Jets LB Harris makes the most out of his opportunity By Adam Rank | NFL.com New Yorkers with long sports memories might recall the tale of Wally Pipp, the famed Yankees first baseman who was benched by manager Miller Huggins in 1925 in an attempt to shake up the lineup. Pipp was replaced by Lou Gehrig who went on to play a record 2,130 consecutive games. New York Jets fans might find familiarity in the rise of David Harris. The second-round pick out of Michigan filled in for injured starter Jonathan Vilma at linebacker last season and was so impressive for the Jets, that he will likely be the starter for years to come. With Vilma out, Harris became a starter, which is almost fitting because it was a knee injury that nearly derailed his career. Harris excelled at football, earning all-state honors from the Detroit Free Press as a senior linebacker at Ottawa Hills High School in Grand Rapids, Mich. He set a school record with 158 tackles as a junior, and also was an effective runner as the team's fullback. Harris participated in track and field, too. The combination of size and speed made him one of the top prospects in the state, eventually leading him to accept a scholarship to attend the University of Michigan. A knee injury forced Harris to redshirt as a freshman, as the rehabilitation took nearly two years. He played sparingly during the next two seasons and didn't become a full-time starter until his junior year. Harris started to flash signs that he could be an NFL player when he led the Wolverines with 88 tackles in 2005, and improved on those numbers with 103 tackles during his senior season. In 2006, Harris earned All-Big Ten honors and was selected as the team's most valuable player along with running back Mike Hart. Harris also was a second-team All-America selection by the Associated Press, Sports Illustrated, and Rivals.com. Harris was projected to go anywhere from the late second round to the fourth round prior to the draft. However, the fifth-year senior surprised scouts when he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.59 seconds. He drew great interest from the Jets, thanks in part to new linebackers coach Jim Herrmann, who served as Michigan's defensive coordinator the previous nine seasons. The Jets sent their second-, third-, and sixth-round selections to the Packers in order to take Harris with 47th overall choice, reuniting Herrmann and Harris. "David is someone we have done a lot of work on. He played for Coach [Jim] Herrmann, our linebacker coach," said Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum. "He played obviously in a big program and is another player we feel will fit in with what we are trying to do." Harris stepped in like a five-year veteran when called to replace Vilma in Week 8 against Buffalo. The rookie registered 17 tackles and a sack. He followed that with a 24-tackle performance against the Redskins the following week. Harris earned varioius all-rookie awards after finishing the season with 127 tackles and five sacks. His breakout performance made Vilma expendable and the team sent the veteran to New Orleans in the offseason, meaning that Harris will be the middle for the Jets in 2008. http://www.nfl.com/draft/story;jses...0d5d807d3e7e&template=with-video&confirm=true
Hitman Harris one of the best picks in the last couple years... Cant wait too see him owning people for a whole season. Little predictions for harris... 140 Tackles 7 Sacks 2 Interceptions... Sounds about right.
I try to stay away from ridiculous, exaggerated prediction posts...but if theres a HOFer on this roster, I think it's Harris. And it's not like this team is lacking in young talent...Rhodes is already an elite...and Revis, D'Brick, and Mangold all have the potential and time to get there.
You guys talk about Rhodes like he's a geat player or a perennial pro bowler already and he's not!!. He's a tall, fast, rangy FS w/ good ball skills but he needs to still work on his tackling and technique. He is still not a complete player, he needs to support the run better as a safety!!
Name 3 Free Safeties in the AFC better than him- do not include John Lynch, he is overrated and old, and i like Lynch and have his jersey too. I only found one legitimate name- Ed Reed. To me, thats a pro-bowler. Rhodes has been on the snub list for 2 years in a row. A safety that can not only make plays in the secondary but also rush the passer and be a playmaker on a defense that warrants no respect is impressive. If fan voting were taken away, i feel that Rhodes would make it. The NFL doesn't know who he is, since the Jets get no national coverage. As for Harris, the Wall Pipp comparison is nice. Like when Farve took over for Majikowski in Green Bay- same thing- Beloved position player goes down to injury and is traded the next year as the new kid shines and becomes a staple of the franchise.
He is a fantastic football player. He was completely screwed over the last two seasons. Jon Lynch made the probowl ahead of Rhodes with back to back shitty seasons.
Don, the team was 4-12. The defense had no pass rush, can't put any blame on Kerry Rhodes, who by the way, did have a good year in 2007. Remember that 3 or 4 game streak where he had an INT in each of those games? Remember him stripping the Giant, then returning it for a touchdown? I do. Remember his fantastic interception vs. the Steelers?
Rhodes is a pro-bowl caliber player and should have made it this past year and last year. There are only a handful of safeties that are better then him and most are older and he has room to grow and improve. Ed Reed, Chris Hope (also an underrated S), and then there are guys like Sanders, and Poulamalu. Both are SS so its somewhat of an awkward comparison, but I would give the edge to rhodes in all categories dealing with coverage and ball skills. They are fast, undersized linebackers who take a decent number of chances. Paulamalu hasn't been the same since Hope left, and it's not just because of injuries. He takes too many chances that don't pay off and doesn't have an elite safety watching his back. Rhodes is the best young safety in the league. Given that this was just his 3rd season...he will be a probowler many time, and once the jets start winning (knock on wood) the national media will recognize his talent and he'll get his credit.
I hate football fans. I really do. More than any other sport, I've seen football fans put so much emphasis on Pro Bowls and rings to show what a great player a guy is... Honestly, with Dawkins and Reed in the decline phase in their career, the only safeties in the NFL I like more than Rhodes are Adrian Wilson and Sean Taylor (RIP). Wilson is pretty much the same player as Rhodes too, but he's got a longer track record.
BOO THIS MAN! We need Kerry Rhodes to be great in run support like we need Ferguson to be a great run blocker. Would that be nice? Sure it would. But that's not why we start either of these guys. We start Brick to protect the QB and we start Kerry to ATTACK the QB. The reason Kerry was "invisible" the first half of the year is because he didn't have enough support from the rest of the defense to do his job properly. Once Elam, the designated hard hitter/run stopper stepped in, along with Harris' full-time promotion, Kerry was free to "play chess with the quarterback." And he thrived doing so like few other safeties ever will. Now that we have a complete defense, the sky is the limit for Kerry Rhodes. He's gonna defense passes, he's gonna catch balls, and he's gonna strip the quarterback like a goddamn corner-blitzin' ninja. I predict he will be responsible for at least a dozen turnovers this season. I wouldn't trade any of those turnovers for a few dozen run stops. Just remember the frantic, desperate words of Peyton Manning, arguably the most intelligent quarterback in the league, when he lined his team up against the Jets: "WATCH KERRY!!!! WATCH KERRY!!!!" We will.
Also, I can't say a damned thing about Ed Reed, that guy is not human. But as far as the two other "best safeties in the AFC," Troy Palamalu and Bob Sanders, these dudes have missed a combined 21 REGULAR SEASON GAMES in the past two years! Are the hard hits that worth it? I'll take Kerry the Chess Player, healthy and dominant for a dozen seasons, over 5 good years of brawler any day.
Not only that, but Sanders sucks ass in coverage and Polamalu has been living off of '04 and '05, which Kerry beat with his '06 and '07. Bob Sanders might be the single most overrated player in the NFL. He's a HUGE piece to the Colts D obviously, but his skills are really limited compared to guys like Wilson and Rhodes. Ware, Kerney, Allen, Willis, Mario, and Cromartie all could/should have gotten the DPOY award over him, but whatever...
Just to get back to the article a little bit and David Harris: I think David Harris is destined for stardom. Anytime a LB is able to accumulate 20+ tackles in a single game...you know you have something very special. Not to mention he had 5 sacks, AS A ROOKIE, WITH LIMITED STARTS, AND AS A ILB! I could see David Harris blowing up the NFL world next season with a monster year. Kris Jenkins in front and Kerry Rhodes behind him helps too.
Sometimes going straight for the throat is all that's necessary. Jets players never get their due. Just the way it is.
Amen, there's a lot to love about our young players. I have a lot of hope for our future if our FO keeps drafting this well.
