"Ain't Nobody Coming to See You, Otis!"

So why have I posted a video from perhaps the funniest scene in The Temptations TV miniseries from 1998 and juxtapose it with a picture of New York Jets' cornerback Darrelle Revis--who could be wearing a new uniform four hours from now once free agency and trading begins?  Please indulge me for a moment...David Ruffin (played by Leon) felt like fans were only coming to see The Temptations because he had become the primary lead singer and undeniably possessed the most amount of swagger out of any group member.  However, Otis Williams (played by Charles Malik Whitfield) and Melvin "Blue" Franklin (played by D.B. Woodside) felt like his failure to make rehearsals, his drug abuse, and overall erratic behavior was hurting the group more than his standout vocals were helping.  Thus, they made a business decision to move on without him.  Now does that make Darrelle Revis the football equivalent of David Ruffin?  Not exactly.  On one hand, he greatly believes in his priceless ability like David Ruffin did.  On the other hand, he's way more of a team player, and his fan appeal when compared to other skilled positions is more like Otis Williams.  Hence, the Jets' entertainment of a trade involving their four-time Pro Bowl, three-time All-Pro cornerback and former AFC Defensive Player of the Year only makes sense because we are talking about the Jets.  Because of their recent resorting to gimmicks and desperate ploys for attention in the New York City spotlight, they're telling him in so many words (and maybe unfairly), "Ain't nobody coming to see you, Otis!"

If this were a month ago, I would've been against it 100 percent and thought it was the dumbest move that the Jets' organization could've ever made.  Darrelle Revis has not only been the best defensive player for the Jets, but their best overall player and arguably the NFL's best cornerback.  Playing opposite of a suspect offense for most of Revis' tenure with the Jets, Rex Ryan's vaunted defense has often come to the offense's rescue.  Revis has been able to lockdown some of the best receivers in the NFL--including the self-proclaimed G.O.A.T. wide receiver in Randy Moss.  However, over the last three seasons, Revis has been involved in more publicized contract talk than any player in the league.  In 2010, he missed most of training camp and every preseason game before signing a four-year, $46 million contract in which $32 million was guaranteed--a holdout referenced on a national stage via HBO's Hard Knocks series.  Two years later, he hinted at skipping training camp until his contract was restructured again, but he ended up attending despite the uncertainty.  Word on the street is that he now wants at least $16 million a year--about $4 million annually above the fair market value for the top cornerbacks--and the rumor also boils down to him wanting more money than what Bills' defensive end Mario Williams makes on the books--a six-year contract worth up to $100 million with $50 million guaranteed.  (I can't be mad at Revis for wanting his payday when he's consistently been better than Mario Williams as a defensive player.)  Word on the street is also that a "gentleman's agreement" was made between Revis and Jets' management ensuring that they would take care of him after his contract was front loaded in 2010.  On the flip side, word on the street is that Jets' owner Woody Johnson is growing tired of Revis' constant dissatisfaction with his contracts and having to readdress this issue too often and doesn't even want to pay the fair market value.  I disagree with the latter because Revis is worth at least $13 million a year, but I can somewhat understand the apprehension in paying more than $16 million a year.

Here's the obvious deterrent: Darrelle Revis just tore his ACL.  Although I agree with Skip Bayless about 10 to 20 percent of the time, he once said something alone the lines of "I'm not paying you for what you've already done; I'm paying you for what I think you'll do."  Granted, that was about Drew Brees and I didn't agree with him in that case, but I'd be more amenable to his point of view if he ever said that about Revis--which he may not because he rightfully praises Revis for his play on the field and his general "high character".  Bottom line, Adrian Peterson is the antithesis of the torn ACL theory, and when you're in a position where you're constantly pursuing fast or quick players, being as shutdown of a corner as you're accustomed to being with a recent ACL tear is not as easy.  Revis has never been exceptionally fast, but he has overcome that with being physical at the line of scrimmage, mastering the art of being at an opposing receiver's hip and being fast enough not to get completely burned in coverage.  Nevertheless, with potential suitors like the San Francisco 49ers, the Atlanta Falcons or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the possibility of losing any bit of speed that he does possess might unfortunately drop his value a bit.

The second deterrent is that he's not the premier box office draw every Sunday.  Granted, he's 20 times better at his position than Mark Sanchez, Greg McElroy and Tim Tebow are at theirs combined.  Heck, he's better than the wide receiving corps combined and the stable of running backs combined.  You'd think that he should get Joe Flacco money with a statement like that.  All-in-all, he plays at a high level when healthy.  How-and-ever, Darrelle Revis blankets receivers so well that opposing quarterbacks often err on the side of caution.  Hence, that can be a bit monotonous to watch as a fan.  Also, that means Antonio Cromartie will get tested quicker because although Cromartie has remarkable play-making ability, his occasional susceptibility against the big play has been well documented throughout his career.  Still, I might feel some kind of way as a consumer if the team paid our best corner over $16 million a year, but our quarterbacks, wide receivers and running backs are still below average and we can't win more than 6-8 games.  Furthermore, and sadly enough, Tebow may have been more of a lure to MetLife Stadium than Revis merely because of the fanfare that follows him--and that's in spite of his one or two token plays per game.  A guy shouldn't have to be a one-man circus act to get paid what Revis commands, but he apparently needs to do more than shutdown one side of the field.

Perfect segue to my final point: Darrelle Revis is not Deion Sanders.  Yeah...that's unfair because Deion is the G.O.A.T. for cornerbacks.  They didn't call him "Prime Time" in vain; when he got the ball in his hands, it was a show.  For years, the Atlanta Falcons weren't that great of a team, but Deion Sanders was worth the ticket or breaking your neck to catch his highlights.  Quarterbacks were even more afraid of throwing in Deion's direction, but when somebody got brave enough, you knew you were in for football's version of the "Human Highlight Film".  Oh yeah...and he ran back kickoffs and punts, occasionally suited up on offense, and exhibited a swagger that had never been seen before and hasn't been duplicated since at his position.  However, all Revis does is play cornerback, and although he plays spectacularly, even he can't reach the bar that Deion set so high.  It's commendable to do your job and do it well, but as I've learned, that only goes so far with your superiors.  They often expect you to redefine the word "dazzling" at your position.  More important, although the Falcons had only been to the playoffs once in his five seasons in the ATL, Deion was a significant piece in two back-to-back Super Bowl puzzles for San Francisco and Dallas--which was around the initial advent of free agency.  Revis has had three winning seasons with the Jets, making the playoffs twice and being one step away from a Super Bowl each time in 2009 and 2010.  Hopefully he'll have the same instant impact if he goes elsewhere because he is a beast at corner, but he would still need to tap into his inner Prime Time to prove that he's worth upwards of $16 million a year.

Let's be clear: I take nothing away from Darrelle Revis' awesomeness.  When you draw comparisons to Deion and Rod Woodson and get a glowing endorsement from Prime Time himself saying that you'll be "the best cornerback in the league for years to come", you might just be a bigger deal than Kanye West and the Clipse combined.  There is no denying that he is clearly the Jets' best player.  However, while I don't agree with any sentiment that Revis is being completely selfish--a player shouldn't be criticized too heavily for wanting more money if he's doing his job better than most--it does seem as if his camp may be trying to sell folks on him being the David Ruffin to the Jets' Temptations when he couldn't be more Otis Williams.  He shows up for work (sans his 2010 holdout), plays his role exceptionally well, knows all the steps, very rarely plays out of tune, has been the glue keeping his group together no matter what, and is a consummate professional and leader in his own right.  With that said, I do believe that he should at least be paid above the fair market value for a cornerback, but only if it is clear that he has returned to "Revis Island" standards by significantly recovering from his ACL tear.  In the end, I do get why it's difficult to pay over $16 million a year to a guy that, figuratively speaking, is not the dude getting the most panties thrown at him.