Jamal Adams has been the Jets’ top dawg, one of their only dawgs, during his first two trying seasons. And following 5-11 and 4-12 campaigns, he is letting his bite be worse than his bark.
“We’re not putting expectations on our season,” Adams said. “We’re not doing that regardless who we added to the culture, to the organization. It’s about day by day, taking it one step at a time and just getting better.”
Perhaps if the Jets ever get back to a Super Bowl, he will guarantee Joe Namath a championship. For now, “shhhhhh” is the best approach.
“Because everybody in the world is gonna expect for you to get that job done,” Adams said. “Whatever that goal you put up, they want you to get it done. And if you don’t, obviously everybody knows what happens. People talk about you. Or they have something negative to say about you. But at the end of the day, man, we’re not putting expectations on ourself.
“Obviously we understand what we got in this locker room, we understand what we got in this building. We understand who’s coaching us. As long as we just stick together, we’ll be fine, man.”
That hardly means Adams is not boiling over with optimism. Adam Gase and Joe Douglas and Gregg Williams have added an unmistakable jolt of electricity and energy to the entire building, and C.J. Mosley and Le’Veon Bell are two new dawgs Adams welcomes to the kennel.
“This culture,” Adams said, “it’s where it needs to be, and we’re moving in the right direction.
“It’s not an ‘I’ game. It’s not an individual game. It’s about the team, it’s about the organization. And I’m not just talking about on the field. It takes everybody, everybody that’s in the building. We’re one team. So, one team, one goal.”
“One Team, One Goal” was a Todd Bowles slogan. His Jets weren’t One Team, and Adams called the laggards out. This isn’t the Same Old team and there isn’t the Same Old vibe.
“Yeah, it’s just definitely a good vibe,” Adams said. “Again, we’re out there competing, running gassers just talking noise. It’s just competitive juices, man. When you can do that, you make each other better. And you find out that this team can stick together, you never know what can happen.”
If Mosley is the quarterback of the defense, Adams is its heartbeat. The Mouth That Roars.
“We talk a lot,” Gase said. “A lot of times on the field. Anytime I walk by him when we’re around the meeting rooms, he’s trying to shoo me away because he doesn’t like what I’m saying. I love his perspective on things.
“When he hits the grass, it’s all ball. He brings the energy. He gets both sides going because he is going from the time he gets out here until the time he gets off the field and probably a little bit after. That does something to guys. You feel it. He’s got juice to him. It’s fun to be around. It’s fun to coach against when you’re on the opposite side in practice.
“It’s just one of those things that you’re glad you’re on the same team as him because he brings fire every day.”
Adams was defensive MVP in the Pro Bowl. His swagger and passion for football are infectious.
“Continue to be me,” Adams said. “I’m not putting pressure on myself. I just want to become a better teammate, obviously, and just continue to work and get better at the little things, that’s all I’m about, man.”
The pads go on Saturday. Gase versus Williams. Bell versus Mosley. Sam Darnold versus Adams and a suspect secondary.
“It comes from everybody, man, it’s not just G-Dub [Williams],” Adams said. “It’s everybody. It’s the whole staff. But obviously, G-Dub brings a different swagger to the defensive side of the ball. I can tell you we’re gonna be in shape. I can definitely tell you that. And we’re gonna be flying around the ball.
“Everybody’s competing out here — coaches included. That’s how you get better, man, as an organization. Every time we come out to practice, it’s definitely a show, and when I say a show, it’s doing the right things, it’s doing the little things and competing at a high level.”
His Jets vision: The Adams Family.
