Darrelle Revis shattered any ideas that the Jets' locker room issues were a thing of the past.
The star cornerback made a series of promotional appearances on a variety of television and radio shows Wednesday and talked about quarterbacks Tim Tebow and Mark Sanchez. But his most revealing comments were about the dysfunctional Jets locker room.
On "SportsCenter," Revis was asked to play a game of word association. When the interviewer said, "Locker room," Revis gave a stunning reply.
"Disarray right now," he said.
The Jets had major chemistry issues last year on their way to an 8-8 season. Those issues boiled over at the end of the season. But Jets coach Rex Ryan has emphasized those problems are a thing of the past.
Now Tebow adds a whole new element to the Jets' chaotic existence.
"It was a circus, and it's going to be even more of a circus with him in the locker room," Revis said. "I'm not questioning his ability to play the game. He can flat out play the game, but it's just going to bring more to the locker room of every day: 'Does Mark need to start? Does Tim need to start?' It's going to just be an ongoing thing throughout the whole season."
Revis said he initially was stunned when he heard about the Tebow trade. He said he believes the Jets did it for football reasons and not as a publicity stunt. But the four-time Pro Bowl cornerback said he has some concerns about the way the two-quarterback system will work.
"You don't want to take a guy out for 10, 15 plays to me, personally," he said. "That can lose his momentum in the game. I look at that a little bit maybe as a concern. You're telling Mark to come in and say, 'Hey, now throw a touchdown pass.' It's like, 'I've been sitting out for so long.'"
As for comparing the two quarterbacks, Revis said Sanchez is "more of a complete quarterback" and that he is more difficult to prepare for than Tebow.
When pressed on just how bad the locker room was at the end of last season, Revis gave a glimpse of what led to the three-game losing streak to end the year.
"It was bad," he said. "Toward the end of the season, there was some arguing and things going on in the locker room. Looking back at it, I think when you're losing and you're in that slump, we're trying to find a way to get out of the slump, and guys want to just win. When you don't, guys start pointing fingers."
The situation became apparent to all in the final game at Miami, when wide receiver Santonio Holmes was benched late in the fourth quarter after reportedly arguing with teammates in the huddle.
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