I have never heard that...
I will wait for smarter folks than me to respond. My gut feel is that is not the case and is why the rods must be down 10 - 12 feet (I forget depth).
I suppose if it hit the lightening protection system and went to ground rods it was going to hit the house anyway and get to ground, so maybe no difference with or without rods to your question.
, but it is fun to take a guess...