When Jamal Adams was named the defensive MVP of his first ever Pro Bowl this weekend, it was met with a combination of emotionless shrugs and congratulatory tweets from the Jets faithful. You can hardly fault Jets fans for failing to get fired up over an exhibition game trophy for one of its players, but they shouldn’t have been surprised by it.
In his short time as a Jet, Adams has shown himself to be everything that was advertised when he was coming out of LSU and was considered a “steal” with the sixth overall pick in the draft.
Adams simply doesn’t take any plays off. Be it a regular season game or an exhibition contest that has the other 21 guys on the field playing with minimal effort. Coming off of a dominant second season in which Adams was named to the pro bowl and an All-Pro alternate, you had to know Adams wasn’t going to let up in Orlando this weekend.
Recognized by Pro Football Focus as one of the best multi-dimensional safeties in the NFL, Adams excelled this season against the run and the pass (especially in the red zone), while his effort was second to none on a play to play basis.
Adams tallied a sack, an interception and a couple of pass break ups as the AFC beat the NFC 26-7.