Glauber: Jets should rest Revis until he's 100 percent

FLORHAM PARK, N.J.

Now that Rex Ryan has decided he'll be the one to decide if Darrelle Revis will play this week - not the other way around - we posed the following question to Revis Wednesday:

Based on how you feel right now, and based on the fact you have a game this week and then a bye the following week, what would you do if you were Rex?

Revis paused a moment, then said: "Going into a bye, we're 4-1 right now. You can rest me and take this thing into the bye and come back fresh for the [Packers] game [Oct. 31]."

Hmmm. That sure sounds as if Revis is hoping Ryan will sit him for Sunday's game against Denver and allow more rehabilitation time. This from a player who on Monday night opted to fight through the pain and soreness of his injured left hamstring rather than tell the coach he was hurting.

Now we'll see if Ryan does what the All-Pro cornerback would like, especially after Revis missed practice Wednesday. For the time being, Ryan isn't ready to make that call.

"We'll let this play out," he said. "We'll see where he's at."

In all likelihood, Ryan will know by Friday whether Revis will travel to Denver. If he can practice Thursday or Friday, then there's a chance he'll make the trip. If not, he'll likely remain behind to continue rehabilitating his hamstring, which he initially strained in a Week 2 win over New England.

The feeling here is that Ryan would be better off sitting Revis this week and thinking more about the long term. Consider: If Revis gets two more weeks to rehab, then it stands to reason he'll have a greater chance of getting through the rest of the season healthier.

"That would be the smart way to do it," Revis said. "Rex and I talked about it. We'll take it day by day and see how I feel. If it's [right] for me to go , I'll go. If not, it's not. We'll make that judgment when the time comes."

Credit Ryan for at least admitting that he erred in putting the decision in Revis' hands to play Monday night. Most coaches wouldn't 'fess up in a similar circumstance, but Ryan's honesty in saying it should have been his call was another reason players enjoy working under him.

"It's going to be put on my shoulders," Ryan said. "This is the way I like it. What I'm going to do is take all the information and see it with my own two eyes, talk to Dennis Thurman, the trainers and doctors, talk to Darrelle and watch to see how it goes. Then we'll make that decision."

But it's also up to Revis to make an honest assessment later in the week. If he thinks he's going to risk aggravating the injury, then he has to tell Ryan so the team can make lineup adjustments. And if Revis can't practice, there's no sense bringing him to the game.

Wednesday, Revis sounded encouraged despite missing practice. "It feels better than last week," he said. Revis also said it's possible the swelling and soreness may have indicated that scar tissue in his hamstring was broken up, which would be a positive.

"If a player doesn't feel comfortable, I will never play him, period," Ryan said. "In this case, the player's always going to say, 'Yeah, I'm ready to go,' because they're so competitive, especially when it gets close to game time. When the band's playing, everybody wants to play."

In this case, Revis needs to tell Ryan if he can play long before the band takes the field in Denver. Here's to making sure the player and the coach get it right this time.