New England Patriots fans are no stranger to the social media rants of former cornerback Asante Samuel.
From weighing in on the rumors linking Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson to the Patriots earlier this offseason — in which Samuel wrote to the MVP, "Lamar Jackson, my brother trust me you don’t want to play for [Patriots coach Bill]Belichick.'' — to his opinion on Belichick’s role in quarterback Mac Jones’ second-year regression, the former first-team All Pro clearly has an ax to grind with the franchise for which he played from 2003-07 … particularly, his former coach.
However, Samuel took his post playing-career angst to another level on Tuesday night by engaging in a Twitter argument with Pro Football Hall of Famer, and fellow ex Patriot, Darrelle Revis — with the latter derisively dubbing the former as the “Double Move King.”
The catalyst for the evening’s ‘bird-app barbs’ appeared. To be ESPN’s recent rankings of the top cornerbacks in the NFL. While Samuel seemingly too no issue with the selection of Denver Broncos’ cornerback Pat Surtain II in the top spot, he was less than impressed by New York Jets corner Sauce Gardner being ranked second.
“The New York media will take your career to another level,” Samuel tweeted in response to the ESPN poll. “For the record (Seattle Seahawks cornerback) Tariq (Woolen) had a better rookie season. They both played outstanding, but what in the hell do ya’ll be watching? Ya’ll are highly influenced by the media, not facts.”
Having played with the Jets for eight seasons, Revis took exception to Samuel’s criticism of Gardner — from one Jet to another.
“Quit being a hater when it comes to rising stars at the cornerback position,” Revis responded. “Be mad at the voters who never considered you ‘shutdown.’
Following a sarcastic reply from Samuel, Revis continued by posting his own, rather unflattering recollections of the former New England defensive back just moments later.
“ … So in practice our receivers referred to him as the “DOUBLE MOVE KING”. I never viewed him more than what was said about him in the scouting report. True Story.” Revis continued posted.
As expected, neither Samuel nor Revis were without their retorts:
Still, the haymaker of the evening belonged to Revis, who satisfyingly jabbed Samuel’s most indelible career misfire in Super Bowl XLII.
“A high school cornerback could have picked this pass off,” Revis told Samuel, sharing a video of his dropped interception in a since deleted tweet. “This goes to show you ain’t elite. Could have been a hero but you choked and cost your team and Tom Brady another Super Bowl.”
While the memory of losing a perfect season still stirs heartache within Patriots Nation, Revis’ comments could not help but elicit a smile from those continuing to grow tired of Samuel’s shots at the organization with which he won two Super Bowl championships.
More Patriots coverage from Sports Illustrated here.
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