Oct 13, 2013; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Darrelle Revis (24) against the Philadelphia Eagles during the second half at Raymond James Stadium. Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-20. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had a disastrous start to the 2013-14 regular season after a complete overhaul of their secondary, while big money acquisition Darrelle Revis has been less than stellar in his early performance.
A large part of Revis’ decline in play has been the team using him in the wrong way, so many were wondering if they would realize their error. Of course, they have Greg Schiano running the show, so we weren’t expecting much. However, Schiano has finally realized that using Revis in zone coverage doesn’t play to his strengths and they have decided it is time to start playing the former All-Pro in man-to-man coverage more often.
Wait, Schiano is making a good call?
Schiano has realized that playing people away from their strengths hurts players performances, so his plan is to use more press-man coverage on the outsides.
“We need to make sure we’re accentuating our best players, putting them in the best position to make plays better than we have,’’ Schiano said, via the Tampa Tribune. “That’s something I’ve looked at hard, and I know our coaches have looked at it as well.’’
If everyone stays healthy, Revis will be facing Mike Wallace, Roddy White, Calvin Johnson and Steve Smith in his next five outings, so they need their No. 1 corner to return to shut down form.
Revis has the talent to slow down any of those top receivers, so let’s see if the Buccaneers defense sticks to their new script.
