#25 Kerry Rhodes... don't believe the hype

This former up and coming, budding young star has turned into a monster. Not on the field like we had hoped, but off of it.

He jumps at any opportunity ... not to make a play, but to deliver a sound byte. He is a relentless force ... not in the weight room, but on his twitter page. I was a fan of #25 when he was a quite young 4th round pick who was making a name for himself as a playmaker. I remember his rookie season when he battled Oliver Celestin for the starting safety spot. He emerged in camp as a smart, hard hitting, tall, and athletic DB.

Good teams have to be able to find talent through out the draft, and for a while the Jets were on quite a streak. We have three stand out 4th rounders including Rhodes, Cotchery and Washington. However, after 3 years of hard nosed playing the Jets rewarded Rhodes with a big contract making him one the highest paid safety's in football. Since that extension he has run his mouth with much more ferocity than how he runs on the field.

He had a grand total of 2 picks last year and was averaging about 3.5 unassisted tackles a game. So far this year, no picks (not even anything close to a pick), and 10 unassisted tackles... which is about 3.5 per game. In last weeks game Chris Johnson had a big run to the strong side and got past the second level (the LB's) which he does quite often. He was streaking down field and Rhodes had him dead to rights. At this point we have a 7 point lead. Rhodes try's to arm tackle Johnson, who is much smaller, and simply slides off of him. Luckily Vernon Gholston, who has amazing speed, didn't give up on the play and was able to chase Johnson down and save the game tying TD.

I have been ultra critical of Kerry and to back it up I always keep an eye on him and often replay defensive snaps to see what he is up to. He has become a player who is content to stay out of the way and has no desire to deliver a big hit or make the big play. With his size he should be punishing receivers.

I hope our defensive strategy this week involves David Harris covering Jeremy Schockey. If our coaches try to put Rhodes on the big TE he will no doubt have a career day in receptions. I don't feel #25 is hungry anymore and he is only motivated by seeing his name in print or his face on TV. I would be happy to offer Rhodes and a 3rd round pick to Mr. Mangini for the struggling WR Braylon Edwards. His stock hasn't fallen yet, and I think we could still get something in return for him.