Challenges help Adams make gains

By STEPHEN F. HOLDER, Times Staff Writer
Published December 30, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT Bucs GameDay coverage Audio: Joanne Korth's NFL picks Video: Bucs report First line of defense Consider this game almost like preseason Shelton and Romano: The point after Return standout not yet King Tom Jones: BucShotz NFL capsules Scouting report [Brian Cassella | Times] "...I'm working every day to be the best defensive end in this league. I know right now that I'm not, so I just have to keep working at it," Bucs rookie Gaines Adams says.

TAMPA - Must be nice being Gaines Adams.

Who wouldn't want to be the fourth pick in the NFL draft? Who isn't envious of that $46-million contract? And the instant fame that accompanies it all surely has its privileges.

It all sounds perfectly splendid - until you consider what the Bucs rookie defensive end got in return.

He was forced to shoulder the burden of replacing one of best pass rushers of this generation, Simeon Rice. He was an All-America selection and ACC defensive player of the year at Clemson, but the bench-riding Adams, 24, suddenly was being told he must earn his playing time.

And, as if all that didn't prove to be overwhelming enough, Adams was confronted with something much, much worse: the wrath of Kevin Carter and Derrick Brooks.

"When he first got here, I was the typical vet," said Carter, 34, the 13-year defensive end and self-appointed Adams tormentor.

"I was on him hard. I even used to mock him and laugh at him. I was like the big brother who you hated, like, 'Come on. Get up, kid!' I would mess with him and ask him, 'Why are you here?' or, 'What do you want out of this game?'"

Brooks, 34, a veteran linebacker, was similarly relentless, joining Carter and the team's defensive coaches in constantly challenging Adams, with no regard for his credentials as a high draft pick.

"It was a humbling experience at first," Brooks said. "When he caught on to how you go about your business and realized no one is going to stop for you - you have to catch up to everyone else - he started getting better."

And he hasn't stopped since.

With today's regular-season finale against Carolina, Adams will complete a rookie season that saw his metamorphosis from rookie whippersnapper into a player the franchise thinks can become one of its defensive greats.

His veteran teammates and coaches - and most important, Adams - agree that a primary reason for Adams' emergence was the big dose of tough love they gave him.

"They were tough," Adams said. "... The playing time was very limited. At times I did let it bother me. But I knew it was all on me. If all that was going to change, it was up to me to change it.

"You have to want to be the best player in the league, go to the Hall of Fame - just be great," said Adams, who leads all rookies with six sacks. "... I'm working every day to be the best defensive end in this league. I know right now that I'm not, so I just have to keep working at it. With all the help I'm getting from the veterans and from my coaches, I believe I can get there."

Arrogance? Not really. In fact, that's precisely what those charged with overseeing Adams' growth want to see and hear from him.

"Potential is a dangerous word," defensive line coach Larry Coyer said. "Only a few tap in. That's the truth. A whole lot of guys have been No. 1 picks. Not a whole lot of them have been Hall of Famers. You have to make that decision. That's solely within the player. You can play him and guide him and direct him, but he's got to take the bait. I see that process happening right now with Gaines. ... If you don't make that decision to be great, greatness will not come to you."

Adams will make his eighth start today. With each has come a new wrinkle to his game. A fancy spin move. A nifty fake. A run-stopping tactic. Each represents continued growth.

As Adams' repertoire expands, so has his role. He began the season as the right defensive end in passing situations, essentially a third-down rusher. Eventually, coaches began substituting him for entire series as the plays started to come. Now he has taken ownership at right end, where he will be given every chance to flourish.

"He just kept coming to work every day, and each day, you started to see a little more until it was, 'Wow,'" defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin said. "The sky is the limit. You can't even imagine how good he can be. Wait until we get him in the weight room all offseason. He's just a natural athlete."

Adams is a humble athlete. Remaining so is as much a challenge for a young player as finding on-field success. But this quiet country boy has made it a point to hold on to his values from Greenwood, S.C.

"That's hard to do," Adams admits. "When you get to this league, you can't go any further. This is the best of the best. When you have success here, some guys start to veer off the path."

But if there's any doubt about Adams' meekness, consider this: It's neither television highlights nor magazine covers he prefers to use to measure his success. It's something much simpler.

"I know how crazy this sounds, but with me growing up watching Derrick Brooks, for him to come up to me and compliment me on a play that I made, that's better than any other success or (credit) I could get in this league," Adams said.

That's a message far different from those Brooks was sending just a couple of months ago.

But Adams is thankful for the criticism just as much as he enjoys the acclaim. Most important, he took it to heart.

"Players either respond or they don't, and Gaines responded," Kiffin said. "Now, you look at him and he's got a smile on his face. If you looked at him back then, he wasn't smiling. But he has earned it. This wasn't given to him. And everyone will respect him more because he did."

Stephen F. Holder can be reached at sholder@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3377.

DE Gaines Adams, 90

Tackles: 54 Sacks: 6

Acquired: First-round pick, '07

[Last modified December 29, 2007, 17:56:17]