08-30-2007, 08:38 AM
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#1 (permalink)
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Both of them
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 10,225
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Gaines Adams makes his noise on the field
Bucs: Gaines Adams makes his noise on the field
Quote:
Drawing final conclusions from first impressions can be dangerous.
Take, for example, Bucs defensive end Gaines Adams.
The first-round draft pick doesn't speak; he whispers. Ask him what turns him on and the answer might be a blank stare.
"He's a little bit quiet, a country guy," coach Jon Gruden said of the South Carolina native. "He's the kind of guy who likes to listen to country singer George Strait and sit in the right lane going kind of slow."
But then Adams walks onto a football field and those first impressions quickly become secondary.
"He can run like hell and he's a fierce competitor who loves to compete," Gruden said. "I have seen him get in the fray out here a couple times. He does not like to get blocked."
The first impressions of Adams as a player weren't much different from those of his personality. He has long been said to be average during practice, rarely exhibiting the qualities that made him the No. 4 overall pick in April. Halfway through training camp, Adams had barely made a splash on the practice field, and even his coaches were admitting he sometimes appeared overwhelmed.
But then the stadium lights came on, and games started being played, and Adams fooled us once more.
Now, he is coming off arguably his best performance of the preseason in Saturday's win at Miami. He finished with two tackles, a sack and a pass deflection, but his impact went beyond the game summary, as he often was in the backfield harassing quarterbacks.
Of course, the perpetually low-key Adams said it was no big deal.
"I would just say it was another chance to go out and get better and play against another scheme and different players," Adams said.
Adams is making it difficult for coaches to keep him off the field. Still, his development is in its early stages. In every game, he encounters a new blocking technique or offensive scheme for the first time. What he must learn now is to counter those tactics.
"He's shown some flashes," defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin said. "He's made some good moves. But you have to have a second and third move and it's hard for rookies to get that. So, he's basically been using the same thing, and now it's, 'Gosh, these guys are good.'
"Just about every move you have, (offensive linemen) have seen it before. You just need to have a move and a good countermove. And then you have to play the run game. He's responded, he really has."
There are some aspects of his game in which Adams needs no further instruction. The man is flat-out fast, and his closing speed has been obvious in the past couple games. Also, Adams has an uncanny ability to be near the ball. He has batted two passes and has a forced fumble in three preseason games.
"That's why he was drafted where he was, because of his ability," said veteran defensive end Kevin Carter, to whom Adams credits much of his development.
"You can't teach ball skills. You can't teach playmaking ability. You can't teach speed. Those kinds of things are intangible, and he does just seem to be in the right place at the right time and has a knack for sniffing out the play."
Said Gruden: "I think we've batted more balls in three games than we have in maybe the last three years here. That's something that will result in interceptions throughout the year here if we can keep doing it."
Whether Adams, 24, continues to do so as a starter remains to be seen. The Bucs are noncommittal as to how they will use him. Gruden said Adams will play extensively whether as a situational pass rusher or an every-down player. Patrick Chukwurah's knee injury could press Adams into a starting role this week, not that Gruden and company will tell.
"He's going to play," Gruden said. "He's going to be a big factor for our team. There's a lot of statisticians out there and he'll be judged carefully on sacks and starts, and all those things will be tallied and surveyed and talked about and written about. But he's going to be a really good player, and I don't think anybody in the league can disagree."
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Gaines Adams makes his noise on the field
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