On Revis Island
Former Pitt star dominating top receivers
By Walter Villa

On this island, there are no hula girls, no tropical weather and no speed boats.

In fact, it can get rather cold and lonely on Revis Island. And the only things speedy are the wide receivers and the ruler of this piece of real estate: former Pitt star Darrelle Revis.

The place gets its name because the Jets and their blitz-happy rookie head coach Rex Ryan have so much confidence in Revis that they leave their young cornerback "on an island" to single-cover the top receivers in the NFL.

So far, the plan is working brilliantly. Revis is up for his second straight Pro Bowl berth and some are calling for him to win the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year award. The plan is working so well that the Jets know they will have to pay.

"We'd better start saving some money (to re-sign Revis) because it's going to cost us," said Ryan, who is aware that Revis' six-year, $30 million contract will expire after the 2012 season. "It's going to be ridiculous.

"He can cover you, and he can jam you at the line and keep you there. He's a great tackler. He's tough. He's got great ball skills. He's got it all."

But don't just take Ryan's word. Unbiased observers such as Sports Illustrated's Peter King and ESPN's Merril Hoge have also noticed Revis.

In October, King ranked Revis fourth in the NFL on his list of MVP candidates. And Hoge flatly called Revis "the best cornerback in the NFL."

In this season's opener at Houston, Revis showed why he has everyone talking. He shut down Andre Johnson, who last season caught 115 passes and led the NFL in receiving yards with 1,575. Against Revis, Johnson had just 4 catches for 35 yards - and much of that miniscule production came with the Jets' 24-7 win already secure.

"Executing in practice and watching every move he makes on film," Revis said when asked about the key to silencing Johnson, who has already made three Pro Bowls at age 28. "We wanted to get him out of the game."

In Week 2, Revis held six-time Pro Bowl star Randy Moss to 4 catches for 24 yards and no TDs. On a deep pass thrown high, the 5-11 Revis went up against the 6-4 Moss and intercepted Tom Brady as the Jets beat the Patriots 16-9, and kept the opposing offense out of the end zone for the second straight week.

"I just covered him any way I could," said Revis, joking that he even followed Moss to the bathroom. "When he went to the sidelines and sat down, I sat right across from him. I wanted to keep my eyes on him at all times."

New Orleans Saints receiver Marques Colston, the 6-4, 225-pound beast from Harrisburg who had 3,000 yards in receptions in his first three years in the league, also got shut down by Revis. In Week 4, Colston caught nothing when matched against Revis and finished with just two receptions overall for 33 yards.

Revis, nicknamed "Baby Lockdown," was asked if he was guarding Colston on most of the Saints' 64 snaps.

"Yeah, on the ones he didn't catch no balls on," Revis said as reporters laughed.

Revis isn't really cocky, but he is developing a swagger, which is needed to play cornerback in the NFL. If you aren't confident, you won't last long. And Revis has studied loads of tape of NFL cornerback legend Deion Sanders.

Revis did his best "Neon Deion" impersonation in Week 7, when he made a spectacular over-the-shoulder interception in a win over the Raiders.

It is amazing to think that Revis, 24, almost followed a different path. A two-sport superstar at Aliquippa High School, Revis nearly accepted a scholarship offer to play basketball at Western Kentucky. He had, after all, averaged 25.2 points as a senior on a team that won a WPIAL title.

Instead, he chose Pitt, where he was an immediate star, earning freshman All-American honors and first-team All Big East (twice) before bolting to the NFL a year early. The Jets traded up to draft him 14th in the first round, and he made the Pro Bowl in 2008, his second season, leading the Jets with five interceptions.

A key inspiration has been his uncle, former NFL defensive lineman Sean Gilbert, who started pushing his young nephew in grueling workouts before the kid was even a teenager.

"If you want to be an NFL player," Gilbert used to bark, "this is what you need to do to get there."

It is safe to say Revis has arrived.