks.  The Seahawks are taking a chance on him given the fact he has had one productive season with the indecisive Brett Favre and he will be coming off surgery which sidelined him for most of last year.  The Seahawks have also acquired Tavarus Jackson from Minnesota after parting ways with their long tenured quarterback Matt Hasslebeck who will now be taking his veteran talents to the Titans.

The first big time talent to come of the board so to speak is Deangelo Williams, the Panther back has chosen to resign in a 5 year deal with over 20 million in guaranteed money.

The hated Patriots have struck potential gold in their trade with the Redskins in which they acquired Albert Haynesworth for a 6th round pick; once again, coach Belichick gets a possible steal that puts them back on top in the AFC East division. I don’t know how many teams were looking at the troubled defensive tackle, but looking at the potential defensive line, the AFC East along with the rest of the league have been out maneuvered up until this point.

While we already have big movements with quarterbacks, there are still moves to be made– specifically Kolb in Philadelphia and Kyle Orton in Denver.  Also, Vince Young will be released today, we have yet to hear where exactly he will pay, what role he will have on that team or even what teams have shown interested.  The young quarterback’s reputation has been damaged significantly, it remains to be seen if he will recover and get his career back on track.  Speaking of great college players, 3rd down back Reggie Bush has signed with the Dolphins with a 2 year contract worth roughly 5 million; a considerable reduction in value from his Saints days.

ESPN is now reporting that Chad OchoCinco has been dealt to the active patriots; maybe a way to combat the potential addition of Asomugha to the Jets.  It remains to be seen what happens with many more players including receivers, Plaxico Burress, Randy Moss and Terrell Owens. Expect many more announcements in the day’s ahead, things are just heating up as we approach the upcoming NFL season.

Image Courtesy of  Walter G Arce / Shutterstock.com

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Espn recently took on the hard task of naming their top ten defensive players in the NFL.  Now I’m sure they came up with this list after months of research, watching film and talking to other players in the league; I’m sure that’s what they did.

I think any list of the best players in any sport needs to be done with the votes of other players in order to be a credible list.  With that being said, I’m not going to sit here and bash the list makers, the reporters or the sports writers who came up with the list; which unlike any black list, you as a player would love to be on.

I respect the voters and I would have loved to know the criteria used to determine who belongs and who doesn’t… but any list would be subject to ridicule and debate no matter what, so we must dig in ourselves and evaluate these players on the list.

The list is for the best overall defensive players in the NFL; not just focusing on any particular position…at the same time though, if you value linebackers, then they would automatically receive more votes in terms of impact over corners for example.

I have some problems with the list that I will talk about in depth later on.

However, I want to start by saying that I have no problem with the guy who holds the number one spot on that list, as I’m sure many fans in the league wouldn’t object either.

Troy Polamalu is arguably the best player in the NFL and the reigning defensive player of the year so it only makes sense that he tops the list.  Troy is a versatile, relentless playmaker who flies all over the field risking life and limbs for Pittsburgh and their fans, so he is there until he is dethroned next season.

The list continues with Demarcus Ware whose stats and toughness speak for themselves.  Followed by Darelle Revis who occupies Revis Island, which has been home to many unsuspecting visitors.  To me it’s somewhat hard to determine who among the two best corners belong higher on this list, Revis or Nnamdi Asomugha… yes, it took a while to spell that name correctly; but 7 is a good spot considering the injury issues he faced.

Patrick Willis and the man with the golden long hair Clay Mathews round out the top 5.  Great top 5 for some but I think Clay Matthews being this high speaks to a larger problem with the way the league is.  In a  3-4 scheme, Matthews rushes the passer almost relentlessly but not while being blocked by elite linemen; he faces tight ends and backs out the backfield and his effectiveness is more so a product of scheme and a lot of athleticism.  I believe a player like Mario Williams belongs higher on the list than Clay Matthews because he is a true D End with consistent numbers in this league; still at a very young age by the way.

Although I’m not a big James Harrison fan, his trophy several years ago can’t be overlooked…so as much as I despise in between players like Harrison and Mathews, his numbers and impact is undeniable.

Julius Peppers is a freak athletically and I’m not sure where he belongs on this list. Aside from replacing him with a player like Charles Woodson, maybe we should leave him where he is for right now.  The rest of the list being Ed Reed and teammate Haloti Ngata; two great players one being a future hall of fame inductee, so no problems on that end.

I do feel however that although Ray Lewis is nearing the end of his career and using his spare time to give us his opinions on crime and crime prevention, he as much as anybody belongs on the list of best defensive players;  after all, Ray Lewis is the epitome of great.

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