Revis could miss 1-2 weeks with hamstring strain
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - That sexy matchup pitting Darrelle Revis against Brandon Marshall may have to wait.
Revis had an MRI Monday that revealed a strained left hamstring, something that could sideline him from 1-2 weeks. Even though the Jets' All-Pro cornerback hasn't been ruled out for Sunday night's AFC East contest against the Dolphins, there's a good possibility he may miss his first game ever - at any level.
"Right now, it's about getting back to 100 percent," Revis said Monday. "That's the main goal. I'm not going to touch the field unless I'm 100 percent . . . If I can play Sunday, I will be out there on Sunday. If I'm doubtful, I'm doubtful. If I can't, I won't be out there."
Revis initially felt tightness in his hamstring Thursday and was limited in practice near the end of the week leading up to Sunday's 28-14 win over the Patriots. He pulled up during Randy Moss' 34-yard touchdown catch with 53 seconds left in the first half with more tightness and didn't return.
Hamstring injuries are tricky and the fact that Revis has a strain and not a pull can be considered a good thing. Revis said his muscles are mostly weak now, as opposed to the way his left hamstring felt during training camp last season, when he suffered a pull and had some trouble walking.
The Jets are going to take the cautious approach - the exact opposite of what they did once with cornerback Lito Sheppard a season ago - because they don't want Revis' injury to linger.
"That's the deal," coach Rex Ryan said. "Last year with Lito, he tried to play or was wanting to play, and we were like, 'Nah, let's hold off.' Another time, we played him in a role and he got hurt again and was out for three more weeks. We've got to be smart here and do what's best for the football team and Darrelle.''
Revis and the rest of the Jets' defense were on the field for 25 plays in the first quarter alone, and Revis was chasing Moss all over the field, which likely contributed to his hamstring tightening up because of the hefty workload.
So, too, did his 36-day holdout, which engulfed all of training camp and didn't end until a week before the Jets' season opener against the Ravens.
"It's tough coming back from holding out and trying to get back in football shape," Revis said. "I'm in shape, but it's another shape and it's called football shape - taking a lot of reps, which my teammates did in training camp. The Monday night game against the Ravens, we played like 80-plus plays and then to turn around and have a short week against the Patriots and practicing.
"What's that? That's 48 hours, maybe, of running on your legs. For my teammates, they're prepared for that, they have football legs and I'm still trying to get my legs back up under me."
The Jets held up well without Revis for the entire second half, holding the Patriots scoreless, and limiting them to 80 total yards, eight first downs and a time of possession of 9:58. That bodes well for the rest of the secondary if Revis can't go Sunday.
"It builds a lot of confidence because our biggest thing for us as a secondary is to go out and communicate," cornerback Antonio Cromartie said. "In the first half, we didn't communicate well and the second half we communicated a lot more. We talked on every single play, even when we didn't have to talk on our end to know where everybody was, and how everybody was going to play it.
"So that's one thing we are going to have to do during the week, is talk and go into the game and do the same thing."
