The play of Darrelle Revis is far from the top of the list when breaking down the factors behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 0-5 start.
Still, there has been some hand-wringing about how the star cornerback has been deployed -- a mix of man and zone coverage previously not seen on Revis Island.
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According to one longtime former star of the Bucs' secondary, Revis -- now one year removed from reconstructive knee surgery -- isn't fully healthy.
"I don't think that knee is back to where it was yet, but he still has been playing well," Ronde Barber told The Tampa Tribune, via text message. "Probably not where he wants, but it's not like he's a liability."
"He's not being asked to play on the line of scrimmage like they were last year," added Barber, who retired this spring after 16 seasons in Tampa. "I think a lot of people expect him to be shutting receivers out playing man, but that's not what they are asking him to do. He does on certain third downs and situations where it calls for it, but not every snap like he was in New York. He still has awesome movement and wins at the line when he's up there."
There was a report early in the season that Revis was unhappy with how he was being used in coach Greg Schiano's defense. If true, that tells us the corner believes he can be playing the aggressive man style that became his trademark with the New York Jets. We'll see if that happens this season.
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