06/09 — The Jets' safeties are becoming kings of all media.

There's the Eric Smith Bookclub, which head coach Eric Mangini made reference to last week during the full-squad minicamp when he said of Smith, "Some of the books he's reading, I think a lot of us would struggle even getting the titles out."

Smith smiled at that, and at the question: So what exactly have you been reading lately?

"Well, I read 'The Iliad' and 'The Odyssey' recently," said the third-year man from Michigan State who might've gone to Harvard, if the Crimson were offering athletic scholarships. "I remember them from high school and when I saw them when I was in a bookstore, I figured I'd read them."

The Iliad and the Odyssey — those are Homers in anybody's book. I didn't ask Smith if he read them in the original Greek.

Kerry Rhodes is more into moving images than the printed page. He's inviting Smith to join his movie club, the one he and Jonathan Vilma formed a few years ago.

"I'm going to try to ask some more people to it," Rhodes confirmed after Friday's early practice. "We had Abe [Elam] and Darrelle [Revis] come last year and we made good strides with that. We're gong to get everybody in there and be on the same page, and I'll definitely try to get Eric in."

The Jets' secondary is starting to feel like it's ready for some critical acclaim. Rhodes has been playing at a Pro Bowl-caliber level (perhaps this season he'll even get the official PB nod) for a few years.

It's too early to declare Smith or Elam as the safety starter alongside Rhodes. With Elam working through the personal trauma of losing his older brother, Smith moved onto the first defense for the recently concluded OTAs and minicamp practices. But keep in mind that Elam (eight starts) and Smith (four) split up the last 12 starting assignments last season.

Rhodes has been getting a familiar feel with Smith this off-season.

"With time, there's chemistry," he said. "As far as Eric being able to talk, we can relay messages. He's a smart guy, a guy you can count on being in the right place. Me and him, we know each other are going to do the right thing. Basically, we don't even have to look at each other anymore. We just look and see what else is going on with the front seven and the corners and go from there."

Then with Darrelle Revis on one corner and the four players who divvied up the 33 starts of the Mangini regime still on the roster in Justin Miller, David Barrett, Drew Coleman and Hank Poteat, plus the hoped-for improved pass rush from the front seven, well, Rhodes is giving a favorable early review of his own to the Jets' secondary.

"We're making strides. We're coming out here some days where we can't be caught on," he said. "We need to just developing the consistency between everybody as a unit so we can come out and dominate every day. As a DB unit, you want to be the craziest guys on the field, the loudest guys, but at the same time be prepared to make the plays you've got to make."

In other words, the Jets secondary isn't Iron Man or Indiana Jones. But they're working on it.

Fireman Ed in a Quarterfinal Battle

Here's a belated note to get out the vote for Fireman Ed. CBS Sportsline is holding a "Most Fierce NFL Mascot Competition," and there's one day left to vote for Ed over T.D., the Miami Dolphins' official mascot.

Now I know what you're saying. Fireman Ed isn't a "mascot" in the Boltman/Jaxson De Ville/T-Rac/KC Wolf mold. And he was out of commission last season. And this whole competition is a little hokey.

But Ed is a Jets original, and I know Green & White fans are always spoiling for a little competition, especially against the 'Fins. At the moment Fireman Ed, the AFC's fifth seed, is trailing the 12th-seeded T.D. by 53 percent to 47 percent. So this is a four-alarmer. Let's see if we can lead Ed on a Monday Night Miracle of a comeback. You can go here to vote in the Sportsline poll.

9:04 p.m. — I just checked the poll and Fireman Ed has narrowed the gap to 52-48 percent, no doubt because of the late balloting from the fans of newyorkjets.com. I don't know if there's enough time left for the complete comeback, but if you haven't voted yet, click on the link above and do an old-fashioned J-E-T-S on your keyboard and help get Ed to the second round.

P.S. — I have no stats on how 5-seeds fare vs. 12-seeds in the "Most Fierce NFL Mascot Competition." (Although I doubt any exist.)