Kerry Rhodes is out to "embarrass" Patriots
Jets safety Kerry Rhodes is an idiot. Confident. Brash. Unafraid. But stupid.
Here's what Rhodes said about his goal for the Jets' home opener against their division rivals:
“You go out from the first quarter on, from the first play on, and try to embarrass them,” Rhodes said, per Gary Myers of the NY Daily News. “Not just go out there and try to win, try to embarrass them. Try to make them feel bad when they leave here. We don’t want to just beat them. We want to send a message to them, ‘We’re not backing down from you and we expect to win this game, and it’s not going to be luck, it’s not going to be a mistake.’ ”The Jets played one game under Ryan and Sanchez and played well. And it's great to be confident.
But even trash-talking coach Rex Ryan didn't seem to be thrilled with Rhodes' comments, according to Rich Cimini of the NY Daily News.
"That's fine. I think they just want to win," Ryan told Cimini. "Our franchise has been embarrassed; eight straight losses at home (to the Patriots). I'm sure that's probably where that tone was coming from."
Of course, the Patriots are always motivated and Bill Belichick will always try to prepare them to win. And maybe Rhodes' comments or Ryan's comments or anyone's comments won't make the Pats play harder (than they would have without the comments).
But why chance it?
In our weekly picks against the spread (ATS), I was 3-0 last week and picked 63.3% of games correctly ATS last year. To me, this is the lock of the week.
If I were a betting man, I would take the Pats and give the 3.5 points. This game just might be an embarrassment.
