Brady Takes High Road When Asked About Rift With Revis
By Abraham Gutierrez
The feud between the (9-5) New York Jets and the (12-2) New England Patriots is one of the most heated in the National Football League. With the season nearing its conclusion and both clubs gearing up for the playoffs, Sunday's game between these bitter rivals promises to be a doozy, particularly because of the matchup between Tom Brady and Darrelle Revis.
It's no secret that the relationship between the ex-teammates has been a hot topic of conversation, especially after Revis' remarks over the summer about the Pats signal-caller, DeflateGate, the Pats quarterback and his former employer:
"Everybody's blowing it up because it is Tom Brady," said the Jets cornerback. "I understand that. But if (the NFL) feels he did the crime or he did something and they want to penalize them, then that's that. (The Patriots) have a history of doing stuff. You can't hide that... Tom was there when they did that stuff in the past.
"New England's been doing stuff in the past and getting in trouble. When stuff repeatedly happens, then that's it. I don't know what else to tell you. Stuff repeatedly happened through the years. You got Spy Gate, you got this and that and everything else. Obviously in those situations in the past, they had the evidence. So they did what they needed to do."
On Thursday, Brady met with media members to talk about this week's game against Gang Green, and of course, everyone wanted to talk about the "rift" between he and Revis. However, instead of capitalizing on the opportunity to stir things up, the Pats quarterback decided to take the high road.
"It was great having him as a teammate, so he brings a lot to the defense he plays on," Brady said. "Played him a bunch of times when he played for the Jets, then Tampa, we played him here, and then back to the Jets. Basically, [we] have played against him every year in some form or fashion, and he's just a great player. I think he does a lot of things really well. It's fun to watch him play. He has a very unique style, but he certainly locks his guy down.
"That's pretty impressive to do it for as many years as he has; it's not a simple scheme for a guy like that because it puts a lot of pressure on those corners. It's like having two offensive tackles that you don't ever give any help to and whoever they go up against. It's pretty impressive to see what he's accomplished this year and what he's accomplished every year."
The last time these teams met dates back to Week 7, when New England prevailed by a final score of 30-23 over New York in Foxborough. On that eventful day, Brady connected on 34-of-54 pass attempts for 355 yards, 2 touchdowns and no interceptions for a quarterback rating of 94.3, while Revis finished with 4 tackles on the afternoon.
On Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium, the Jets will have a golden opportunity to not only even the season series at one win apiece, but also deal the Patriots a devastating blow in their hopes of clinching the top seed in the AFC.
With two games to play, New England sits atop the American Football Conference standings. Nevertheless, the (11-3) Cincinnati Bengals are on their heels, trailing by a game, and the Denver Broncos are still in it with a record of 10-4 on the year.
Opening kickoff is scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. ET from East Rutherford, New Jersey. Despite being on the road, Brady and the Pats are expected to prevail over the Jets by just under two safeties, and these teams are projected to combine and score somewhere around 46 points.
Abe Gutierrez's (Twitter: @GutierrezAbe) passion led him to ditch law school journey in order to launch his own publishing company. His expertise make him a valued addition to Examiner.com, AXS.com and the CBS-Sports family. Some of his work can be found on CBS-Miami (Dolphins), CBS-LosAngeles (Chargers), CBS-BayArea (Raiders), CBS-NewYork (NY Jets), CBS-TampaBay (Buccaneers), AXS.com, Examiner.com and other online publications.
