(8/2) Journal-News: Rhodes article & camp news

[Sperm Edwards]

Jets' safety takes to the air

By ANDREW GROSS

THE JOURNAL NEWS

(Original Publication: August 2, 2006)

HEMPSTEAD — Kerry Rhodes has seemingly spent the early part of Jets training camp in the air, leaping to make an interception, elevating to block a pass. It's just a family thing for the second-year safety, whose cousin is the Boston Celtics' Theo Ratliff, one of the NBA's top shot blockers.

"I can jump out of the gym — you can quote me on that,'' said the 6-foot-3, 210-pound Rhodes, an all-state high school basketball player in Alabama who gave up the sport after his freshman year at Louisville.

There are plenty of players competing for spots in the Jets' secondary. But through the first eight practices — including ones that ran two hours, 30 minutes and 2:43 in heat indexes that maxed at 106 yesterday — Rhodes has stood out by, well, rising above the crowd.

"I won't say this is the top of me; I've still got a long way to go,'' said Rhodes, who has three interceptions so far in camp. "I'm a lot more comfortable, just coming out here knowing what to expect.''

A fourth-round pick in 2005, Rhodes started all 16 games and had 108 tackles, one sack and one interception as a rookie. But that was under Herman Edwards, a former defensive back.

As new coach Eric Mangini has stressed, no player was guaranteed a job coming into camp. So Rhodes is trying to forge a role from a group that includes third-year veteran Erik Coleman, who has missed the last three days due to illness, and rookie Eric Smith, a third-round pick out of Michigan State.

"I think that is a great example of how opportunity suddenly appears and Eric being able to take advantage of that opportunity,'' Mangini said of Coleman's absence. "He gathers the information and makes the adjustment effectively for a rookie so early on in the camp.''

Mangini had some constructive criticism for Rhodes in the longer evening session, at one point telling him, "Drive to the receiver, then look back,'' as he was displeased with Rhodes' coverage.

At cornerback, veteran Ray Mickens, who returned to the Jets following a season in Cleveland, third-year pro Derrick Strait, second-year pro Justin Miller, and veterans David Barrett and Andre Dyson are all vying for time.

"It's just a competition of guys just trying to make our team better,'' said Strait, who needs to distinguish himself after making 31 tackles in 16 games last season and missing all but five games with a foot injury as a rookie. "We know the better we do and the harder we push each other, the better the team will be in the overall picture.''

If healthy, Mickens should be a nice re-addition — for leadership alone — after spending 10 of his first 11 seasons with the Jets. He missed 2004 with a knee injury and was waived last year after the Jets signed Ty Law. He made 33 tackles in 13 games for the Browns.

"It's a young team,'' Mickens said. "Any time you come back, there's always going to be change in the NFL. Team to team, year to year, it doesn't matter. You all have to go out there, compete, believe every job is open and yours to win.''

The Jets were second in the AFC and fifth in the league with 21 interceptions last season. But Law, who followed Edwards to Kansas City, had 10 of those picks.

Interestingly, 10 is also the total number of interceptions the New England Patriots had last season with Mangini as their defensive coordinator. It's a total Rhodes wants to contribute to this season.

"It definitely feels good to get your hands on the ball,'' Rhodes said. "When you get your hand on the ball, you feel like you've accomplished something.''

Rhodes still gets his hands on a basketball during impromptu pickup games — "There's a couple of guys on the team that can play,'' he said — but he's never challenged the 6-10 Ratliff, who also grew up in Alabama.

"We never played one-on-one,'' Rhodes said. "He's a big man. He'd have beaten me.''

That's something very few Jets receivers can say about Rhodes so far.

Camping out

Eye-opener: Coach Eric Mangini apparently believes in practicing with simulated crowd noise, something his predecessor, Herman Edwards, never did. Except Mangini has added a modern twist to an old NFL practice. Instead of cheering crowds, speakers placed around the field and set at maximum volume pumped out pulsing house music. So the Jets stretched to Sean Paul and Chamillionaire and later ran the 2-minute drill to hits by Nelly (featuring Paul Wall and Ali Gipp) and the Black Eyed Peas. The quarterbacks had trouble hearing the calls coming in, and their teammates had even more difficulty hearing the signals. At first, the predictable happened, with few completions and many flags being thrown. But toward the end of the drill, some rhythm developed and rookie Kellen Clemens was able to find Tim Dwight for a touchdown after cornerback Drew Coleman slipped.

Rookie watch: Left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson showed why the Jets made him the fourth overall pick, dominating the one-on-one blocking drill. He knocked down Dave Ball and former first-round pick Bryan Thomas among his three pancakes.

Training room: DT Tui Alallefaleula (undisclosed) missed practice and CB David Barrett (leg), S Erik Coleman (illness), TE Jason Pociask (shoulder) and DT Sione Pouha (knee) remain sidelined.

Roster moves: DB Jovon Johnson, a 5-foot-9, 180-pound undrafted free agent out of Iowa, was signed, and rookie LB Will Thompson was waived.

Competition: While it is written that all men are created equal, all camp competitions are not. Until the four-way quarterback battle is settled, it will hog the spotlight. Mangini won't admit the following, but Chad Pennington, who stood out yesterday, has distanced himself from Patrick Ramsey, Brooks Bollinger and Clemens. "The competition has been fun," said the 30-year-old Pennington, who took third-string snaps in the morning and second-string reps in the evening. "Coach has created a level playing field for this QB competition. It's obvious I have a little more experience — I'm the oldest — which is kind of new for me." Mangini chided Clemens and Bollinger for being inconsistent, and pointed out how Ramsey missed an easy read in a blitz adjustment.