Darrelle Revis: A Buc Killer

The Bucs have landed another playmaker in the back end of
their defense, but is Darrelle Revis worth his new contract?

The Bucs may have managed to give up less than the Jets wanted to acquire Revis, but it is his new hefty contract that could cause a lot of headaches in years to come. People will say that this is a great contract for the Bucs, but I think otherwise. Paying $16 million dollars a year for a corner back is ludicrous. Even if Revis is back to 100%, this is too much money for any defensive player. The NFL is a league in which you need a quarterback to win, and since winning quarterbacks cost around $17-20 million to retain, that does not leave much money for the other 52 players on the roster.

I strongly believe that Revis is the most dominant defensive player in the league, but with the majority of teams running some form of the spread offense, shutting down one offensive player does not have the effect that it used to. Teams will still be able to throw away from Revis, like they did for years playing against a once dominant Nnamdi Asomugha in Oakland.

Technically, there is no guaranteed money in Revis’ new contract, but since the Bucs gave up two high picks for him, there is almost no situation in which he is not on the team for the next two seasons, even if he is plagued by injuries and/or inconsistency. In that case, there is almost an assumed guaranteed $32 million. After those first two years, the Bucs will then still be paying a 30 year old player $16 million a season if they want him to stay on the team. 

Is Joe Flacco Elite?

Joe Flacco got rid of his moronic mustache and
then won a Super Bowl. Coincident, I think not.

The short answer, no. Now here is the long answer.

This will be a question that rages on all offseason long. With Flacco's contract up, he will certain want to be paid like he is elite after one of the most impressive runs by a quarterback in playoff history. However, I do not think it would be wise for any team to pay him with the likes of Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, and I truly doubt the Ravens will make that mistake.

The conversation on Flacco's worth might rage on for another year or more because it is likely that the two sides do not find any common ground in their contract negotiations and Flacco gets the Franchise Tag for one more season before he is handed the elite money he desires.

Back to the question at hand. Let's start with what it means to be an elite quarterback. To be an elite quarterback, you must be the unquestioned leader of your team, you must be able to win by putting your team on your back, and you must make the players around you better. Has Flacco done all of that through the last four playoffs games? Absolutely. However, to be considered elite, you must do all of those things consistently. Four games, no matter how important those four games are, should not quiet the questions about Flacco's wild inconsistencies that he has shown throughout his career.