Woody Johnson met with reporters about Darrelle Revis's holdout on Monday afternoon and, inadvertently, wound up making the absence of George Steinbrenner feel a little more palpable.
Steinbrenner would never have given a performance like the one Johnson gave on Monday. Johnson alternated between intimating that Revis was being greedy because he wanted more in total compensation than any other cornerback in the NFL and being defensive about his own financial ability to satisfy Revis's desire for a new contract. He then said that it was up to Mike Tannenbaum to make the deal and that Johnson would sign off on anything that the general manager brought his way.
Can you imagine Steinbrenner saying that? Didn't think so. You also can't imagine him being so careful about painting Revis as a bad guy nor would there be a moment when the Boss felt it was necessary to remind everyone that he was able to spend money however he saw fit. Most of all, though, Steinbrenner would never have even played the PR game Johnson is trying to play right now.
Revis makes for a pretty easy target. He's got two years and $20 million left on his contract after playing this season for $1 million and using the ludicrous contract Oakland gave Nnamdi Asomugha as a benchmark makes it seem like he's not even interested in a realistic solution to the impasse. Johnson, Tannenbaum and everyone else speaking for the Jets make it clear that they've offered Revis a hefty sum of money and that Revis is the one who won't accept it.
If you put aside discussions about signing bonuses, guaranteed money and other bells and whistles, it is a pretty sound approach to winning the PR game. The thing about winning the PR game, and this is something that Steinbrenner knew well, is that it doesn't mean a damn thing.
The Jets need Revis to win the games that actually count and nothing Johnson said Monday is going to help them do that.
Josh Alper is a writer living in New York City and is a contributor to FanHouse.com and ProFootballTalk.com in addition to his duties for NBCNewYork.com. You can follow him on Twitter.
