Most New York football fans had never heard of Jason Hill before this week. Now, all of them will probably know his name.
The little-known Jaguars wide receiver said Wednesday the reason the Jets players get a lot of attention is not because they’re better than other players in the league, but because they play under a bigger spotlight.
“This is a league full of great players. I think sometimes they get overhyped. I talked to Drew [Coleman], Drew played there. He says it’s just the aura of New York. They got a big media. That’s not the Jacksonville paper, that’s the big New York Times paper so they get more pub. That’s what it is.
“It’s a game that we all play. He been playing the game, Revis, just as long as I’ve been playing. This is a game full of good players making plays. He just made a lot more plays on TV than we’ve made being here in Jacksonville. He’s a good player. We respect him. Hopefully he respects us because we’re going to bring it just like they’re going to bring it.”
So you think it’s a little overhyped?
“I think the whole New York is overhyped,” Hill said. “Him personally, he’s a good player, Pro Bowl player, I’m trying to make it to the Pro Bowl, too. This’ll be a good game to put some notches on our belts too. It’s the New York Times vs. the Jacksonville paper. New York Times they got a lot more viewers than you got.”
Hill is absolutely correct about one point, and he’s completely wrong about the other. Darrelle Revis is a fantastic player. He’s the best cornerback in the league, and he’s possibly the best player relative to position in the entire NFL. Revis didn’t receive the “Revis Island” nickname for nothing — he did it by shutting down the best receivers in football week after week. Every bit of praise he receives has been deserved.
As for Hill’s larger point about New York teams being overhyped, he’s right — they are. Mark Sanchez is arguably a worse quarterback than ex-Jags QB David Garrard, but most people know Sanchez because of his USC background and the attention he’s received in New York. The New York sports teams seem more important than others because they have more fans and more media covering them.
Clearly Hill has a complex about New York teams and he’s out to prove something. The problem is he hasn’t practiced this week and his Jags are likely to get spanked. Maybe Hill needs to go back to school at Trash Talk U and learn the first lesson: whatever you say, make sure you can back it up. Otherwise you end up looking foolish.
via Lakeshore Dave
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