This is an old article from pre-season but I figured I would post it because I never saw it anywhere and it was pretty interesting: http://www.gametap.com/home/read/article/413 Kerry Rhodes: The Madden Man Jets safety talks Madden, ratings, and the moment he knew the NFL was taking notice. By: Jon Robinson | JRobandSteal Aug 7, 2007 "I was playing against Peyton, and I think just from a respect standpoint, there was this play where I was coming down, playing around and showing blitz. Peyton called out my name: 'Watch Kerry, watch Kerry!' I was like, 'Huh, he knows who I am.'" Kerry Rhodes, S, NY Jets Rating Rhodes So just how fast is Kerry Rhodes in Madden? Here are the numbers you need to know: Overall: 94 Speed: 88 Strength: 68 Agility: 86 Acceleration: 90 Awareness: 80 Jump: 94 Tackle: 85 Power: 82 Pursuit: 88 Player Recognition: 87 Man Coverage: 60 Zone Coverage: 80 Stamina: 89 Injury: 92 Cap Salary: 480K Total Contract Value: $1.20M Signing Bonus: $300K Years Left on Contract: 1 "It's about respect?and it's about time," Kerry Rhodes tells me when I give him the news he was looking to hear: EA Sports gave the Jets safety a 94 overall rating in Madden 08. "When I saw how low I was last year, I knew I had to go out and earn any ratings increase. But a 94? Damn, even I?m shocked about that. I love it, but I'm shocked, especially since I was only a 78 last year." The EA love doesn't stop there: Rhodes is not only one of the highest rated safeties in the game, he?s also only a couple ratings points away from being one of the Jets "weapons," needing only a few points in training to be labeled as a "smart safety" (meaning if Rhodes is on your team and the offense keeps calling the same plays, having Rhodes in the lineup will enable the gamer controlling the defense to know what play is coming before the ball is snapped). Laughs Rhodes, "They finally gave me my due, but it looks like I?ve still got some work to do." Here?s what else New York's finest had to say as we talked about that 94 overall rating, Peyton Manning, and what he would do if he was owner for a day... GameTap: What does the Madden rating really mean to players? Is it something that actually gets talked about in the locker room or is it more hype than anything? Kerry Rhodes: You go out to perform for your team and for yourself, but to get respect from another team or from the Madden people, that's the icing on the cake. Just knowing that people respect your game and are taking notice of your game, that's a good thing. Especially since so many people talk about the ratings. Football players are competitive by nature, so by giving us numbers to compare and talk trash about, you?re feeding our competitiveness. GameTap: You're on the verge of being a smart safety in the game. How many hours in the film room does it take to be able to read an opponent's offense in real life? Kerry Rhodes: It's a process you go through. Whenever you come into the league, especially if you?re someone like me, I wasn't a starter right away, but I was thrown into the fire, thrown into this league full of superior players who make plays like you've never seen before. So for me to get a jump, to get a read on what the other teams were doing, I decided my rookie year that I was going to watch a lot of film. I tried to find tips, break the other team down before the play. They might have good players, but if I'm one step ahead mentally, that helps you out even more. GameTap: When you're out on the field and the huddle breaks, how quickly are you able to play that role of smart safety and get a read on what the offense is about to do? Kerry Rhodes: It's funny how quickly you can recognize what's going to happen before it actually happens. I watched so much film last year, and like the game, watching film and being able to recognize what is going to happen is a huge weapon for you to possess. The offense will all of a sudden line up in a formation that you've already seen a hundred times on film and it snaps in your head that quick, especially when you see a particular player run in motion or a player you know who triggers that play. It can come to you right away. Some players even have tells. I can't tell you about who does what, [Laughs] but they're out there for sure. Rhodes isn't just one of the top players in the NFL, he's one of the best at Madden. The former QB wants his shot on offense. GameTap: What about when you play Madden, are you the type of guy who tries to get an advantage and glance at your opponent's screen so you can tell what play he's going to run? Kerry Rhodes: Oh yeah, any advantage you can get. Even if you don't see the exact play they pick, if you can see what formation they're in and you know their tendencies, that might be enough right there. Plus, I don't need to cheat any more. If I'm playing as me and I'm as smart as you say I am, I'm going to read the offense anyway. GameTap: Last season was the year you really broke out on the national scene. Was it one play that had people talking, or does playing on the Jets lead to a lot of the talk since you're playing in New York? Kerry Rhodes: We have the biggest market, of course, everybody knows that, but nobody looks at the Jets. It will be Giants before Jets every time. As for me, I think I had a couple of big games early that people saw and took note of it. From then on I just kept getting better. It was really a cumulative series of events and plays. GameTap: Is there one play that stands out in your mind, though, as maybe the play you knew you'd arrived? Kerry Rhodes: I was playing against Peyton (Manning), and I think just from a respect standpoint, there was this play where I was coming down, playing around and showing blitz. Peyton called out my name: "Watch Kerry, watch Kerry!" I was like, "Huh, he knows who I am." Peyton called my name out, and that's really the moment that stands out to me. GameTap: As a former quarterback, do you still have that itch to get in on the Jets offense and maybe pull a trick play? Kerry Rhodes: I really, really need to score a touchdown offensively before my time is up and I'm just a safety back there. I definitely need some touchdowns. Just give me some trick plays. I'm not going to beg too much, but I'd love to get in there. At least I can do it in Madden. GameTap: Did playing quarterback at such a high level help you when you made the switch to defense? We talked about your ability to read offenses before; how did your experiences as a quarterback help you become the smart safety we see today? Kerry Rhodes: It definitely helps because I know in certain plays, certain formations, I know what the first read is. I know what the quarterback is thinking in certain situations and what to look for, especially if it's a play I've seen before. It's a dead giveaway what they're going to do, and you can take that chance to try and create a turnover. GameTap: Getting back to Madden, how long have you been a gamer? Kerry Rhodes: I've been playing Madden since back on the Genesis, but it was the PlayStation Madden that really brought out the competitive side of me. I've been playing as the 49ers since back in the day, all the way up until around 2002 when Debartalo left and they stopped paying players. That's when I stopped playing as San Francisco. Before then it was Rice all day. John Taylor, Brent Jones, I could go to Ricky Watters--they had so many options back then, they couldn't be stopped. GameTap: They brought owner mode back into Madden this year. If you could take over a team as owner, what's the first thing you would do? Kerry Rhodes: I would make sure all of the cute people sit up front. You can?t have all the bearded old men who smell like beer in the front row. I'd move them to the back and give all the good tickets to the cute people. Can you do that in a videogame? If not, they need to add that for next year. Give me cuter fans. [Laughs]
I like Rhodes, he did fall off a little this year, but with no supporting cast, who can blame him. The whole Eric Coleman thing is very interesting. It wouldn't be terrible for the Jets to pick up a safety to be opposite him. I have another question. Is Rhodes SS or FS? Cause in Madden he's better as a Strong Safety, but I thought he was a Free Safety.
He's a FS. I hate this years Madden because of little stupid things like that...but Rhodes is absolutely nasty in that game.
It depends on your style, if you would rather have him play center field and play coverage than FS. If you like him up in the box and help with the run than SS. It really does not matter, he's easily capable at both, I prefer him at SS so he plays closer to the line and get him a fast safety to play deep in coverage so Kerry can play closer to the line and make plays.
This is my favorite thing about Rhodes. When this D gets itself together...D-line...pass rusher...:drool:...we have such a weapon with this guy and I'm really excited this coaching staff let us see that. The versatility he offers is just...wow.
He is getting ALOT of love on NFL forums lately...some people are calling him the best safety in the NFL on footballs futures. We've got a legit star with us. I really want to pat myself on the back for calling this guy a star on his draft day...but I guess this sentence will do.
Yeah that part about cuter fans was pretty funny... kinda sad I guess. Maybe he wants to get traded to San Diego or something. He definitely is a pretty boy and apparently they call him "Hollywood" on the defense but he is a beast. As for the SS/FS Madden question... Safeties ALWAYS have a better ovr if you convert them to SS. It's just like OLB and MLB. Anytime you move a MLB to OLB his ovr will go up like 8 points.
