Michael Adams Stands Tall
August 25th, 2013
Listed at 5-8 officially, Bucs cornerback Michael Adams may be 5-6. Maybe. Joe would bet he’s shorter that that.
Frankly, Adams surviving in the NFL for seven seasons at that size is one of the great untold stories in the league.
As Bucs quarterbacks coach John McNulty, the longtime Arizona Cardinals assistant, told Joe in the spring, Cardinals coaches annually felt they could find an upgrade to Adams — and every year they were wrong. Adams would win his job as the third or fourth cornerback and a top special teams player.
McNulty speculated Adams’ size left him a victim of discrimination. It was just too easy to believe Adams’ height was unworthy of the NFL.
In Tampa, it seems Adams has won over coaches again and is the Bucs’ new nickel cornerback. Greg Schiano praised Adams play at the position during his Sunday news conference. Earlier this preseason, without being asked, Schiano praised Adams’ tackling.
And then there was that stout forced turnover on punt coverage last night, when Adams drove the guy blocking him into the Dolphins’ punt returner that had called for a fair catch. The ball pelted the overwhelmed Miami players and the Bucs recovered leading to the opening touchdown for Tampa Bay.
A couple of weeks ago, Joe also had a long chat with Adams about Schiano and his focus on special teams and blocking kicks and punts. Schiano has been coaching up Adams in that area, and Adams likened Schiano to one of his college coaches, who helped lead Adams to blocking five punts/kicks in college.
Get used to seeing a lot of Adams. The guy is no superstar, but the Bucs were desperate for solid veteran help at cornerback in the wake of the Eric Wright debacle, and it seems they found it.
August 25th, 2013 at 1:09 pm
I agree Joe. The guy will be getting a lot of work this year. Has anyone else noticed LJ seems to be gettin beat a lot this Pre-Season?
August 25th, 2013 at 1:20 pm
Good things, makes you wonder where Gorrer and LJ fit into all this. Bucs seem high on them, but it looks like theyre slowly being relegated into backups and CB4s. Melvin seems to have faded a bit too. Never been too high on em, so again, good things.
August 25th, 2013 at 1:43 pm
He’s a proven player who might not be spectacular but after last year the Bucs just need solid players. This guys qualifies as that.
August 25th, 2013 at 1:44 pm
Bucs gotta cut 15 players before 4pm Tuesday. Started today with Adam Weber. We’ll soon find out who they like and don’t like. May be some surprises.
August 25th, 2013 at 2:31 pm
Driving that blocker into the punt returner was a GREAT play. I didn’t even know that was legal until Ronde said you can’t interfere with the receivers ability to catch the ball but you can run the guy trying to block you into the receiver. Nice heads up play. I only wish our DB’s had decent hands. We have dropped lots of interceptions so far in the preseason. Hope that doesn’t carry over into the regular season.
August 25th, 2013 at 2:43 pm
That guy is tenacious …. What’s that saying ? ” it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog “
August 25th, 2013 at 8:34 pm
That was an inspiring play in an uninspiring game. Hard working underdog. I like those.
August 25th, 2013 at 10:01 pm
love the hard nose play from the dude. i was going to ask if Melvin was injured have not hear his name in a week. I also agree that LJ seems to be getting picked on a bit last two games. I am huge LJ guy and wish him the best but he has to make plays.
August 26th, 2013 at 9:05 am
Can’t wait for gorrer to come back. He’s had an amazing preseason Revis and banks on the ends and smith at slot with gorrer rotating aroud sounds good to me.