Rex Ryan isn't buying any talk about the decline of Darrelle Revis.
Ryan is obviously familiar with Revis, who used to be the crown jewel of the secondary of Ryan's defenses in New York. Revis established Revis Island under Ryan. And even after Revis was torched by A.J. Green to the tune of 10 catches for 180 yards and a touchdown, Ryan isn't letting the doubters affect his opinion.
"Everybody's -- they're going to be down on Revis because he had a poor game or whatever," Ryan told reporters Tuesday. "I mean, the receiver there in Cincinnati (A.J. Green) is pretty darn good and if you're locked up (in) man coverage with anybody, then it's a tough situation.
"The thing about Revis is if he's slipped at all as a player, he's coming down from the very tip of Everest. That's where he'd be coming down from. So how far down? I'm not sure but I know one thing; I know the kind of player he is."
Revis has had a remarkable run as one of the league's best cornerbacks, if not the best. At age 31, it would be understandable if he started to lose a step. After just one week, it's far too early to make that declaration. A defensive mastermind, Ryan won't take him lightly, no matter what Green did against Revis in the Bengals' victory.
A healthy portion of Thursday night's primetime affair between the division rivals centers on the matchup between Revis and Bills receiver Sammy Watkins, who is again spending the week discussing his health. We've largely been robbed of seeing what Watkins can do as the Bills' best pass-catcher due to injuries, and as speculation swirls around Watkins' status for Thursday, we can only hope he'll be ready to go against Revis, who can be expected to be looking for redemption.
"I can take a punch," Revis said of his Week 1 performance, per ESPN. "They're gonna catch balls. It's not like I never got a ball caught on me. In that instance, it's just small technique things. There's no game you come out of playing a perfect game. As easy as some people make it look it seem, it is what it is. You bounce back."