I hope his lack of production will change in 2009. Many people have blamed Mangini for their lack of success. I believe Rhodes and expect him to be great in 2009.
we should get the old rhodes back. Everyone knows that Rhodes - the one that everyone wanted in the Pro Bowl but John lynch's tenure wasn't over, and everyone complained..... and then he has a pedestrian year and now the consensus is that he's not that good. Fuckin Jets fans.
Jets safety Kerry Rhodes happy to be out of Eric Mangini's defensive system BY Rich Cimini Jets safety Kerry Rhodes can now be a play-maker after being bottled up in Eric Mangini's defensive system. CORTLAND, N.Y. - Kerry Rhodes is a fledgling actor who already has appeared in two movies, but perhaps his best performance occurred last season: He acted happy. Even though he never complained publicly, Rhodes was miserable in Eric Mangini's defense, which made him a one-dimensional safety. He was used primarily in deep coverage for the Jets, restricted from flowing to the ball. His big-play production, once the hallmark of his game, almost disappeared. "For me, inside, it was burning me up," Rhodes said yesterday at SUNY-Cortland, revealing that he twice went to Mangini to request an expanded role - and was denied both times. Asked if the meetings were contentious, he said, "It wasn't heated, per se, but I tried to get my point across." Rhodes won't have to lobby anymore. In Rex Ryan's defense, the system made famous for safeties by Ravens ballhawker Ed Reed, Rhodes will have the freedom to ad-lib based on his pre-snap reads. With Reed's former sidekick, Jim Leonhard, starting alongside him and calling most of the signals, Rhodes has everything in place to have a bounce-back season. "I'm Kobe; I'm the shooting guard," said Rhodes, who described himself as the point guard of last year's secondary. "I don't have to take 100 shots, but I can pick my spots within the flow of the game." To use another sports analogy, he was the setup man, not the closer, the way he used to be. Rhodes was an emerging force in 2006 and 2007, with nine interceptions, seven sacks and five forced fumbles. His big-play numbers dropped to two, one and zero, respectively, last season. The frustration got to him around midseason, when he noticed "the plays weren't coming my way." He requested a private audience with Mangini, who explained his reasoning behind the strategy. Rhodes declined to give the juicy details, but it seems obvious: With problems at right cornerback - rookie Dwight Lowery started the season and was replaced by graybeard Ty Law - Mangini wanted Rhodes to be a safety net, so to speak, providing deep help. "Me and Eric talked because I wasn't happy about it," said Rhodes, who also had another sitdown with Mangini late in the season when everything was crumbling. Rhodes made this point to Mangini: When he makes big plays, the team wins. He's right. The Jets are 11-1 when Rhodes intercepts a pass. Though Ryan cautioned not to judge Rhodes strictly on his interception total, the former Ravens defensive coordinator has high expectations. "I definitely think he's going to have a big year for us," Ryan said. "I don't want to really flat-out compare him to Ed Reed because I don't think that's fair - there's only one Ed Reed out there - but I think he can definitely be a playmaker for us." In Ryan's scheme, safeties are allowed to read and react. Example: Instead of being stuck in the deep center in a three-deep zone, as he would be Mangini's scheme, the safety can jump a shallow crossing route if he reads it and directs another player into his vacated spot. "He's so athletic and he can cover a lot of ground, and this defense gives you more freedom to roam around," Leonhard said of his new partner. "Kerry is licking his chops. He's ready to go make plays." All this talk, of course, is putting more pressure on Rhodes to deliver a Pro Bowl-caliber season, an honor that has eluded him. He welcomes the extra attention. "I want that on me," he said. "There will be no excuses, no talk. It'll just be me, doing what I do."
Don't think Rhodes will have too many picks this year. Don't get me wrong, I expect his priority to be a coverage man. But I really think Ryan's going to use him in alot of Safety Blitz packages, Man Coverage on the Running Back schemes. He's put on weight this Off Season, I anticipate him to be knocking the snot out of people.
Just goes to show once again how much of a bonehead Mangini is. He was absolutely clueless as to how to best utilize the players he was working with. I was dying to see Rhodes used on safety blitzes last year and it just didn't happen. It was obviously not Rhodes' choice. Sounds like the new regime is going to let him get back to doing what he does best - playing aggressive D - what a concept!
Clearly Rhodes was at his best when he was blitzing and attacking. Mangini getting him to play a role where he would sit back was just ridiculous.
