Revis proves his worth

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Revis proves his worth

Saturday, November 24, 2007

By J.P. PELZMAN
STAFF WRITER



IRVING, Texas -- On a conference call two days before the game, outspoken Dallas wideout Terrell Owens claimed not to know of Darrelle Revis.

He's a lot more familiar with Revis' work now as the Jets' rookie cornerback continued to make a name for himself Thursday.


"I don't know who that is," Owens said Tuesday when asked about Revis, the Jets' first-round draft choice. "Once I step on the field, it doesn't matter who's out there.

"That's not a slight on him or whoever he is."

That was before Revis limited Owens to six receptions for 65 yards on Thanksgiving. Owens finally caught a 22-yard touchdown pass with 6:12 left, but even then, it wasn't as if Revis had been toasted. He was just a step behind T.O. and it took a perfect throw by Tony Romo and a nifty catch by Owens to make the touchdown happen.

Until then, Revis had shown Owens who he is, and the two did speak after the game.

Revis felt it was "a little bit disrespectful" of Owens to act as if he had no knowledge of him.

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"Maybe ask T.O. if he knows who I am now," said Revis in his typical low-key manner. "He probably doesn't. I'm a rookie. I tried to cover him the best I could, and overall I think I did a good job."

Coach Eric Mangini agreed.

"I thought Darrelle actually did a good job," Mangini said after the game. Mangini and the Jets' players weren't available for comment Friday.

Mangini added that Revis "was with Terrell most of the day and I thought he did a good job with what we were asking him to do."

About the only glitch for Revis was a first-quarter pass breakup that could've been much more.

With Dallas facing third-and-3 at its 19, Revis was covering Owens and turned around just in time to have Romo's pass hit him in the chest. He tried to get his arms up in time, but wasn't able to and the ball fell to the ground for a harmless incompletion rather than a potentially momentum-changing interception.

"The ball just came late," he said of the play. "I looked up [and] the ball was right there. I tried to do anything I could to put a hand on it. ... The ball was just about hitting me [when I saw it]. It bounced off my chest. But you have to make the play. It would've put the offense in a better position."

Still, while the Jets as a group didn't show too much Thursday, Revis again demonstrated why the Jets traded up 11 spots to select him.

"It's just competition," he said of Owens' pregame words. "I don't even know exactly what he said. I don't try to feed him [with more words]. I just go out and play."

And afterward, they did chat coming off the field.

"I introduced myself," said Revis, who obviously did that during the game with his play. "We had a real good conversation."

And in Owens' postgame news conference, he was asked if he now knew who Revis is. Owens called him a "great corner."

Typical Owens hyperbole? Maybe. But Revis is getting to that level very quickly.

E-mail: pelzman@northjersey.com
 
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