SEATTLE, Wash. (KOIN) — Explosive, everywhere, disruptive; these are words to best describe Jamal Adams’ performance in his first game as a Seattle Seahawk.
“I wasn’t bored,” the All-Pro safety said after Sunday’s 38-25 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. “I was blitzing, I was having fun,”
Adams logged a game-high 12 tackles, two tackles for a loss, two quarterback hurries and a sack. Adams seemed to be coming in from all directions to make Falcons’ Matt Ryan first start of the year a painful one.
“[Jamal Adams] a great player,” Ryan said after the game where he completed 37 of 54 pass attempts for 450 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. “There’s no doubt about it. They were using him in different ways and some different packages than they’ve done in the past.”
Adams’ ability to make plays in a variety of ways, opened up the playbook for Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll and defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. After the game Carroll even joked that Adams was “completely freelancing” out there and the coaching staff had “no control over him.”
“He is such a marvelous football player,” Carroll said. “You have to put him in positions to give him a chance and stuff happens. I thought Kenny called a terrific game to keep him off balance.”
While Adams, rightfully, is enjoying much of the spotlight after the Seahawks win, Seattle staple Bobby Wagner, who logged seven tackles and is credited with two pass deflections, was another critical element to the Seahawks winning effort in Week 1.
“Having us out there together is like Batman and Robin,” Adams said. “I love playing with Bobby and he’s a guy that I love to feed off just as much as he feeds off me.”
With no fans in what would’ve been a hostile crowd, Adams’ energy jumped out even more than it typically does.
“He is such an energetic just personality,” Carroll said. “He’s got so much fire in him. He’s an incredible competitor. Does it rub off? Yes.”
Adams says with no fans–which will also be the case for at least the Seahawks first three games in CenturyLink Field–the team looked inward.
“It was definitely weird at first, I’m not going to lie. Just going out there and not hearing any fans. The good thing about that is just the team camaraderie. Just coming together as one and feeding off one another.”
“At the end of the day it did show who loves football more than that other person. As long as you step on that green you got to be ready to play.”
The Seahawks were ready in Week 1, Sunday night they face another tough task hosting Cam Newton and the Patriots in Seattle. Kickoff is at 5:20 PST.