Rex Ryan has decided to place Darrelle Revis' hamstring on his broad shoulders. A week after letting Revis decide whether he'd face the Minnesota Vikings, the Jets' second-year coach has shifted protocol and going forward will make the call on when his injured players will return to action.
"What I'm going to do is take all information, see it with my own two eyes, watch to see how it goes and then we'll make a decision based on the best interest of this team and Darrelle," Ryan said at today's news conference at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center. "Same thing with Calvin [Pace] and really any player moving forward."
Less than 48 hours after playing four quarters against the Vikings, Revis participated in individual drills but was held out of team activities during today's workout. He was in good spirits afterwards, reporting a bit of good news.
"The swelling went down a lot," he said of his strained hamstring. "It feels good. I ran a little bit with Sal [Alosi, strength and conditioning coach] today."
Although he felt 100 percent before kickoff Monday night, Revis wasn't able to perform at his typical shutdown level. At no time was that more evident than on a 33-yard completion from Brett Favre to Greg Lewis as the visitors attempted a late charge.
"I'm not saying it wasn't the right decision playing Darrelle last week," Ryan said. "But I will say this: At the end of the game in particular, Darrelle wasn't the same guy that he always is. The fact was he wasn't finishing plays like he always does. So clearly the swelling and all that bothered him, but he never said a word about it. What we have to have is eyes on him and I'll have the appropriate guys with eyes on him."
Ryan also acknowledged that he played Pace more than he would have liked. Appearing for the first time since breaking his right foot in the preseason, Pace was very effective with 1.5 sacks and three QB hurries. But he was very sore today and was held out of the team's workout.
The Jets have a short week to prepare for Denver before the team departs on Friday. The Broncos are pass-happy and then some as Kyle Orton is averaging 42.6 throws a game. They own the NFL's worst-ranked rushing offense while the Jets are fourth against the rush, so Orton will be putting it up early and often whether No. 24 is in the lineup or not. Revis just wants to be himself whenever he returns to action.
"If you ain't got your legs out there as a cornerback, that's the biggest part. You have to have your legs out there. I don't think it was rust," he said of his Week 5 performance. "I think I'm a very smart player and I'm a playmaker. That's what I do and I don't think there was any rust. I just didn't have my full speed out there."
Ryan doesn't regret that Revis was on the field, but he doesn't think it's fair to put the decision in the player's hands.
"I had complete confidence he could play in the game and that's why he was out there," said Ryan. "But when I said it's going to be his decision if he plays — I think that's wrong. His decision is he's going to play, as a competitor."
"Last week, it was on my decision and how I felt. Before the game, I felt great and there was no problem. I just think the problem did come when I took a lot of reps," added Revis. "I hadn't played in two games and I wasn't here for training camp. Coming back in that fast and playing a lot of reps, that's where the swelling came in."
While the swelling has gone down, the Jets want Revis back to 100 percent and they're committed to getting him there. His status is up in the air for Sunday and there are no guarantees with this tricky injury.
"Hamstrings can go a number of ways. I can rest this game, rest the bye and come back and it's still the same situation," Revis said. "The one thing that helped us this game in me actually playing was breaking up some of the scar tissue in the hamstring from taking all the reps I did. It helped the process a little bit better."
