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So what is up with Revis and his role for Monday night? Also, what is going on with Brodney Pool and his ankle sprain? Is he going to play? The following on Mike Pettine’s answers to those questions followed by Dan’s analysis . . .
Pettine: Whoever was training him tried to simulate football as much as you can, other than the contact part of it. The series of short bursts of action followed by 30 seconds of rest, I think his trainers handled it very well.
Leberfeld: Revis did report in good shape, but he was five pounds overweight. But even though he’s in pretty good shape, the Jets need to be really, really careful with him. His body is in a different place than the people he’s competing against – they have been hitting and he has not. He’s not in football shape. That is the reason holdouts often get hurt upon their return. If you throw them in full throttle after a long holdout, you are being foolish.
From a training and medical standpoint, the Jets run a first-class, cutting-edge operation. You walk around that facility, and you feel like you have been blasted into the future. Trainer John “Unchained” Mellody and strength coach Sal Alosi are as good as it gets. There isn’t going to be any stone unturned as preparation and precaution when it comes to Revis.
What really helps the Jets and Revis in the opener is Dante Stallworth (foot) being out of the lineup. He has world class speed, and if Revis had to follow him around, with his wheels and quickness, he’s the kind of guy who really lead to a pull of some kind for a defensive back. The Ravens top three receivers in this game Anquan Boldin, Derrick Mason, and T.J Houshmanzadeh are all really good, but none of them on burners. Believe it or not, this will help Revis. I’m not saying he can go half speed, but he’s not going to have to run around like Usain Bolt out there to deal with these guys.
Expect Revis to play about 80 percent of the time on defense with Mellody and Alosi keeping close tabs on him throughout the evening.
Q)What is your plan for Brodney Pool?
Pettine: Right now, we’re still not sure on Brodney. Ankle injuries can be a little tricky, so you want to be cautious with him. I think one of our strengths last year was our depth in the secondary, as we had some injuries and lost some guys. I think that’s as deep a group as there is in the NFL. (We) have six corners and four safeties, so if we have a guy that can’t go, we have enough interchangeable parts that we can do some different things. Eric Smith is a guy that has proven starting ability in this league. The thing with Eric is we just have to be careful if he does have to go, that we keep an eye on his reps knowing how important he is to Mike Westhoff and look at the (special) teams part of it.
Leberfeld: I highly doubt that Pool is going to play. He’s got a severe high ankle sprain. This is a six week injury. He suffered the injury a couple of weeks ago against Washington. I’m not saying he’s going to be out another month. He can take painkillers and play sooner. But two weeks into the injury is definitely too soon, and the Jets are playing with fire if they put him out there this soon. He could easily exacerbate the injury. Just look at Atlanta running back Mike Turner. He was in and out of the lineup with this injury last year, and had a setback against the Jets. He accused Jim Leonhard of twisting his bad ankle.
And as I’ve pointed out before, Pool still doesn’t have the entire playbook down. He’s hesitating out there – thinking instead of reacting. So theoretically, the Jets are better off with Eric Smith starting at the spot in Week One, injury or no injury. Smith has the system 100 percent down. Also “Dig” and Dwight Lowery can pitch in at Pools spot. In summation, I don’t think Pool is going to play.
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