Jamal Adams Raider debut

[Mistashoesta]

Not too Shabby. The pessimist in me says it won't last long, he will get injured again. I hope he doesn't though. He wasn't a selfish player. Boneheaded when talking to the media at times? Sure. But he was a true competitor. He deserves a second chance imo.

 

[toffee]

Not too Shabby. The pessimist in me says it won't last long, he will get injured again. I hope he doesn't though. He wasn't a selfish player. Boneheaded when talking to the media at times? Sure. But he was a true competitor. He deserves a second chance imo.

I read somewhere that Pete gave Jamal his chance after an humiliating off season of being unwanted. Jamal repay Pete with vet-min and willing to play LB.

 

[Bobblehead]

Always felt he would play a great LB.. not sure why the Guru's never thought that.

 

[toffee]

Always felt he would play a great LB.. not sure why the Guru's never thought that.

Too small, lacking in height and size.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

Too Small? Adams is a big boy. Putting him at LB makes a lot of sense.

 

[Lagartixa]

Always felt he would play a great LB.. not sure why the Guru's never thought that.

Adams is pretty small for a linebacker - he's listed at 213 pounds, and linebackers generally weigh something in the 220-270 range, with the overall average around 245.

I can't find a reliable single source on the weights of NFL linebackers in 2024, but in the preceding years, Adams at the weight of 213 pounds currently listed for him on the Raiders web site would have been the lightest linebacker in the league. Also, some of those smallest linebackers in 2021-2023 (still bigger than Adams, if only marginally) were bottom-of-the-roster special-teams guys like De'Jon Harris

Also, and I suspect this was more important, Adams got hurt a lot playing safety, and linebackers tend to take more of a pounding than safeties, so both his previous injury history and his position change contribute to him being a major risk for injury at his new position. (Tho' the position-change factor is mitigated by the fact that he played safety like a linebacker)

 

[Welshers2]

I'm glad Pete is giving him another chance. He was never a bad guy and got too much hate from fans because of the deal that brought him here.

 

[Trackhawk]

Pete remade the NFL mold for cornerback body type. Maybe he will do the same for linebackers.

Why he didn’t move Adams to LB in Seattle is a bit puzzling. Perhaps Adams wasn’t yet willing.

 

[Ostatehawk]

I'm glad Pete is giving him another chance. He was never a bad guy and got too much hate from fans because of the deal that brought him here.

It wasn't hate for me but rather disappointment. The guy is a baller - just couldn't stay healthy and that was hard to stomach considering what we paid for him.

 

[Sperrydogg]

It wasn't hate for me but rather disappointment. The guy is a baller - just couldn't stay healthy and that was hard to stomach considering what we paid for him.

Nobody cares how much we pay for a guy unless he doesn’t get it done

 

[bileever]

Jamal Adams is definitely small for a linebacker at 6'0" and 215 pounds. There aren't many linebackers that size. But Malcolm Smith was a smallish LB at 6' 0" and 225 pounds, and he was okay at that size. And Matt Milano of the Bills was considered too small at 6' and 220 pounds, but he's lasted for 10 years.

What you give up in size, you gain in mobility and speed and athleticism. Some of the best players at many positions are on the small side, like Jason Kelce, or Aaron Donald, or Micah Parsons.

 

[IndyHawk]

When he lasts one game, it's a big deal!

 

[toffee]

Too Small? Adams is a big boy. Putting him at LB makes a lot of sense.

Jamal was 5'11 3/4" and 217 lbs at his combine years ago, he may be 6' 220lbs now. Bobby was considered undersized at his combine, but Boddy was 6' 3/8" and 241 lbs.

Interesting if unfair comparison, Bobby was bigger, quicker, and more explosive. Pete picked the right dude.

Jamal:

Bobby:

 

[RiverDog]

At roughly 6'0" and 213 lbs., Adams was definitely too small to play LB in the NFL. No way would he have been able to go up against 300lb+ offensive linemen and 250 lb.+ tight ends. As many HC's and DC's that Adams has played for, wouldn't you think that one of them would have tried him out at LB if they had any inkling of an idea that it might work?

As far as his likeability goes, I was OK with him until the "yikes" exchange on social media with a reporter he had issues with. That was the equivalent to a hit below the belt.

 

[IndyHawk]

Jamal was 5'11 3/4" and 217 lbs at his combine years ago, he may be 6' 220lbs now. Bobby was considered undersized at his combine, but Boddy was 6' 3/8" and 241 lbs.

Interesting if unfair comparison, Bobby was bigger, quicker, and more explosive. Pete picked the right dude.

Jamal:
View attachment 74040
Bobby:
View attachment 74038

Ha Ha look at the vertical and broad jump difference.

 

[toffee]

Ha Ha look at the vertical and broad jump difference.

Bobby is a super human being, one of a kind, he is durable too, after playing all the snaps for such a long time.

 

[bileever]

It's not that different from what Macdonald is trying to do with Nick Emmanwori, having a hybrid safety/linebacker in nickel or dime packages. Dan Quinn also uses Jeremy Chinn and Kain Medrano in a similar way. It kind of makes sense to have these types of players as the Shanahan/McVay offenses evolve. With these offenses, you need players who can both defend the zone run and cover a tight end. Jamal Adams may not be a great coverage safety, but he's above average in coverage as a linebacker.