An argument could very easily be made that the New England Patriots would not have won the Super Bowl last season without Darrelle Revis. The All-Pro cornerback doesn’t expect the fans in Foxboro to acknowledge that on Sunday.
Revis has been around long enough to know that he should not be anticipating a warm reception when the New York Jets take on the Patriots at Gillette Stadium.
“I don’t think I’ll be welcomed back with open arms, I’ll tell you that,” Revis said earlier this week, via Seth Walder of the New York Daily News. “They’re fans. And they love the Patriots, and I’m not in that color jersey.”
Revis has always done what is best for him financially, and it’s hard to blame him for that. Unlike many veterans before him, he was unwilling to take any type of discount to remain in New England. Rather than paying Revis top dollar, the Patriots decided that one season of a revamped secondary that helped them win a championship was enough.
This week, a lot of talk has centered around how Revis is familiar with what the Patriots do on offense, having practiced against Tom Brady for an entire season. Brady has already admitted that Revis has “intimate knowledge” of the Pats’ tendencies, and Revis basically said the same.
“I’ve got my notes,” he said. “You always got to play a chess game on a week-to-week basis. We’re very familiar with each other on both sides.”
Part of me thinks Patriots fans are knowledgeable enough to realize what Revis meant to their championship team last year and will welcome him accordingly. But after the 30-year-old signed with the Jets, he didn’t exactly defend the Patriots over the Deflategate allegations. That led to a tense issue with his mom supposedly not being allowed at a Patriots Super Bowl party.
Will all of that translate to boos drowning out the cheers? We shall see.
