Jets Free Agency and Trade Notes

Notes on some recent Jets moves and rumors:

The Kerry Rhodes trade is truly an addition by subtraction after listening to him during an interview with Michael Kay on 1050 ESPN radio. Rhodes left some parting shots in the interview and on twitter. On a side note, I find it funny that Jets fans’ knock on Rhodes is that he can’t tackle and Chargers fans’ knock on Jets newly acquired cornerback, Antonio Cromartie, is that he can’t tackle either. 

Articles like these make me want to destroy Bleacher Report. There are plenty more terrible articles on that website. 

Thomas Jones has signed a two-year deal, $5 million deal with the Kansas City Chiefs which officials puts an end to his career as a New York Jet. 

Former Jets receiver, Laverneus Coles, has expressed interest in rejoining the team for a third time and the NY Daily News heard the Jets have similar interest. I’m not in favor of Coles coming back to New York. He’s 32-years old and may not be able to bang in the middle of the field as a slot receiver. I’d rather see the Jets use their second round pick in the draft on a receiver. Coles credits a poor 2009 season to Bengals quarterback, Carson Palmer, only liking to throw to tall receivers. 

The market for Leon Washington is currently rumored to be the 49ers and there is speculation at ESPN that the Patriots could use him too. A team would have to give up a second round pick to sign Washington from the Jets. 

Free agent veteran running back LaDainian Tomlinson will visit with the New York Jets Friday, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. He is visiting with the Vikings Thursday. If he doesn’t strike a deal with Minnesota, he’ll be visiting with New York. 

Mike Tannenbuam and the Jets have their work cut out for them this off-season to make the team better.

Kerry Rhodes Traded to Cardinals, Don’t Get Great Value in Return

On Friday, Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum said he expected Kerry Rhodes to take part in off-season activities and to be a part of the future of this team. 

On Saturday, Rhodes was traded. The Jets traded Rhodes to the Cardinals for a fourth round pick in this year’s draft and a seventh round pick in next year’s draft. Rhodes will fill in at safety for Antrel Rolle, who was recently signed as a free agent by the New York Giants. 

The Jets didn’t get a good value for Rhodes. A fourth round pick will rarely turn out to be a player with a similar caliber as Rhodes. But Rhodes and the Jets’ coaching staff weren’t seeing eye-to-eye, so the Jets probably are happy that they are moving forward without Rhodes, which to them, is worth the low value in return. 

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How the Rest of the Jets Off-Season Should Play Out

Jets have traded for CB Antonio Cromartie which changes everything for the Jets. Don’t read too far into this article. Take it for what it was before the trade. 

There is a lot of noise surrounding the Jets tonight and working under realistic terms and with rumors that have surfaced, here is my best case scenerio of how the off-season should play out for the Jets:

- Trade Kerry Rhodes to the Arizona Cardinals for Anquan Boldin.
- Don’t match an offer for Leon Washington and accept a compensatory second round pick. By acquiring Cromartie, the Jets may not need the additional second round pick and if a team doesn’t make an offer to Washington, the Jets would be happy to keep him.
- Sign Adalius Thomas at outside linebacker.
– Make an offer to the Panthers for CB Richard Marshall who was tendered for a second round pick and hope they don’t match it. (via David Wyatt of Gang Green Nation)* Jets have acquired cornerback Antonio Cromartie from the San Diego Chargers.
- With the 29th pick in the draft, select the next highest rated player on their board among RBs or DEs.*
- With a second round pick, select a player at the position they didn’t in the first round at RB or DE.*

* If the Jets can’t get a cornerback through free agency then things change (I’m not expecting the Jets to trade for Antonio Cromartie [Oh how wrong I was] or Nnamdi Asomugha). The final three points of the scenario become:

- Sign a RB like Chester Taylor, Willie Parker or a different veteran. (They could do this in the first scenario too, which would mean they wouldn’t need to draft a RB in the 1st or 2nd round)
– With the 29th pick in the draft, select a CB like Myron Lewis (Vanderbilt), Donovan Warren (Michigan), Perrish Cox (Oklahoma State) or Kyle Wilson (Boise State). No need to use that 29th overall pick on a CB now with Cromartie coming. 
- With two second round picks, select a DE and a DT or S or add depth at OL.

What do you think the Jets should do this off-season?

Rumor; Cardinals Interested in Trading Anquan Boldin or Third-Round Pick for Kerry Rhodes

Don’t hold you breathe fans, it appears that Boldin is going to be traded, but not to the Jets. The teams pursuing Boldin are currently the Ravens, Patriots and Chiefs while the Jets say they will not be trading Kerry Rhodes. I’d like to know where Schein and SNY received information about this rumor. It wasn’t reported anywhere else other than on SNY to my belief. SNY blew a little smoke on this one. 

Adam Schein of SNY reported on Loud Mouths Wednesday that the Arizona Cardinals are interested in trading for Jets safety Kerry Rhodes. Schein says the Cardinals would trade either receiver Anquan Boldin or a third-round draft pick to the Jets in exchange for Rhodes. 

For the Jets, this is a no-brainer. Rhodes was a cast-off in 2009 and was benched for a number of games. His replacement, Eric Smith, did a nice job as the starter. Acquiring Anquan Boldin for Rhodes would be a great trade for the Jets. Even receiving a third-round pick is good enough in exchange for Rhodes. 

With question marks in their backfield and what could be a diminishing running game, adding a veteran receiver like Boldin would be a huge help for the Jets offense. What the Jets lose in their running game due to the release of Thomas Jones, they would gain in the passing game due to the acquisition of Anquan Boldin. Even if Boldin isn’t the same player he was a few years ago, they are getting him for a guy that the Jets’ coaching staff wrote off for a period of games in 2009. 

If the Cardinals are truly interested in acquiring Rhodes and they are willing to part with Boldin, the Jets should immediately sign on to this deal.

Kerry Rhodes Wants to Stay with Jets

Everybody has been speculating about what the Jets are going to do with Kerry Rhodes and whether Rhodes even wants to be here. Rhodes cleared up the air Wednesday and came out on SNY and said he wants to remain with the team. 

On SNY’s show “Wheelhouse” Rhodes said, “There is going to be a little bit of talk between us in the next couple of weeks but I want to be here and the team wants me here.”

If that’s the case then the Jets have one less need they have to address this offseason. They already need to fill voids at the cornerback position. Having Rhodes be committed to the team could be good for both sides.

After Rhodes was benched during the middle of the season many people thought he would want to be traded this offseason. He ended that talk Wednesday.

“To be honest, I really do want to be here. This is where I want to be, this is New York,” Rhodes said. “This is the team that gave me my first shot. I mean, a fourth-rounder. A lot of people passed up on me coming out but they gave me the shot. They gave me the big contract here. So I want to be here and all the fans know I want to be here. I’m just letting the fans know I do want to be here. I want to end my career here, end my career as a Jet.”

What’s better to know is that the feelings are mutual. The Jets want Rhodes to stay too.

“He (Rex) wants me to be here and the organziation wants me to be here,” Rhodes said. “So it’s a little bit of me humbling myself and talking to Rex some more and seeing what happens from there.”

Rhodes is due a $2 million roster bonus in March.

Kerry Rhodes and Osi Umenyiora Discussed in Improbable Trade

Two blogs are throwing around the idea of the Jets and Giants making a trade that would send safety Kerry Rhodes to the Giants and defensive end Osi Umenyiora to the Jets. The Giants and Jets blogs at SB Nation started this idea and I jumped into the comment discussion below the posts. It was interesting to see what the fans of the two teams had to say about the wild idea.

Fans were split about the proposed “fake” trade and it is highly unlikely a trade of this nature would occur. That being said, if hypothetically the trade was made of Rhodes for Umenyiora straight up, who would have gotten the better end the deal?

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Jets Defense vs. Chargers Offense

The Jets defense against the potent Chargers offense is the money matchup of the day, especially the Jets defensive secondary against the Chargers receivers and tight ends. 

The Jets defense should keep a nickel back in the game, like Donald Strickland or Dwight Lowery, to cover Chargers’ tight end Antonio Gates. When not in nickel packages the Jets will most likely use Kerry Rhodes on Gates. Lito Sheppard will cover Malcom Floyd and receive some safety help over the top from Jim Leonhard or Rhodes. Darrelle Revis will cover Vincent Jackson.

The Chargers’ weapons in the passing game tower over the Jets who will cover them.

WR Vincent Jackson 6′5″ 230 lbs vs. CB Darrelle Revis 5′11″ 198 lbs
WR Malcom Floyd 6′5″ 225 lbs vs. CB Lito Sheppard 5′10″ 194 lbs
TE Antonio Gates 6′4″ 260 lbs vs. CB Donald Strickland 5′10″ 185 lbs or CB Dwight Lowery 5′11″ 198 lbs
S Jim Leonhard 5′8″ 186 lbs, S Kerry Rhodes 6′3″ 214 lbs
(all heights and weights from official team websites)

The Chargers have a major height and weight advantage over the Jets. The shear size of the Chargers should pose a problem for the Jets. If the Jets for some reason decide to cover Gates with a linebacker, they’ll get exploited. He’s too good of an athlete and too fast. The Jets will have a good shot at winning this game if they limit the Chargers’ passing game. Shutting them down will be a very daunting task. The Jet have to limit their catches, not let them get yards after the catch, and not miss tackles. These guys are big and throwing your body at their legs won’t cut it. The Jets’ defensive backs have to tackle soundly.

The Jets are athletic enough to keep the Chargers passing game under control, but shutting them down totally will be very difficult and is not foreseen. The Jets secondary against the Chargers receivers is the most exciting matchup of the game.

Jets vs. Chargers; How They Match Up

When the Jets and Chargers meet Sunday in the Divisional Round of the playoffs all eyes will be on the battle between the Chargers offense and the Jets defense. This is the classic strength vs. strength match-up. The Chargers were among the regular season leaders in most offensive categories and the Jets defense led the league in total defense, passing defense, and points allowed.

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Defense Leads Jets Over Buccaneers 26-3

The Jets remain in the thick of the AFC playoff picture with a 26-3 win over the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay. Their defense led the charge with an impressive day while Thomas Jones rushed for two touchdowns on the offensive side of the ball. Rex Ryan’s defense was the story, holding the now 1-12 Bucs to three points and 124 total yards. 

David Harris picked off rookie Josh Freeman on the first play of the game and the defensive tone was set for the rest of the game. The Jets defense limited the Buccaneers to only 15 total yards in the first half and didn’t allow a first half first down. Darrelle Revis and Kerry Rhodes also picked off the Buccaneers’ rookie signal caller in the fourth quarter. 

Jay Feely knocked in four field goals in the first half and Thomas Jones broke through for a 33-yard touchdown and the Jets led 19-0 at the half. A Thomas Jones touchdown run was their only offense in the second half and it was more than enough. The Jets would have most likely shut the Bucs out if linebacker Bart Scott wasn’t flagged for unnecessary roughness in the third quarter. The boneheaded play by Scott was after the Jets stopped the Bucs on a third down. The penalty gave the Bucs a first down and they converted a field goal a few plays later.

Kellen Clemens, starting in place of the injured Mark Sanchez, wasn’t great, but he didn’t turn the ball over and didn’t make any costly mistakes. 

At 7-6, the Jets will have to win their final three games and get some outside help to earn a playoff birth. New England (8-5) and Miami (7-6) both won and remain head of the Jets in the AFC East.

Jets Beat Panthers 17-6, Rhodes and Revis Have Two Interceptions Each

Kerry Rhodes was embarrassed when Rex Ryan chose to start Eric Smith in place of him against the Panthers. Rhodes responded with a pair of interceptions in limited playing time off of Jake Delhomme in the Jets 17-6 win over the Panthers. Rhodes didn’t record a tackle in the game, but made good plays on poor Delhomme throws. Darrelle Revis also intercepted Delhomme twice and took one of them 67 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter.

The Jets defense shut down the Panthers, forcing four turnovers and holding them to 179 total yards. Sure the Panthers aren’t that good offensively, but the Jets made plays on defense. The Jets run defense was outstanding. They held DeAngelo Williams to just 40 yards rushing on 16 carries. 

After the game Kerry Rhodes told the press, “I got the message. The message was sent. Now, I am moving on and you’re going to see Kerry Rhodes.” 

On Rhodes, Jets safety Jim Leonard told SNY, “Make the plays that come to you.” He later added about the win, “We just need to take this momentum and run with it.”

Rex Ryan’s decision to not start Rhodes was discussed all week. Whether the move was to wake up Kerry or send a message to the entire team, the Jets responded with a strong all around performance. Rhodes’ may have earned his starting spot back after recording his first two interceptions of the season, but Eric Smith did a great job in as the starter. 

The win puts the Jets at 5-6 on the season with five games remaining. Their next three games seem winnable (at Buffalo, at Tampa Bay, vs. Atlanta). There final two games are going to be tough (at Indianapolis, vs. Cincinnati). The Jets have a short week and travel to Toronto to play the Bills on Sunday.