Posts Tagged ‘Kerry Rhodes’

Kerry Rhodes was embarrassed when Rex Ryan chose to start Eric Smith in place of him against the Panthers. Rhodes responded with a pair of interceptions in limited playing time off of Jake Delhomme in the Jets 17-6 win over the Panthers. Rhodes didn’t record a tackle in the game, but made good plays on poor Delhomme throws. Darrelle Revis also intercepted Delhomme twice and took one of them 67 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter.

The Jets defense shut down the Panthers, forcing four turnovers and holding them to 179 total yards. Sure the Panthers aren’t that good offensively, but the Jets made plays on defense. The Jets run defense was outstanding. They held DeAngelo Williams to just 40 yards rushing on 16 carries. 

After the game Kerry Rhodes told the press, “I got the message. The message was sent. Now, I am moving on and you’re going to see Kerry Rhodes.” 

On Rhodes, Jets safety Jim Leonard told SNY, “Make the plays that come to you.” He later added about the win, “We just need to take this momentum and run with it.”

Rex Ryan’s decision to not start Rhodes was discussed all week. Whether the move was to wake up Kerry or send a message to the entire team, the Jets responded with a strong all around performance. Rhodes’ may have earned his starting spot back after recording his first two interceptions of the season, but Eric Smith did a great job in as the starter. 

The win puts the Jets at 5-6 on the season with five games remaining. Their next three games seem winnable (at Buffalo, at Tampa Bay, vs. Atlanta). There final two games are going to be tough (at Indianapolis, vs. Cincinnati). The Jets have a short week and travel to Toronto to play the Bills on Sunday.

In response to a tweet by Jetstwits’ Erik Manassy that said, “According to beat writer Rich Cimini, the Jets will “almost certainly” put FS Kerry Rhodes on the trading block if he doesn’t recapture job,” Kerry Rhodes responded on his twitter account, “Kerry may not mind that!” 

The trade deadline has passed this season so if Rhodes is to be traded it won’t be until the offseason. Rhodes is embarrassed about being replaced on the Jets starting defense. An offseason trade may be the best thing for both parties, even if he regains the starting position. Rhodes can start over fresh in a new organization and the Jets can dump his #33.5 million contract. The relationship between Rhodes and Jets head coach Rex Ryan is strained because of Ryan’s decision not to start Kerry. Ryan could have benched a number of guys who have played poorly or not up to their abilities this season including Mark Sanchez and D’Brickashaw Ferguson. He chose Rhodes. Rhodes has been away from social networking with fans since the decision up until today.

Read about Rhodes’ benching

Jets safety Kerry Rhodes is heading to the bench. Jay Glazer of Fox Sports tweeted that players told him Rhodes was being benched for Eric Smith.

Rhodes hasn’t recorded a sack, interception, or forced fumble this season. He was drafted out of Louisville in the 4th round of the 2005 draft. Since being drafted he has started every game for the Jets. This will be the first game in his professional career he is not starting.

When Rex Ryan was hired by the Jets people expected Kerry Rhodes to become Ed Reed. Reed, a safety in Baltimore while Rex was defensive coordinator there, is considered the best in the business. Rhodes, on the other hand, has been a disappointment in Rex’s system.

Tackling isn’t Rhodes’ strong point, but he has missed some big tackles for the Jets this season. The athletic safety has taken criticism for doing more talking off the field (just check out his twitter account) than he should.

Rhodes will get back into the starting rotation within a few weeks. The Jets pay him too much to let him ride the bench in a losing season. His poor play could be attributed to him being too comfortable with his status and starting job on the team. Rex has thrown a wrench into his comfort level. This incident could drive Rhodes out of New York.

Rhodes’ replacement, Eric Smith, was a 3rd round pick by the Jets in 2006. He is not as athletic as Rhodes, but is a better tackler. He has four career interceptions, including one this year.

Jets fans were so quick to become believers after a 3-0 start that the each loss since then has hurt more and more. Even at 4-4 Jets fans still believed a playoff birth was possible. It’s over now. Jets fans won’t be disappointed for the rest of the season now that the Jets lost to the Jaguars and their playoff chances are shot. Expectations have been lowered. 

All the talk, all the hype, all the hoopla is over. Rex Ryan and his players won’t be doing much barking anymore. Kerry Rhodes isn’t going to tell the media the Jets are going to “embarrass” the Patriots this week. It’s doubtful Rex Ryan is going to ask the Jets fans to be “prideful” and cheer louder anymore this season knowing the product on the field isn’t giving fans anything to be prideful or cheer about. 

“Maybe we’re not one of the best defenses in the league,” Bart Scott said.

The defense hasn’t been able to finish games. The Jets have had some leads in the fourth quarter during this 1-6 skid but have given up late scores to lose. The defense hasn’t been tackling well either. The Jets just find ways to lose games. If it’s not their offense, it’s their defense. If it’s not their defense, it’s their special teams. It’s always something and it goes full circle.  

“Now we’re 4-5 and we’re not impressive. We’re not scaring anybody. We’re not intimidating anybody coming onto the field, so that 3-0 start is a wash. That’s over with.” Braylon Edwards said.

The Jets know how to talk. We know that. What they don’t know how to do is play sound football over a long stretch of games. They played good for three consecutive games to start the season and got Jets fans excited. Optimistic about the new coach, new defensive scheme, anti-Mangini attitude, stud rookie quarterback out of USC, and vocalness of the team, Jets fans jumped the gun. A long Super Bowl drought will do that.

Hopefully Rex Ryan has learned a lot through the first 10 weeks of his coaching career. Hopefully Ryan and the Jets learned there’s a difference between talking a big game and playing a big game. Ryan is also going to rethink his decision to give his players six days off during a bye week and take a look at his clock and timeout management. I know Jets fans have learned not to get overexcited about a 3-0 start and all the hype that came with it, no matter if a win against the Patriots is included in the three wins. 3-0 doesn’t equate to 11-5. The Jets and Jets fans have learned a lot from 2009. Rex Ryan is going to be a better coach because of this experience.

The Jets talked a big game this week and backed it up on the field with a win against the Patriots 16-9. This marks the first Jets home win against the Patriots since 2000.

Jets coach Rex Ryan and safety Kerry Rhodes talked the most about the Patriots and both backed it up. Rex’s defense didn’t allow a touchdown and hit Brady seven times making him look uncomfortable. Rhodes had a big day in the secondary with 10 tackles. All the critics were put to rest.

It’s only one game and it’s only September but this win builds confidence. More to come tonight on the actual game and where the Jets stand for the rest of the season.

It’s just the preseason.  It’s the time where players and teams get a chance to work the kinks out before the games matter.  The Jets are 0-2 in their first preseason games but nobody cares about preseason records.  The Lions were 4-0 in the preseason last year and went 0-16 in the regular season.  We look at individual efforts in the preseason.  How is the team meshing?  How well are the getting accustomed to the pace of a game rather than practice? 

There has been some Jet quarterback bashing by some members of the media that I do not agree with.  Some media members are already questioning the defense.  My answer to these people is to give it time.  Sanchez and Clemens don’t even have a full game of stats combined.  Rex will make the decision on a starting quarterback when he is comfortable and the Jets’ defense is going to be fine.  Rex isn’t going to give out all of his defensive plans in the preseason is he? No, he is going to hold off on some of the plays and schemes for when it counts. 

So let’s all take it easy and be positive like the Jets players.  Here are some recent tweets from Jets players reguarding the team and how things are going. 

damienwoody:  i really like our team! we’re going 2 be better than what people give us credit for

chansistuckey: Tough loss but love the way we competed. Gonna be an exciting season

kerryrhodes: once we have all our pieces in tact we r gonna b super tough! not just jenks and revis but also strickland at the nickel and we didnt really give flacco alot of different looks lol dont b 2 amazed! i like wat we did in that game at end of day!

Kerry Rhodes is a playmaker and has had strong, consistent season since he was drafted in 2005 but hasn’t had a year that cements him as an elite safety.

Kerry, I would like to introduce you to the next level in your career. This is the year that Rhodes jumps to elite status as an NFL safety and tears down the walls to build his own. When you surround an athletic defensive ballhawk like Rhodes with talented players including safety like Jim Leonhard, and combine that with the intricate defensive scheme of Rex Ryan, Rhodes turns into one of the top one or two safeties in the league.

Rhodes will only get better from this point forward and that has to be scary for opposing offenses because he is already highly skilled.  Think about the skill level that the Jets quarterbacks go up against everyday in practice.  They are really getting prepared well for the season.  Rhodes is primed for success in ’09 and if you haven’t anointed him as an elite safety yet, you will after ’09.