BY NICK ST. DENIS
Stephen Hill was gaining steam at the beginning of the season. He caught fewer passes as each of the New York Jets' first three games commenced, but his yardage in each game went up, and he broke through in Week 3 with 108 yards and a touchdown.
Since then, he's been virtually invisible.
The second-year wideout has hauled in just 10 catches for 107 yards and no scores since Week 3. Jets coach Rex Ryan admitted Monday that Hill isn't where Gang Green expected him to be midway through his sophomore season.
"Well, it certainly hasn’t been where we thought it would be and where we hoped it would be," Ryan said, via NewYorkJets.com. "I know the young man, he’s nicked up a little bit. He’s trying. He’s doing all that. I know the want-to is there. It’s just the production hasn’t been there for whatever reason.
". . . We’ve been expecting bigger things from Stephen and quite honestly it just hasn’t happened."
Ryan said teams are playing Hill "differently" and "buzzing on top of him" in order to take him out of his rhythm, and it's worked. Ryan added that moving Hill, who hasn't caught a single pass over the last two games, out of the starting lineup "will be a consideration."
Meanwhile, David Nelson, who signed with the Jets prior to Week 5, has seen his playing time percentage go up in every game since. Nelson was on the field for 50 of 59 snaps in the Jets' loss to the Buffalo Bills last Sunday.
With Hill's struggles, Santonio Holmes still getting back up to speed and Jeremy Kerley sidelined, Nelson could climb the depth chart as soon as this week.
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