Deion Sanders has to admit it. In his eyes, Darrelle Revis falls short to Charles Woodson for the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year.
Revis is the Jets’ otherworldly star cornerback, having notched his second straight Pro Bowl selection and having earned the Jets’ team-voted MVP. Sanders, arguably the greatest cornerback of all time, said he and Revis communicate every week. He gushed about him, calling him the sport’s best cornerback.
Just not its defensive player of this season.
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“I think [Packers cornerback] Charles Woodson should be Defensive Player of the Year,” Sanders, who works as an NFL Network analyst, told The Post yesterday.
“I think Revis is going to be the best corner in the game for years. But honestly this year, right here, Charles Woodson has made a lot of plays, man.”
There’s no question that Woodson has a strong case — statistically he has a stronger one than Revis. Woodson has more tackles (74 to 71), sacks (two to zero), forced fumbles (four to zero), interceptions (nine to six), interception return yardage (179 to 121) and return touchdowns (three to one).
Revis, however, has faced an absolute slew of elite receivers — Houston’s Andre Johnson, New England’s Randy Moss (twice), Buffalo’s Terrell Owens (twice), Carolina’s Steve Smith, Atlanta’s Roddy White and Cincinnati’s Chad Ochocinco (in case you hadn’t heard). Woodson’s opponents included Ochocinco, Minnesota’s Sidney Rice (twice) and Detroit’s Calvin Johnson, but little else.
Still, Sanders noted that Woodson returns his interceptions for scores and thinks he should be the fifth corner to win Defensive Player of the Year, following Mel Blount (1975), Lester Hayes (1980), Rod Woodson (1993) and Sanders (1994).