Revis To Bucs, And Why We Should Rejoice

[fieryprophet]

There's three huge reasons why the Revis trade has just hurt the division rivals Bucs, even if they're not aware of it.

1) The shutdown cornerback is an overrated element in the the modern NFL. In today's pass-oriented league, teams need multiple high-quality cornerbacks to have an effective secondary against the Packers and Saints of the world. As great as Revis was in his prime he could only control half of the field at most, leaving the other half to Antonio Cromartie in the Jets' defensive heyday. Tampa Bay does not have anyone of Cromartie's caliber, and considering how epically bad their secondary in general adding Revis merely brings them to respectability at best.

2) Revis' ACL injury will affect him differently than Adrian Peterson's, since as a defensive player he is forced to react to plays rather than proactively run them. Peterson had the distinct advantage of knowing where his blockers would be and forcing the defense to respond to his actions, whereas Revis will have to constantly react to what the offense does. This is a crucial difference when recovering from injury because the inherently cautious nature of recovery exasperates reaction times far more for a cornerback than they would for a running back. The fact that Revis is signing a deal with no guaranteed money means that despite the high price Tampa Bay was willing to pay for his services they are deathly afraid he will not be able to recover. And the very fact that his deal is not guaranteed will likely cause Revis to play even more cautiously than he would under the circumstances, because any reinjury effectively throws him back into the market at a severely reduced price.

3) One of the interesting aspects of this trade is that Revis is not coming with a manual on his proper usage. For all of his warts Rex Ryan is still a brilliant defensive strategist and knew how to exact the most of his defense by utilizing Revis as a chess piece against offenses. Schiano shows know signs of having a similar level of defensive acumen, and even with one of the game's premier cornerbacks at his disposal he will not likely use him in a manner that would allow Revis to have a similar impact as what he did in New York. A perfect example of this phenomenon is how Nnamdi Asumogha went from being considered Revis' only peer to overrated simply by changed teams to the Eagles. Despite playing alongside another talented corner in Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, his effectiveness was completely compromised when he was forced into a zone scheme that did not fit his man coverage nature.

Now, the fact that the Bucs have effectively given away a sizable chunk of their present in exchange for an injured relic of the past, we should be glad that the same old Bucs seemed to have resurfaced once again.

[CharlottePanther]

You also forgot to mention this is good for all the Tavon Austin lovers because the chances of the Bucs not taking Austin increased since they now pick after us.

[Ken]

Meh, sounds like a bunch of If's and maybe's

Reality is that the Bucs made a great deal on paper and still have lots of cap space. If they do a good job of getting depth in FA and the draft, they will be tough to beat.

[carolina-chuck]

If Revis had been traded to the Panthers, you'd be having a thread to why (1) he's still an elite shutdown cb (2) he's going to come back from his ACL injury quickly and (3) we're going to win the Super Bowl right?

[Sloth]

The Bucs just signed an All-Pro CB to an extremely team friendly contract with no guaranteed money and addressed a major point of weakness while doing so. It cost them one worthwhile pick in a draft where no player in the top 15 looks to be anywhere near the caliber of the player they traded for. They also have a metric poo ton of free cap room, making the salary hit a non-factor. And, as the contract he signed is basically a series of six one-year deals, if he becomes a problem they can cut ties with almost no repercussions.

The Bucs upgraded in a big way.

[Mr Mojo Risin]

Nvm lol.

[TheRumGone]

On paper their DB's are scary. In reality, I think Cam will dominate them this upcoming year.

[fieryprophet]

Meh, sounds like a bunch of If's and maybe's

Reality is that the Bucs made a great deal on paper and still have lots of cap space. If they do a good job of getting depth in FA and the draft, they will be tough to beat.

Umm, there are no ifs and maybes in what I wrote. These are realities, if quiet ones. I am far more concerned that the Bucs get Freeman turned around than I ever will be about Revis.

[fieryprophet]

If Revis had been traded to the Panthers, you'd be having a thread to why (1) he's still an elite shutdown cb (2) he's going to come back from his ACL injury quickly and (3) we're going to win the Super Bowl right?

No, I'd wonder why the hell the traded away their top pick for a player that isn't going to see the field for the first six weeks of the season.

[Kevin Greene]

Add the fact that in this salary cap world the capped rookie wage scale 1st round pick contracts are pure gold.

The Bucs just sent one away.

The Bucs aren't one player away from a Lombardi.

I fart in their general direction.

[carolina-chuck]

On paper their DB's are scary. In reality, I think Cam will dominate them this upcoming year.

Yea, their secondary on paper is scary with Barron, Goldson, Revis and wright. But oh well, we'll run the hell out of them with Cam lol

I'd love to see that secondary vs Atl

[carolina-chuck]

Add the fact that in this salary cap world the capped rookie wage scale 1st round pick contracts are pure gold.

The Bucs just sent one away.

The Bucs aren't one player away from a Lombardi.

I fart in their general direction.

They'd probably a Revis away from the playoffs

[carolina-chuck]

No, I'd wonder why the hell the traded away their top pick for a player that isn't going to see the field for the first six weeks of the season.

It doesn't matter. It's a good trade on their part. Give me a corner in the draft who's as good as a rehabbing Revis right now. None. If Revis comes back 70% healthy, that's still better than the top cb in this draft.

[fieryprophet]

They'd probably a Revis away from the playoffs

No, they're not. They're Josh Freeman maturing significantly away. Revis changes little about that.