Darrelle Revis Speaks: A Conversation with the Jets' Shutdown Cornerback

(Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)

The New York Jets (3-3) ascended quickly during the first three weeks of the 2009 season, only to course directly into the most turbulent of skies.

With three disappointing losses to contrast against three impressive wins, Gang Green is searching for a break of light in the Bay Area's treacherous black hole when they face the Oakland Raiders (2-4).

Yet, through the Jets' darkest moments remains one illuminated constant. Darrelle Revis, a third-year cornerback out of Pittsburgh, has started every game since being drafted 14th overall in 2007. The flashes of greatness were on display from the onset.

Revis arrived late to training camp after lengthy contract negotiations and stepped in as the team's No. 1 cornerback. It was a role he would never relinquish—and a decision no one would ever second-guess, either.

He followed a three-interception rookie campaign with a five-interception, one-sack season for Pro Bowl honors in 2008. And he's continuing his gradual climb, vying for consideration as the league's best cornerback on a weekly basis.

Revis has kept every team's primary receiver in his sights, refusing to let some of the NFL's most dominant—the Texans' Andre Johnson, Patriots' Randy Moss, and Saints' Marques Colston—take over games as they normally do.

And so, on an oddly warm October night, Revis sat backstage at Comix in New York's Meatpacking District, prepared for a night of sports-themed satire to benefit the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation. The 24-year-old cornerback looked as comfortable as can be after a rushed rehearsal, an hour away from making his stage-acting debut with the 12 Angry Mascots.

Revis took a moment to discuss his methods on the field, two-year-old grudges against receivers who scored on him, and life for the Jets' defense after Kris Jenkins' season-ending knee injury.

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