Adams Turned Loose Hawks’ New Defensive Scheme Perfect Fit For 2nd-Year Tackle

Yes, Sam Adams made the NFL All-Rookie team.

Yes, he was second on the Seattle Seahawks in sacks, having as many as All-Pro teammate Cortez Kennedy.

So why, then, was there a nagging sense that the Hawks were short-changed by Adams’ 1994 season?

Perhaps because it started with a knee sprain that seemed to take too long to heal, and ended with him being relieved of his duties against Cleveland for what appeared to be a blatant lack of effort.

Not exactly following the blueprint teams have for players taken with the eighth pick in the draft.

Adams stood out as one of two premier defensive tackles coming into last year’s draft. While Notre Dame’s Bryant Young stepped into the San Francisco lineup with consistent success, Adams was, well, spotty.

Which makes the following all the more interesting: If one Seahawks player looks ready to unleash a massive, breakthrough season, it is probably Adams.

“Him coming in late (after a contract holdout) hurt him last year,” said Seahawks coach Dennis Erickson. “Guys who don’t get into camp suffer; it happened to Sam and it happened to Cortez (Kennedy).

“If you parallel him with Cortez, you remember that Cortez played awfully well his second year,” Erickson said of the Hawks defensive tackle who has been a Pro Bowl pick ever since.

Whereas Adams looked well over his listed weight of 285 last season, he seems to be far more fit this time around. He was a dedicated participant in the team’s off-season training program.

As a result, he’s been virtually unblockable in practice, and in the first preseason game against the Rams, he had two sacks and a forced fumble.

“I’m just doing what they drafted me for; just playing the game that I’m capable of playing,” said Adams, who doesn’t mask the fact he’d rather do almost anything than be interviewed.

Aside from an improved level of fitness, Adams may be energized by the defensive scheme of the new Seahawks coaching staff.

Rather than being responsible for the area from the center’s right leg to the left leg of the right tackle, Adams now will pick a gap and shoot through it to disrupt the offense.

“It’s better for an athlete, someone who enjoys coming off the ball,” Adams said. “One of my main strengths is coming off the ball really quick, so I’ve got more chances to make big plays. It’s what I do best, so that should help the defense.”

In some ways, Adams is eerily similar to Kennedy; both are deceptively quick in a short burst while also having the strength to simply shrug off blockers as trivial impediments.

“If he knows what he’s doing, he’s going to really cut loose,” Erickson said. “He’s got all the tools, plus we’re setting him free more and letting him get up the field more. We think he can be a dominating force. He was drafted to take the pressure off Cortez and that’s what he has to do.”

He certainly did that against the Rams, derailing several rushing plays by the time the back got the handoff, and twice bringing down the quarterback.

Those were opportunities for Adams to display his sack dance, which, actually, is not as much a dance as it is a spasm.

It’s a maneuver the Hawks and their fans won’t mind seeing as the season progresses.

So, is this re-emergence a function of the new scheme?

“I think football is just football; when I’m on the field, I’m comfortable,” Adams said. “It ain’t no big deal.”

Actually, it is a big deal. And from Erickson’s perspective, the improved Adams has benefited, simply, from getting a bit older.

“He’s very young,” said Erickson, who shares his Redmond neighborhood with Adams. “You have to remember that he’s just 22 now; he came out early last year and was the youngest player in the league.”

Erickson’s influence, then, has been important to good neighbor Sam.

“We have talked quite a bit about his role and how good he can be, and how good I think he can be and what I think he needs to do to get better,” Erickson said.

“Sam has got a great future, and a lot of it has to do with maturity - Sam is growing up.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo