NY Jet Darrelle Revis: It’s More Personal To Me ….And Jason Taylor

On having to go through Pittsburgh to reach the Super Bowl… It means a lot to me. Jason Taylor is from there too. We talk about it all the time. We played them a couple of weeks ago. We were talking about just getting a win from where we’re from, and in front of our families and close friends. It’s the same situation. It is the AFC Championship game, but also it’s more personal to me and Jason Taylor.

On the last time he felt he was burned on a play while being completely healthy…
I’ve been healthy. I can’t remember. I’ve been healthy. Making plays, that’s part of my game.

On the last time he was burned for a big play…I don’t, what she said (get burnt) (laughing).

On how his hometown of Aliquippa shaped him…
It’s a tough town. It makes you grow up fast. There’s a lot of negativity there. The one thing I did growing up is lean (on) the people doing positive things: Ty Law (and) my uncle, Sean Gilbert. Mike Ditka’s from there. (I remember) just seeing billboards of him from our hometown and wanting to make it out of there.

On whether all the defensive backs have to have the attitude that they will shut their man down…
I think everybody needs to. I think that’s what made our secondary successful in the playoffs is everybody is stepping their level of play up. It don’t matter who we’re watching (or) who I have to watch. We played the Patriots last game and if my job was to follow Danny Woodhead everywhere, I would, but we’ve got certain jobs each week. If I’m supposed to be on Hines Ward the whole game, that’s my job. If (it is) somebody else, Cromartie is supposed to be on Wallace or Sanders, then that’s his job, as well.

On how long it took him to feel right after missing training camp…
Coming into the season, we all knew it was going to be a setback. The coaches knew, Mike Tannenbaum and those guys knew because I hadn’t been in football mode. I was trying to work out as much as I can and do what I needed to do to prepare myself, but it’s totally different when you’re not in training camp. My personal goals, they are set high. (I) didn’t reach a lot of them this year, but one of those goals is where we’re at right now, getting to this place we’re at, winning this game and going to the Super Bowl. I think that’s just a team goal as well for us, just getting here. Everybody’s mindset is just getting to the Super Bowl and winning.

On how the challenge of Ben Roethlisberger is different from the challenge of Tom Brady…
It’s very tough. We all know in here that Ben can extend plays. The plays can last for 10 to 15 seconds. He’s good with his feet. He can scramble. When we played him the first time, the coaching staff just said, “Make sure we plaster those guys. Make sure when the plays are extended, just find your guy and plaster him and get on him as tight as you can, because Ben extends plays very well.”

On the difference between the Pittsburgh and New England offenses…
The Patriots offense is totally different from (Pittsburgh’s). Like you said, it’s rhythm and timing with Tom Brady and those guys. He’s not a scrambler. He’s a pocket passer. He relies on time. He relies on time to throw the ball to Wes Welker and those guys. Ben, he can stand in the pocket if you give him time, he’ll make plays, but also, he can extend plays if the rush is getting there. He can run and scramble with his feet or he can scramble and throw the ball deep.

On what makes it difficult to play at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh…
The playing surface is very tough to play on, but it’s just the environment. It’s hallowed ground there. Three Rivers (Stadium) was built there. It’s just hallowed ground. They play great football. The fans are great. They’re football fans. It’s a blue-collar city and they love their football. Their fans are like the 12th man. They’re ready to go and they’re rowdy and that’s what makes it tough for teams to win there, because they play great football as well.

On what “plastering” is and how difficult it is to do…
Plastering is, basically, just latching on to your guy. If you’re playing against a quarterback like Ben (Roethlisberger), just latch on to (the receiver) as tight as you can when the play extends. A receiver might run a curl route or a slant, but his next read, if he sees Ben scrambling, then he’ll break it off and run vertical or maybe turn around and run to the sideline to get a catch on the sideline.

On where latching on to a receiver is difficult to do…
It’s hard for secondaries to do that. We’ve been practicing it all week and we’re going to continue to. It’s very tough. You have to make sure you have good eyes and locate your receiver when he’s going off his route.

On whether Pittsburgh receivers have set routes they run after Roethlisberger scrambles…
With an offense like that, usually they have set plays. They’re set plays and they have rules and routes. Like I said before, they might run a slant, but if Ben breaks out to the side, then they might have a rule to get to the sideline or one guy might go to the sideline, and the next guy might go deep. There are rules in their offense that they use.

On whether he can get an idea of what they like to do when the play breaks down by studying the film…
Most of it is just reacting. Usually, you just study the film and see what routes and combinations they’re trying to run. Then after that, you can I.D. Ben when he’s scrambling, then you get back on your receiver and just aqtry to cover him. It’s basically reaction.