Dancing. A showy pick of Russell Wilson. Jamal Adams does not look ‘bored’ with Seahawks
In three days of offense-versus-defense, 11-on-11 scrimmaging, Jamal Adams has already made more plays at safety than Tedric Thompson did in multiple years in Seattle.
That, of course, is why the Seahawks traded two first-round draft choices plus veteran starter Bradley McDougald to the New York Jets for the All-Pro last month.
Monday, early in the first practice in shoulder pads of training camp, Adams leaped at the goal line and snared a pass from Russell Wilson during a red-zone scrimmage. Wilson intended the throw to go to tight end Greg Olsen in the end zone. Instead, Adams high-stepped and held his prize out far from his body with his right arm extended, almost Deion Sanders-like, as he showboated down the sideline with his interception all 100 yards to the opposite goal line.
As receiver Tyler Lockett gave a futile chase, Bruce Irvin and other defensive players gleefully ran toward Adams. They had a hearty celebration in the opposite end zone at Wilson’s and the offense’s expense. It was the second consecutive day the defense won practice.
“Oh, man, Jamal is fiery, man. I love him,” Wilson said. “He’s just passionate.
“He’s one of the best players in the game, for sure, one of the best defensive players. He can do it all. He’s got the energy. He’s got the passion. He’s got the understanding. He’s got the knowledge. He brings something, for sure, to our team.
“Not just our defense. To our whole football team. He’s that kind of leader.
“He’s going to be a great football player for a long time. I’m glad he’s on our team, that’s for sure.”
Adams posted on his Twitter account Tuesday he was “hungry, motivated and honored” to be a Seahawk.
How rare was Adams’ showy play?
In his career Wilson has thrown just seven interceptions in 510 passes in the red zone, inside the opponents’ 20-yard line.
Of course he threw an unforgivable, unforgettable one at the goal line of Super Bowl 49 five years ago.
Safety partner Quandre Diggs had to do some traffic-copping, helping point Adams to all the right places in his first practice last week.
Since then, Adams has been forceful in drills. He’s been a leader by just plain decisive action in his first five Seahawks practices. He carries himself with an obvious swagger befitting an All-Pro and two-time Pro Bowl selection in his first three years in the league. His noticeable self-assurance in his first days among veterans with twice his NFL experience makes one double-check that Adams is indeed still just 24 years old.
“He’s the real deal,” coach Pete Carroll said last week.
Of having him as a centerpiece to Seattle’s remade secondary, Carroll said: “Brings a smile to my face.”
So does Adams’ swagger. That is a large part of what attracted Carroll to acquire Adams, a trade that general manager John Schneider worked on with the Jets for months. Carroll has been seeking to get back some Legion of Boom-like bravado to go with better play from his remade secondary in the years since Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas were the outspoken leaders of Seattle’s Super Bowl defense.
The Seahawks slipped to 26th in the NFL in pass defense last season. That’s another reason Adams is here.
As Carroll envisioned, Adams and Diggs has been interchanging and roaming between strong and free safety at times early in camp.
And as advertised, Adams has done far more than just drop into coverage. On a later play Monday, he lined up off the outside edge of the line of scrimmage and blitzed Wilson; Adams’ 6 1/2 sacks last season for the Jets would have led the Seahawks by 2 1/2 in 2019. On the next play, Adams played as a linebacker-type spy on Wilson. He mirrored the elusive quarterback’s lateral moves from just behind the defensive linemen who were pass rushing.
Adams has absolutely made himself at home in his first week in Seattle, and not just in the defense’s schemes. At the start of practice Monday, while new cornerback Quinton Dunbar went over new footwork with a coach nearby, Adams breezily bobbed his head to the music Carroll has constantly blaring through every practice.
No, he doesn’t look “bored” in Seattle — as his former defensive coordinator with the Jets Gregg Williams last week suggested Adams would be.
“I’ve always admired Jamal, from a distance,” Wilson said. “I got to see him coming in, as a younger player, first or second year or whatever, and (saw) just the kind of leader he was and just the energy that he brought to the field, at Pro Bowls and stuff like that. Just really admired his juice, his energy, his focus everyday on the field. He was dialed in.
“He’s already done that, already, in the walk-throughs and the practices that we’ve had here. You can tell that he processes so quickly. He knows how to get sacks. He knows how to make plays. He has a knack for the ball.”
This story was originally published August 17, 2020 at 4:19 PM.
