c_hawkbob wrote:When he's out there he always one of the best players on the field. We are not a better defense without him.
In 2021 in the games Jamal Adams played in we were 4-8, 3-2 in the games Adams missed. Our defense was ranked 28th overall. In 2022 with Adams missing all but part of the first game, our defense was ranked 26th and we finished 9-8.
While that's obviously not proof that our defense was better without him as there's a lot more factors in play besides Adams' presence or absence, there is no statistical evidence that would support the proposition that we are a better defense, or at least a better team, with him playing.
Adams is a liability in pass coverage and in 2021, defenses had figured out his pass rushing tendencies and were able to negate most of his effectiveness as he had no sacks, two QB hits, no forced fumbles, no fumble recoveries, and just two interceptions and four tackles for loss. Compare those numbers to his 2020 performance where he had 9.5 sacks, 14 QB hits, and 11 tackles for loss.
So I stand by what I said. We are a better defense with Adams not on the field than we are when he's playing, or at least we were in the past (2020 vs. 2021). There is the possibility that Pete has finally figured out how best to take advantage of his strengths and mitigate his weaknesses, but he's not going to be much of a factor in the early part of the season.