DECENT EXPOSURE: Hakeem Nicks called Darrelle Revis a ‘decent corner’ yesterday and said the Giants won’t hesitate to attack the Jets’ DB. (Anthony J. Causi)
Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis is getting paid as if he is the best in the NFL.
Is he the best?
Giants receiver Hakeem Nicks paused for just a second.
“I mean, he’s a decent corner,’’ Nicks said yesterday. “He’s decent.’’
Unless “decent’’ is some code word receivers use to mean “unbelievable’’ or “fantastic,’’ Nicks isn’t buying into the widespread belief that when it comes to shutdown corners, there is Revis then there’s everyone else.
Judging from what they said and how they said it, the Giants are not going to be afraid Saturday to inhabit and attempt to conquer Revis Island.
A moment after calling Revis “decent,’’ Nicks said there’s “nothing to really talk about’’ to those hoping to hype what appears to be a dreamy matchup inside this wildly compelling Giants-Jets game, with playoff hopes for both teams hanging in the balance.
“He’s a great player; I feel like I’m good,’’ Nicks said. “We’ll see how that plays.’’
Nicks was presented with this: If he is great and you are merely good, it doesn’t seem like a fair fight.
“I’m great,’’ Nicks shot back. “I guess it’s an even battle.’’
The Giants have two players with more than 1,000 receiving yards, Victor Cruz (1,194) and Nicks (1,096), and so whoever Revis does not match up against will pose a challenge to Antonio Cromartie, the Jets’ other starting cornerback. Nicks and Cruz will most likely both look up on occasion and see Revis directly across the line of scrimmage, but it figures Revis will spend the majority of his time focused on Nicks.
“He’s their best receiver,’’ Revis said. “He makes a lot of plays down the field. Every time you watch film, it’s a vertical passing game. They’re going down field. You’ve got to buckle up and get ready for vertical passing and covering them down the field.’’
Nicks is coming off perhaps the worst game of his three-year career. He dropped what should have been a 54-yard touchdown pass that would have given the Giants a 7-3 lead in their 23-10 loss to the Redskins. He had a pass in the second quarter in his hands along the sideline but allowed Redskins cornerback Josh Wilson to rip it out. He dropped a pass in the end zone in the fourth quarter that would have cut the deficit to 13 points with more than nine minutes remaining.
“It’s all how you respond and how you bounce back from it,’’ Nicks said.
It certainly sounds as if the Giants are not going to look the other way if Revis is covering Nicks.
“I don’t think you can just totally stay away from him,’’ Eli Manning said. “If that’s the matchup we have, then we got to go that way. You got to make sure if you’re throwing his way you got to put it in a spot where he doesn’t get his hands on it.’’
Cruz said he’s noticed, “Teams aren’t really scared anymore, he’s got to earn his money this year, teams aren’t really backing down.’’
Mario Manningham said he strongly believes Revis is treated with too much respect.
“Quarterbacks are too scared to throw his way,’’ Manningham said. “You can’t just go off of what you’ve heard or the word on the street. Yeah, he’s a good corner, but if you don’t challenge him he’s going to continue to be that.’’
Manningham said it’s tough to throw on the Jets not because of their cornerbacks but because of their defensive scheme.
“I ain’t about to put them on a pedestal,’’ he said. “They’re still cornerbacks like we faced all year.’’
Nicks eventually grew tired of the Revis line of questioning.
“I ain’t about to turn this into the Hakeem Nicks and Darrelle Revis show,” he said.
Of course, the Giants wouldn’t mind turning this into the Hakeem Nicks show.