Sanjay Lal working with Johnnie Lee Higgins during camp in 2010.

The New York Jets continued to revamp their coaching staff by hiring Sanjay Lal to lead their wide receiving unit.

Lal spent the last three years with the Oakland Raiders. On Thursday, he impressed New York’s front office enough to land him the job today. He now joins Tony Sparano, who replaced Brian Schottenheimer at offensive coordinator, while former Chiefs head coach Todd Haley could be in the mix as New York’s passing-game coordinator.

With the Raiders, Lal helped develop their raw receiving corps, ultimately helping Darrius Heyward-Bey to career highs in receptions (64), yards (975) and touchdowns (4) in his third year, after posting a combined 35 catches for 490-yards and two scores in his first two seasons.

Jacoby Ford had a productive rookie year under Lal’s tutelage. The speedy target stated on his twitter account, ““Man ima miss Sanjay Lal. Great coach. Good luck on the east coast coach!!”

DHB and Louis Murphy started under Lal’s watch, the first time that a NFL team had a starting tandem at receiver with rookies since 2000.

Lal had a difficult job aiding the development of Oakland’s inexperienced unit – especially DHB, a highly scrutinized first-round selection. He also had often-injured Chaz Schilens and inconsistent draft selections such as Johnnie Lee Higgins.

Now he heads to New York to work with the enigmatic Santonio Holmes, who was problematic for the Jets at season’s end after being named a captain at the onset of the campaign and Plaxico Burress, who finished his first year with Gang Green after being incarcerated.

ANALYSIS:

Lal came in with Lane Kiffin’s staff as a quality control coach and departed after leaving his mark on the wide receiving unit. It wasn’t an easy task for Lal, who worked every day with DHB, one of the more scrutinized selections in recent memory. DHB evolved into a very productive target, and some of that credit has to be given to Lal. He always had a revolving door of young targets to work with, from Ford to Denarius Moore. He also had a few receivers that just never left their mark in the league and still haven’t; Nick Miller and Todd Watkins, to name a few. He’s earned his way to a very good job, as it appears that Rex Ryan is trying to build a super-staff together after failing to reach a Super Bowl once again.

Oakland’s new coach will bring in his own personnel men, and with Reggie McKenzie ready to empower whoever he hires, don’t expect too many holdovers if any on the Raider sideline.

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LOCKED-IN

New England Patriots (9-3)

Only injuries could derail their run for a first-round bye. But, as I stated a few weeks ago, Bill Belichick’s defense may be too leaky to move on during the post-season.

Pittsburgh Steelers (10-3)

In late November, I stated that this could be the most dangerous team in the AFC, regardless of venue and opponent they face. Mike Tomlin, Ben Roethlisberger and a gritty defense could beat anyone, anywhere.

Baltimore Ravens (9-3)

Their schedule is weak enough to help them end the season strong. If Pittsburgh slips a tad, John Harbaugh’s crew could take the division.

ON THE RISE

Denver Broncos (7-5)

Tim Tebow is the talk of the NFL. The Broncos lead the league in rushing, have taken the top spot in the AFC West and are in the midst of a five-game winning streak since the polarizing passer got under center.

QUIET THREAT

New York Jets (7-5)

They’ve won two in a row; have a home matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs this week, and appear to strike again late in the season. Rex Ryan’s team has a knack of making late season runs to sneak into the playoffs. Will it happen again?

OVERRATED

Houston Texans (9-3)

In my first installment of this playoff outlook, I believed the Texans were overrated. Andre Johnson still isn’t 100% and their quarterback situation did not get any better since. Gary Kubiak has done a nice job keeping this team together and should be considered for coach of the year, but I have little faith this team can make noise in January.

FLOUNDERING

Oakland Raiders (7-5)

Face Green Bay tomorrow, then the Detroit Lions in Ndamukong Suh’s return, before facing two rivals as the season winds down. If they win the West and make the playoffs, it would be hard earned. They need Darren McFadden and their receivers to get healthy as soon as possible.

Tennessee Titans (7-5)

Chris Johnson is starting to heat up, but it’s too little too late for a team that has been surprisingly competitive all campaign.

Cincinnati Bengals (7-5)

A victim of being in a tough AFC North, the Bengals have set themselves up for the future nicely. Seven wins was unexpected with a rookie passer – a playoff spot is just the cherry on top of the sundae.

Seedings if the playoffs were to begin today:

1. Pats; 2. Steelers; 3. Texans; 4. Broncos; 5. Ravens; 6. Bengals.

Here was my playoff outlook prior to week-12:

AFC Playoff picture heading into Week-12

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Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is pointing towards an AFC East title.

This weekend’s match-ups in the NFL will be the last for the month of November, as the league heads for its stretch run towards the playoffs. SBReport.net will take a weekly look at the playoff contenders and pretenders in the AFC until we hit the post-season.

LOCKED IN

New England Patriots (7-3)

They have an easy schedule, with games lined up against the Colts (0-10), at Washington (3-7), and at Denver (5-5), before closing at home versus the Dolphins (3-8) and Bills (5-5). They are destined for an opening week bye in the playoffs, but nothing is guaranteed after that with a shaky defense.

Baltimore Ravens (8-3)

They are unbeaten at home, so expect the Ravens to go hard to ensure a bye and home field advantage. Baltimore is a contender to come out of the AFC, but Joe Flacco has to step his game up a few notches.

ON THE RISE

Pittsburgh Steelers (7-3)

Mike Tomlin’s bunch is playoff tested and if they get in, regardless of venue, they’ll draw from that past success and Ben Roethlisberger’s clutch play to carry them through. With two games remaining against the Browns and a match-up against the Rams, it’s foreseeable they’ll be on the road on Wild-Card weekend with double digit wins.

QUIET THREAT

Oakland Raiders (6-4)

Carson Palmer is hitting his stride – and he hasn’t had Darren McFadden in the line-up since he took over as starter. Things broke right for the Silver & Black this week: facing a Jay Cutler-less Bears squad. The rest of the division is floundering and as long as Oakland takes care of business the final two weeks of the campaign, they’ll have a home playoff game for the first time since 2002.

OVERRATED

Houston Texans (7-3)

They lost Matt Schaub, so they’ll lean heavily on Arian Foster (740-rushing yards) and Ben Tate (686). Andre Johnson should be back soon, but will their defense show up in big spots? Will their rankings on defense  translate to playoff football?

FLOUNDERING

Cincinnati Bengals (6-4)

They could end up with a better record than the West winner and not make the playoffs. Still, this team is too young and not ready for primetime action – and it will show.

New York Jets (5-5)

They don’t ground and pound anymore, and regardless of what Rex Ryan and the staff says, questions are surrounding Mark Sanchez’s development and ability to carry a club. The defense has been broken in key spots, as this could be the weakest of Ryan’s units since he landed in New York.

Buffalo Bills (5-5)

Not the same team that was on a roll at the start of the season. Goes to show you in the NFL, is not whom you play, but when you play them.

Denver Broncos (5-5)

Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow didn't stop winning after he left Oakland.

Yes, floundering, but on the prey with Tim Tebow. If Denver can covert a few more 3^rd downs and get more dynamic on offense the next few weeks, they have a solid enough defense to scare the Raiders atop the division. Heck, who am I to question Tebow? I don’t want to get struck by lightning.

Tennessee Titans (5-5)

Unless there is a collapse in Houston, the Titans will be on outside looking in. The Texans have taken advantage of a weak division and a soft schedule, winners of four in a row, to put distance between themselves and the Titans.

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Not only did they outmuscle Rex Ryan’s defense with a powerful ground game, but they also rallied after allowing 17-unanswered points by reeling off 24 of their own. “Last week, we didn’t dig when we were in Buffalo and we dug today,” Hue Jackson said. “Talk about priming a pump. We were going to pump this thing out.”

Early in the contest, veteran starters in the secondary got nicked up and Oakland’s youth played admirably against a New York team that aired it out all afternoon. “Next man up,” Jackson commented. “They competed. That’s what we talk about. The next group of guys went in there and kept fighting.”

And even though the defense helped keep Jet drives alive with some unfortunate infractions, the Raiders have improved on that front, only getting flagged seven times for 55-yards.

It wasn’t a completely clean game for the Silver & Black. They failed to convert any 3^rd downs (0-8) and got beat in the time of possession. But the constant pressure in the 2^nd half and Darren McFadden’s presence was enough to tilt the game in their favor.

“First off, you’ve got to give the Raiders a ton of credit. They played a great game today, both sides of the ball. I thought they played really well. Obviously (Darren) McFadden had a huge game. They made plays, we didn’t,” stated the Jets head coach after the game.

THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT…

Rex Ryan: “This thing stings, there’s no question. You have 439 yards on offense and you lose the game. It’s unbelievable.”

Without Nick Mangold, the Jets did a commendable job against the Raiders interior. In spurts, New York’s ground game went back to ‘ground & pound,’ even though they only ended with 100-yards rushing on 25-carries.

LaDanian Tomlinson continued haunting the Silver & Black with 154-total yards and a score. Some poor tackling was on display at times, but since the Jets were content in their aerial attack, Oakland was able to let loose the pass rush and eventually capitalize on Antonio Cromartie’s mistakes.

Oakland allowed a lot of yardage on Sunday, which will be a major concern moving forward.

DECLEATING…

Samson Satele had a crushing block on Jim Leonhard on Denarius Moore’s score. The offensive line’s play was a key point during Jason Campbell’s chat with the media. “You see the block that Sammy (Satele, center) made on the reverse that sprung Denarius to score? The guys are taking that approach and having the right attitude of being a physical bunch. They take pride in working together and protecting the quarterback and protecting the run game, and it’s going to pay off for us.”

GAME NOTES

• Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson was in attendance, sporting Silver & Black gear.
• The previous high for rushing yards in a game against a Ryan Jets defense was 153 by the New Orleans Saints, in 2009.
• McFadden’s 70-yard run was the longest versus the Jets since Charlie Garner’s 80-yard score in the 2001 playoffs in front of the Black Hole.
• “This ain’t the same old Raiders of the last five or six years. We made big stops when we needed to.” – Tommy Kelly

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Darren McFadden celebrates with the fans vs. the Jets

Rex Ryan loves to talk about his defense. The New York Jets head coach doesn’t believe any other unit in this league is better than his.

But for one weekend, he’ll have to silence any bravado regarding his defense, after the Oakland Raiders piled up 383-yards of total offense and 34-points on Sunday afternoon.

It started in the opening drive, when the Silver & Black efficiently drove 76-yards on five-plays, in just over two-minutes, to take a 7-0 lead.

Eventually Ryan’s crew settled down and allowed their offense to reel off 17-unanswered points.

But Oakland’s attack, led by Darren McFadden’s 171-yards rushing, tallied 24-points in a row, to take a 31-17 lead early in the fourth quarter. “Coach Hue [Jackson] always tells us we’re building a bully,” McFadden said. “It doesn’t matter who we’re playing against. That’s what we’re trying to do, to bully them. That’s what we did today.”

No other running back in the league has had as much success against the Jets for one day like McFadden had.

And that was humbling for the Jets.

“It was humiliating for us to have something like that happen to us,” New York defensive lineman Sione Pouha said. “All we can do is make the corrections that we need to do and bounce back.”

Ryan will now go back to work and dissect the film, but he’ll probably not worry much because few teams have a weapon like McFadden. “You’ve got to set edges on this guy,” Ryan said. “We never did that. We know [McFadden’s] got great speed. That’s why the ball has to be turned inside. It wasn’t turned inside and he made the 70-yard run.”

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Jarvis Moss (#94) had his best game as a Raider.

The Oakland Raiders (2-1) took it to the New York Jets (2-1) in their home opener, rumbling for 234-rushing yards, in their 34-24 victory. Here’s who was deserving of game-balls after the contest:

Darren McFadden

Ran the ball 19-times for 171-yards and two scores. He’s just the fourth player to run for over 100-yards against the Jets defense since Rex Ryan took over. His 70-yard run for a score was the longest of his career, and the turning point of the contest, especially since New York had reeled off 17-unanswered points.

Denarius Moore

The rookie was not the explosive pass catcher this week, tallying only 34-yards on four grabs, but he gave Oakland the lead for good in the 3^rd quarter on a 23-yard run that ended with him sprawling into the end-zone. Just like Jacoby Ford last season, Moore is becoming a vital playmaker for the Raiders in 2011.

Jason Campbell

Yet another steady performance for the quarterback, with 18-completions for 156-yards, but more importantly, no interceptions. Campbell used his legs to get out of trouble and extend plays. His 10-yard carry to open a drive late in the 4^th quarter set the tone for Oakland’s last score. He later hit Michael Bush, after scrambling, for 28-yards to the Jets 32-yard line, to set up Sebastian Janikowski’s 49-yard field goal.

Jarvis Moss

Credited for two-sacks, Moss played his best game as a Raider, while being a disruptive force in the second half.

Chimdi Chekwa

The rookie cornerback was catapulted into long-relief after Chris Johnson was injured early in the contest. He held his own versus Plaxico Burress and Santonio Holmes, made stellar tackles and played well enough to give the Raiders confidence going forward in his abilities.

Tyvon Branch

Solid in run support all afternoon. His interception early in the game was crucial, as the Jets were driving in Raider territory.

Sebastian Janikowski

The powerful kicker nailed two long field goals and had the distance on a 56-yarder that sailed wide right.

Jerome Boyd

Had a pass defended near the goal line versus Dustin Keller. Another Raider back up that stepped up after the secondary was hit with injuries.

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Kevin Boss is ready to line-up on Sunday

How do you purge any residual thoughts of a 2^nd half collapse? For the Oakland Raiders (1-1), a victory in their home opener in front of a sell-out crowd against one of the conference best team’s would be ideal.

The New York Jets (2-0) head to the Black Hole on Sunday and Rex Ryan’s road happy bunch is looking forward to an early season test. “We’re not intimidated by any surroundings that we go into,” the boisterous head coach said.

“Any time you lose, especially in that fashion, it’s very disappointing,” defensive tackle Richard Seymour commented, on last week’s heart-breaking loss to the Buffalo Bills. “But one game doesn’t make the season. You move forward. I’ve been in many games in my career, and that’s one of the most heartbreaking ones I’ve had. You move forward, and you’ve got to get better as a team.”

OAKLAND RAIDERS

On Offense:

Oakland has to ‘ground and pound,’ a philosophy of the Jets on offense, which will keep Ryan’s blitz happy schemes at bay.

Darren McFadden is the league’s second-leading rusher (222-yards) and the single most vital component of the Silver & Black’s offense. A hefty dose of McFadden could yield Oakland some good results.

The Jets rush defense has not been tested and if Oakland consistently falls into 3^rd and long traps, that’s when Ryan dials up his attack. With Darrelle Revis roaming in their secondary, you can’t expect Jason Campbell to copy his 323-yard effort last weekend.

Denarius Moore had his coming out party against Buffalo, but can the rookie continue to his stellar play against one of the better cornerback tandems in the league?

Kevin Boss’ return will help the aerial attack, but if the Raiders want to win this game, McFadden and back-up Michael Bush will have to lead the way.

If Campbell drops back to pass 30 or more times, I can’t see the Raiders pulling off the upset win. If he is passing at that frequency, chances are, their playing from behind.

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; Darren McFadden is one of the most exciting players in this league, bar none,” Hue Jackson said. “There’s greatness in Darren, and I expect him to play that way as the season goes.”

On Defense:

After a stellar week-one, Richard Seymour and Tommy Kelly were non-existent versus the Bills. Without Pro-Bowl center Nick Mangold in the trenches for the Jets, Oakland’s tackle tandem has to control the line of scrimmage, keep New York rush game grounded and disrupt Mark Sanchez any time he drops back to pass.

Chuck Bresnahan, who took a lot of heat for the Raiders defensive struggles last weekend, should take advantage of any pass protecting issues the Jets will encounter with a new center, by designing and calling a few blitzes in the middle of New York’s formations.

NEW YORK JETS

New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan in 2009

On Offense:

Coming into the season, many questions surrounded the Jets ground attack. Will LaDanian Tomlinson slow down significantly? Could Shonn Greene stay healthy and take it to the next level?

The Jets are ranked 28^th in the NFL running the football. They face a Raider team that is coming off a torching at the hands of the Bills, allowing 223-rushing yards, but that will have the advantage along the trenches due to Mangold’s absence.

The NFL is a copycat league, and one aspect of last week’s collapse on defense that the Jets could take advantage of, is negating any Raider rush and going to a quick passing attack, ala Ryan Fitzpatrick.

The next step for the Jets offense may come with Sanchez’s arrival as a consistent threat with his arm. They’ll try to start that this week in hopes of getting the young passer in sync with his new receivers; Plaxico Burress and Derrick Mason.

On Defense:

Prime objective number-one for the Jets: Stop McFadden.

The Jets thrive on putting teams in long down and distances and keeping the opposing passer guessing when they are in the pocket.

With Revis, Antonio Cromartie and second-year pro Kyle Wilson, the Jets feel that they could overwhelm the Raiders wide receivers without having to sacrifice anything up front to stop Oakland’s desire to pound the football.

GAME NOTES

• “They’re defensive tackles. They’re some big dudes in there, and one of them is Richard Seymour, so that’s going to be a challenge for anybody,” Ryan said when discussing Oakland’s defensive line and the job ahead of center Colin Baxter.
• “That’s our stadium, our fans, this is our city, and we need to protect it,” Raiders coach Hue Jackson stated this week. “It’s time for the Raiders to rise up and play. The time is now.”
• “We’ve got to stay on schedule,” Raiders Campbell said. “We’ve got to stay out of long down-and-distance plays. We’ve got to control the penalties. I think guys understand it’s the Jets coming in here, we’re coming off a loss and we want to get that sour taste out of our mouth.”

KEY MATCH-UPS

Baxter vs. Raiders interior linemen

If Baxter can hold his own in pass protection and the Jets can revitalize a dormant ground game, the Jets will come away with a victory. Oakland has to be disruptive and force the game into Sanchez’s hands.

Hue Jackson vs. Rex Ryan

A head coach who is trying to make his mark on offense with the Raiders, against one of the better tacticians on defense in the league. Can it get any better?

PREDICTION

Raiders 20 – Jets 17

The Raider defense will have a shot to close a game this weekend. They either sack Sanchez late or pick him off, due to the pressure applied, and notch a victory in front of a packed stadium.

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His record after Raider victories: 1-9. Opponents have outscored the Silver & Black 215-78 in those contests.

Here’s a breakdown of Oakland’s struggles under Cable after victories:

2008

Oakland coming off a 16-13 home victory versus the New York Jets, laid an egg on the road at Baltimore.

Final Score: Ravens 29 – Raiders 10

In this game, Oakland allowed 192-yards rushing. The Ravens recorded a safety, sacked JaMarcus Russell four times and the Silver & Black only managed 47-rushing yards while going 2-13 on third downs. “The first half, we just got our tails whipped at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball,” Cable said. “There’s really no other way to put it.”

“It’s just challenging them,” Cable said. “I’m going to say this again: We have a good football team that’s got to believe … in itself. That’s where it starts, and it starts with me.”

After the game, I spoke to Thomas Howard and mentioned the 242 yards allowed versus the Jets the prior week and the 192 on the ground that afternoon and he said, “I don’t think the Jets ran for that many yards against us last week. I mean they only scored, what, 10-points against us last week. If that. I don’t know how many they had tonight….”

After a 31-10 road victory in Denver, the Raiders came home and lost 20-13 to the Kansas City Chiefs

At that point the Chiefs had a worst record than the Raiders, notching their second victory of the campaign (2-10). Kansas City ran for 145-yards, snapped a seven-game losing streak, but left Oakland with their six straight win in front of the ‘Black Hole.’

Cable’s team botched a field goal that was returned 67-yards for a score and when they lined up for a 43-yard field on a 4^th and 10, they attempted to fake it by flipping the ball to Sebastian Janikowski and expecting him to scamper for a first down. “We haven’t had a problem handling it for almost two years now,” Cable said. “It’s been something we’ve worked for really two years. We’ve handled it well. It’s something we’ve come up with. We just didn’t execute it.”

The Chiefs had allowed a franchise worst 54-points the prior week versus Buffalo. Yet Oakland had their eyes set on a bigger, unrealistic prize at that point.

“It hurts just a little bit because we were thinking about the playoffs,” stated Nnamdi Asomugha. “Even though we were 3-8, we were still thinking that there was a chance that we could get to the playoffs. It hurts us because now it’s pretty much out of the way. So, we just got to keep playing and, hopefully, get some more wins before the season’s over.”

2009

The Raiders went on the road and beat the Chiefs 13-10 in week-two. The following weekend, Denver blasted them 23-3 in Oakland.

Oakland only managed 137-total yards with Russell under center and fans began to boo the former first overall pick consistently. “I know that the guys in my locker room are behind me,” Russell said. “When the fans get to that, it’s kind of where they seem like they’re fed up. But again, until you come out and play like I know we should and get back on track it will be a different story.”

Oakland shocked the Philadelphia Eagles 13-9 in week-six, but again failed to get a back-to-back win due to a dismantling at the hands of the Jets, 38-0.

Mark Sanchez came into the contest struggling, New York had lost three in a row, Kris Jenkins was lost for the season a week prior, the defense was ranked last in sacks and torched the last four weeks during Rex Ryan’s most tumultuous stint of the season.

The Jets ran for 316-yards and forced four turnovers. “I don’t think we could have beaten an Oakland high school team today,” Richard Seymour said.

Oakland takes it to the Bengals 20-17 in week-11, but gets embarrassed the following game on national television.

Final Score: Cowboys 24 – Raiders 7

The Raiders went into the contest excited after a huge home win. But Dallas torched them for nearly 500-yards of total offense on Thanksgiving Day. Oh, the starter that day – Bruce Gradkowski.

Oakland stuns the Steelers 27-24, but follow it up with a stinker against the Redskins.

Washington was coming off a tough home defeat, but Jason Campbell led a 17-point 4^th quarter, helping his team tally only their fourth win of the campaign.

“I feel for the guys here, because we don’t come into the week saying, ‘Well, we got our one, so who cares about this next one,” stated Asomugha. “Guys are really actually going out there saying, ‘Let’s get two. Let’s get three.’ And then for some reason it has always happened this way. You can’t put your finger on it. But this is one we thought we gonna be able to get. Guys came in confident. That second-in-a-row thing got us again.”

Denver falls to Silver & Black 20-19 at home. Oakland then goes back to the ‘Black Hole’ and gets manhandled by the Cleveland Browns.

Final Score: Browns 23 – Raiders 9

Charlie Frye amasses 333-passing yards for Oakland, but the 5-win Raiders fall to a 3-win team. Cleveland ran for 164-yards and Cable’s bunch tallied 13-penalties and had two players ejected.

2010

After getting by the Rams 16-14 at home, Oakland falls to the Cardinals on the road in week-three.

Final Score: Cardinals 24 – Raiders 23

“We had a lot of opportunities, but that one goal-line stand is right now killing me,” Gradkowski said.

Janikowski had a shot at the end of the contest to get the Raiders a victory, but failed with a missed 32-yarder as time expired.

Which one of these two coaches will be under fire after Sunday's game?

NOW THIS WEEKEND: Oakland faces the winless San Francisco 49ers (0-5). Mike Singletary’s club is coming off heartbreaking contested defeats. Their owner Jed York proclaimed, “We’re going to win the division,” in a text message to ESPN.  Alex Smith is under the gun, with the home crowd chanting for back-up David Carr. Oakland snapped a long losing streak against the Chargers. They pulled off stunning victory on Sunday and don’t even have to travel far for this road game. They’ll be a large contingent of Raider fans in San Francisco. If Oakland wants to get to .500, make some noise in a weak AFC West, validate Cable’s proclamation that this is a good team and turn the corner on what has been a historic double digit losing record year-after-year, they have to win against a club with far more and bigger issues.

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Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist

Darrelle Revis and his New York Jets captured headlines all off-season and during the pre-season. Their vocal coach proclaimed Revis not just the best defensive back in the league, but the best defensive player around.

A television show and divisive hold out later, Revis supporters would have thought that their guy would have been head and shoulders above the rest.

This is the same Revis that was heralded after match-ups against Randy Moss, Terrell Owens, Andre Johnson, Steve Smith, Marques Colston and Chad Ochocinco. This after a fabulous performance in 2009 that catapulted him to notoriety, and was capped by a playoff run where he shined and his club was one win from the Super Bowl.

But that was one season.

Revis wanted ‘Asomugha type’ money for 2010. He missed four pre-season games and caused an uproar all summer before landing a deal reportedly worth $46 million, including $32 million guaranteed.

He got his money, but he also got smoked by the receiver he called a ‘slouch.’ Former Raiders and now New England Patriot Randy Moss hauled in a 34-yard touchdown grab against Revis this season. And after the play, the cornerback who was touted as the best and was spirited about getting top billing at his position was grabbing his hamstring in pain.

As he sits now and watches from the sideline, maybe he can get a better perspective at the cornerback in Oakland that has a résumé dating back to 2006.

Asomugha tallied eight interceptions that year during a break out campaign. From 2007 through 2009, he has been a Pro Bowl selection. But more importantly, at the start of the 2010 season, he has proven again to be the ultimate defender at corner in the NFL.

Last weekend, against arguably the biggest threat the league has at wide receiver – Larry Fitzgerald – Asomugha allowed one reception. The other lone catch Fitzgerald had during that contest wasn’t even against Asomugha.

“To me, it wasn’t good enough because he did get the catch,” Asomugha said. “That’s what upset me. (But) then against a guy like Larry, that can happen. A guy like that comes around once a decade.”

New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan

Oakland coaches won’t get in front of a microphone and spout of bravado regarding their defender. Nor will you see a player in Oakland get as much coverage as a hold out in New York City.

But at this point, it is clear who the top cornerback in the league is. And there was a reason why Revis wanted ‘Asomugha type’ money…

He wants what Asomugha has – and everything that comes with it.

Being recognized the best overall cornerback in the league.

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Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist