Darrelle Revis tormented the Patriots twice a season for five years — he didn’t play in either meeting in 2012 — so Bill Belichick is well aware of the type of talent he’ll be facing on Sunday. He’s just glad he’ll only have to see the Buccaneers’ star corner once.
“Well, at least we only have to play against him once, hopefully,” Belichick said on a conference call with reporters on Tuesday. “Well, hopefully we’ll play against him twice but no, I mean we’re seeing him once.”
That second time Belichick is referencing would be a hint at a Super Bowl rematch, which I’m sure both player and coach would be ecstatic about — though, Jets fans may go ballistic. After recovering from ACL surgery throughout the offseason, Revis has already returned to his All-Pro level through just two games this season. Belichick is just one of many people around the league to notice the return of Revis Island.
“Yeah, he’s good. I thought he played well against the Jets with some limited playing time – not limited, but I’d say he played about two-thirds of the game, something like that. Then of course this past week, he played almost every snap against New Orleans. It definitely looks like he’s back and playing well.”
Belichick and the Patriots couldn’t have picked a worse time to face the best corner in the game, either. Tom Brady just came off statistically his worst game in four seasons — the last being a 2009 game that coincidentally came against Revis — and the Patriots’ receivers, outside of Julian Edelman, appear to be overmatched and unprepared.
Unless Rob Gronkowski makes a triumphant return to the offense on Sunday, which at this point is still very much uncertain, the Patriots will likely face yet another rough outing on offense, and Revis can only serve to make matters worse. Maybe if the two teams meet again, it will be a fairer fight.
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