Ready for your close-up, Mr. Adams?

By GARY SHELTON, Times Columnist
Published September 23, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT [Getty Images] So far, the NFL has been a struggle for Gaines Adams, the first defensive player taken in last year's NFL draft. Although only two games into the regular season, it isn't too early to expect more, says Bucs defensive line coach Larry Coyer.

So far, the movie is better than the previews might have led you to believe.

There has been some action, and there has been some drama. There has been some passion, and there has been some pain. So far, you would have to say, the story of the Bucs season has been fairly entertaining.

Still, isn't it time for the new star to take over a scene or two?

Isn't it time for Gaines Adams' close-up?

Not to be in a hurry, but wouldn't today's game against the Rams be a dandy time for Adams to remind everyone what all the fuss was about on draft day. Perhaps it is too soon to expect Adams to steal the show, but really, isn't it about time for him to play a significant role?

So far, the NFL has been a struggle for Adams, the first defensive player taken in last year's NFL draft. In two weeks, Adams has rarely been close enough to the play to be in your television picture. True, he is a rookie, and true, he has played against two of the league's premier tackles in Seattle's Walter Jones and New Orleans' Jammal Brown.

Still, as Bucs defensive line coach Larry Coyer says, it isn't too soon to expect more. Two games in, and you would have liked to have seen a few more flashes of Adams' raw talent. Two games in, and you would have liked to have seen more hints that Adams is a rising star.

If the Bucs' success of a week ago is to continue, that has to change. The Bucs' pass rush has to get better, as Bucs coach Jon Gruden has stressed all week. And really, who else is better suited to provide it?

In some ways, perhaps the most impressive part of the Bucs defense a week ago was its success despite its anemic pass rush. During the past decade, the defense has usually been at its best when the opposing quarterback was rushed into mediocrity. But last week, Saints quarterback Drew Brees usually had the time of a man picking books off a shelf in a library.

"It has to get better," Coyer said. "The quarterback has to feel you. In this defense, you have to have pressure."

And so the need for pressure adds to the pressure of a rookie. Where else? Kevin Carter is 34, and he hasn't had a double-digit sack season in five years. Greg Spires is 33, and he has never had one. Greg White, the Arena Football League graduate, and undertackle Jovan Haye are nice stories, but they shouldn't be the guys who make opposing quarterbacks the most nervous.

All of that leads us back to Adams, who has looked a lot like a typical rookie swimming upstream.

"I'm still swimming a little bit," Adams said. "I haven't made the plays I wanted to make. I just have to find a way to get to the quarterback. I feel like I'm close, but who is to say?"

Coyer, for one.

Say this about Coyer. The crusty old former Broncos assistant speaks his mind. He stood on the Bucs' practice field this week, pulling on a pipe and talking about heat.

"Gaines is about middle of the pack," he said. "I was disappointed last week (against the Saints). After all the work we've done out here, I didn't see any use of hands. I didn't see any countermove. He just ran up and down the field. I didn't see any of the things we drill.

"He'll get there. I'm not going to make excuses for him. He has to grow. Our whole pass rush has to grow."

In the case of Adams, yes, it is a lot to ask, and, yes, it is awfully early to ask it. But there is a reason the Bucs drafted Adams first, and a reason they gave him a $46-million contract, and a reason they released Simeon Rice. They need him to rush to become a rusher.

Odd, but it was roughly this time last year when Houston coach Gary Kubiak mentioned how disappointed he was with then-rookie defensive end Mario Williams, the top pick in last year's draft. Williams went three games without a sack, and he didn't look particularly fierce or particularly passionate. Only this year has the light come on for Williams.

The Bucs hoped for more instant impact. Maybe something like Jevon Kearse, who had 141/2 sacks as a rookie for Tennessee. Or Indy's Dwight Freeney, who had 13 as a rookie. Or Carolina's Julius Peppers, who had 12 in his first year.

"He's going to get better," Gruden said. "He did some good things on tape. I mean, we all want three or four sacks in his home opener as a rookie, and he got close.

"He batted the ball down and did some disruptive things. With more time, he's going to get better. He's going to get there. I don't want to be one to just be all excited and say everything is all rosy. We've got to get better."

Again, today would be a good time for it. St. Louis quarterback Marc Bulger has been knocked around in his first two games, and the Rams are without offensive tackle Orlando Pace.

Rush the passer, and the corners don't have to cover as long. Rush the passer, and the linebackers don't have to drop as deep. Rush the passer, and the quarterback has fewer choices to make.

More than anyone, Adams has to be the right player to expect to lead the charge.

More than any time, today sounds like the right time to start.

Gary Shelton can be reached at (727) 893-8805.

[Last modified September 22, 2007, 17:50:53]