Darrelle Revis expects defense to ramp up the effort against Jacksonville
Darrelle Revis of the New York Jets warms up before a game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on Oct. 25, 2015 in Foxborough, Mass. Credit: Getty Images / Jim Rogash
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Asked on Wednesday about how coach Todd Bowles has handled the current "bump in the road," Darrelle Revis made it clear the sky isn't falling at 1 Jets Drive.
"I don't think it's a bump," the shutdown cornerback said after practice. "We have a two-game losing streak . . . and it's tough to win in New England and it's also tough to win in the Black Hole [in Oakland].
"We're fine. We're still over .500 and now we're focused on Jacksonville."
After a hot start, the Jets are 4-3. But perhaps most troubling about their two-game skid was their defensive performance against the Raiders, who posted 415 total yards (including 118 rushing yards) against the Jets' highly touted defense.
"I think everybody was a little upset at what happened on Sunday," Revis said, noting the defense missed "20-plus" tackles. "But that's that. I don't think anybody's happy when you lose."
Said Bowles: "They know it wasn't good enough, we know it wasn't good enough. We've got to get better coaching it, they've got to get better playing it. It is one game, it was the first time we fell apart like that. We've got to come back together again and it can't happen again."
Bowles can talk all he wants about the importance of sound technique and high energy, but it's on the players to perform better, Revis said. And with the Jaguars coming to MetLife Stadium on Sunday, followed by Rex Ryan's Bills next Thursday night, the Jets have to improve their tackling and overall level of play.
"Guys gotta have more effort, especially on the defensive side of the ball," Revis said. "We bring that energy, we bring that type of toughness to the game. On defense, it's for us to go out there and create turnovers and get off on third down and give the ball back to the 'O.' So there is a spark plug for us on defense and we felt, overall, we did not showcase that on Sunday."
Though defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson said on WFAN Tuesday that "guys were loafing" against the Raiders, Bowles stressed that his players weren't just "dogging it all the way to the ball." Revis agreed. "You see guys getting there, but then guys, maybe, expect the other guy to make the play instead of just finishing the whole play out," he said. "That's something we started to correct today and moving forward we've got to continue to stay on that and be consistent."
Asked specifically about cornerback Antonio Cromartie, who played his worst game of the season on Sunday, Revis said: "He'll be fine.
"We've played together for a long time and I have a lot of confidence in Cro. It's a game. We're not pointing the finger at nobody. We're all at fault across the board -- all three phases we didn't play well and it's a team loss."
