Posts tagged KerryRhodes at FanHouse

Training camps are underway, the NFL season is a month off, and to get you ready for 2008, FanHouse previews all 32 teams, "heat index" style. We'll rate each club in 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Quarterback: Chad Pennington enters 2008 trying to prove yet again that he -- wait, what? Who? Really? Didn't he retire? Oh. I see. It doesn't seem like Brett Favre wants to play in New York this year, he's basically said so much in the most diplomatic way possible, which means this is the year where Favre stops having fun. This is the year he stops looking like a kid again, to support the cliche. And it can be argued that that magic has perpetuated itself, and has been the reason Favre is still considered -- rightfully or not -- one of the best quarterbacks in the league. Without it, I can imagine 2008 being a disaster for Favre -- bad play and missed games. And then the New York media jumps in and the misery just compounds. That's how I see 2008 rolling. Oh, plus, they don't have a decent backup quarterback. Heat Index: 6

The extension signed by Kerry Rhodes is a good thing for the New York Jets. It rewards their best defensive player of the last two years and eliminates any chance that Rhodes will have one eye on the exit during the 2008 season because his contract was running out. It's a lot of money but when the Raiders are paying Gibril Wilson like he's an elite safety, you have to pay more to secure someone who is a lot closer to that definition.

With April 26th approaching rapidly, it's natural to wonder how this move might affect their draft strategy. Earlier this week we discussed some Matt Ryan rumors but I think this deal should put those to rest once and for all. The team just shelled out $20 million more in guarantees and would have to spend about the same amount if they took a quarterback with the sixth pick in the draft.

Any player picked at six would cost a lot, and cap space is dwindling, but a trade down would both save money and add picks. Those picks could lead to a corner to team with Rhodes and Darrelle Revis in the secondary for a decade. Or a linebacker to play alongside David Harris for the same amount of time. Or a playmaking wideout and an interesting quarterback project. The most impressive thing about the Rhodes deal is that it solves problems now and for the future. This kind of draft would accomplish the same thing.

Adam Schefter of NFL Network is reporting (via PFT) that the New York Jets have reached an agreement on a five-year contract extension with safety Kerry Rhodes.

Schefter reports that the deal is worth $33.5 million, including $20 million in guaranteed money; SNY reports that the contract is similar to the deal that Indianapolis Colts safety Bob Sanders signed. The contract will go through the 2012 season, when Rhodes will be 30 years old.

Rhodes had one year left on his current contract and would have become a free agent after the 2008 season if he hadn't signed the extension, and this seems like a good deal for both sides. Rhodes isn't as good a player as Sanders, so he has to be happy to get as much money as Sanders. And the Jets lock up a player who has started all 48 games of his career and should start at safety for the duration of his contract.

The Jets have spent all off-season like a team that wants to win now. The Rhodes signing is one that furthers that goal while also solidifying a big part of the franchise's future.

When you're 1-8, success becomes a relative thing. Nothing is going to save your season so you just want to see enough signs of growth down the stretch to make you believe the entire year isn't a waste. The Jets found themselves in just that position and the last three weeks have discovered that there might be a few diamonds in the rough on their defense.

Sandwiched around a disaster in Dallas have been the team's two strongest defensive games of the year. That's a positive sign as the season plays out, especially since the improvement has coincided with increased playing time for several new players. David Harris and Darrelle Revis, the first two draft picks, have gotten much of the notice but others have contributed as well. On the defensive line, C.J. Mosley has 2.5 sacks and two forced fumbles since the bye week while Sione Pouha has recorded 10 tackles in the same period. That's more production than Dewayne Robertson was giving for about 10 times the price.

Throw in resurgent play from Bryan Thomas, Shaun Ellis and Victor Hobson and you've got a defensive revival. All of those guys play in the front seven and when they do their job the ripples can be felt all over the field. Kerry Rhodes spent the first half of the year unable to be the playmaker who opened eyes in 2006 but has been back in that role because the guys in front of him are doing their jobs. Corners are helped when the pass rush is working and the entire unit can show its teeth.

There are two caveats to this improved play. The first is that last week's game was against Miami, a gaping chasm of awfulness and the second is that the same thing happened in 2006. The Jets entered the bye as a subpar defensive club and played the second half as one of the best units in the league. Then they fell flat on their face to start this season so it's much too soon to start counting any chickens. They've stopped laying eggs, though, and that's a start.

Welcome to another successful installment of Five Questions with an Enemy Blogger, where each week, via email, I will be exchanging hot questions and [sometimes] answers with a rival blogger about their team and the upcoming matchup.

This week I sat down with Brian Bassett of The Jets Blog, an independent column that covers the New York Jets.

Dan Benton: "The Bills, Brian? The Buffalo Bills? What in the world happened to the Jets on Sunday?"

Brian Bassett: "Oy! Don't get me started. I did say that you shouldn't overlook any games, but fans had to feel good about their teams' chance going into last week to square their record. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see the whole game, but the offense had to bear most of the burden ... being unable to score more than 20 points against a team that had a number of key contributors off the field is very frustrating as a fan."

I initially posted this with a quote from the New York Daily News in which Patriots coach Bill Belichick said of two players in his division, (Jets safety Kerry Rhodes and Bills tackle Jason Peters) "Neither of those guys could make my team."

Except that the Daily News story was relying on this Sports Illustrated piece, which doesn't say what the Daily News said it said. What it actually says is that SI writer Peter King wouldn't change his own personal opinion of Rhodes and Peters even if Belichick said that. But Belichick didn't say that.

However, the Daily News told Rhodes (pictured) that Belichick said that, and Rhodes replied:

"No comment on that one," he said. "That's funny, though. Everybody is entitled to their own opinion. ... Maybe I couldn't make his team. ... We're ready to get it going now. It just so happens we're playing the team with the coach that you're talking about."

So, no, Bill Belichick did not say anything bad about Kerry Rhodes or Jason Peters. I wonder if Rhodes will be disappointed when he finds out he has no reason for motivation.

Jets safety Kerry Rhodes should be a star. He's one of the NFL's best defensive backs, he's playing in the country's biggest media market, and, as you can see in the picture, he's a good-looking guy with a sense of style.

I don't think the average American has any idea who Rhodes is, though. But Rhodes says he plans to change that -- and not just on the football field. In the Aug. 6 Sports Illustrated, Rhodes talks about his acting ambitions, and says, "I want to be a badass like Samuel L. Jackson."


Still, Jets fans need not worry about Rhodes having his priorities in the wrong place. He adds, "Trust me, football is my first love and my career."

Laveranues Coles, Nick Mangold and Kerry Rhodes; other than being employed by the New York Jets, what do these three have in common? Well, I can only assume that the subject headline ruined the surprise, so I'll end the charade here.

All three made NFL.com's "2007 All-Underrated Team."

While it's debatable that Coles and Mangold are underrated, it is nice to see them getting their kudos. Both had quality seasons for the Jets last year and barring injuries, should be equally as valuable and impressive this season.

Rhodes, on the other hand, is a perfect example of underrated. Although he's become a household name in New York, the media capitol of the world, casual NFL fans are only vaguely familiar with him. He reminds me a lot of the Cardinals' Adrian Wilson, prior to last season, in that regard.

After a 98 tackle, five sack and four interception season, he's becoming much more popular and hopefully that trend will continue.