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Free From Dark Clouds, Seahawks' Jamal Adams Played Like a Warrior Versus Falcons

Though he starred in New York, Adams couldn't get out of the shadows that have consumed the Jets' franchise for the past decade. Now shining in the Seahawks secondary, the rare talent has a prime chance to help his new team return to the glory years of 2013 and 2014, making a strong push for a Super Bowl.
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Jamal Adams was a great football player long before he came to Seattle. He was an All-American and First-Team All-SEC selection in college at LSU before being selected sixth overall by the New York Jets in the 2017 NFL Draft. 

From there, he just kept getting better and became an instant starter in New York's secondary, missing just two starts in three seasons, eventually earning two Pro Bowl nods, and last year, his first First-Team All-Pro selection.

Yet, despite all his personal success, Adams seemed to be dragged down by a poorly run organization and discontent in the locker room with the Jets. A dark cloud hung over him, despite his other-worldly talents. Things were not going well internally in New York and he wanted out. He also wanted to be paid like the elite safety that he is, which the organization didn't seem interested in doing.

All of this weighed on Adams. Perhaps like a certain king in the uber-popular trilogy The Lord of the Rings. King Theoden was a good king but he became weighed down with a dark spell from the evil wizard Saruman. This crippled him and made it impossible for him to be a functional leader of Rohan.

All seemed lost until the good wizard Gandalf and his band of merry misfits stormed into Rohan, asking for help in a cause that affected all of Middle Earth. Gandalf breathed new life into King Theoden by releasing him from the evil spell and opening his eyes and his mind once more.

It seems as if Adams has been released from a seemingly similar dark cloud in New York, as the Seahawks burst into the door and breathed new life into the All-Pro safety. 

Coach Pete Carroll (likely) exclaimed "the Seahawks call for aid!" Upon which Adams answered "And Jamal Adams will answer!"

And answer, Adams did. In his first game with his new team, he showed exactly why he deserves to be treated as one of the best safeties in the game. He wreaked havoc on his battlefield, as did King Theoden once finally cleansed of his personal scourge. Adams was a valiant warrior on Sunday, striking fear into Atlanta's offensive line and into former MVP Matt Ryan's heart. 

The LSU product had a game-high 12 combined tackles and also racked up two tackles for loss, two quarterback hits, and his first sack as a Seahawk. If he wasn't blitzing off the edge, he was making Ryan think twice about throwing his direction in coverage, aiding in Seattle's 38-25 vanquishing of Atlanta on Sunday.

Carroll raved about his new safety following his first game, telling reporters, "You couldn't help but watch Jamal Adams, all over the place, 12 or so tackles, a sack and was close on a couple others and just made some beautiful plays, tackles and hits and pressures and all of that. He's an extraordinary football player." 

Although he is not among the original cast of characters from the original fellowship (in this case, the vaunted Legion of Boom), Adams looks to be fitting right in with a rebuilt secondary and brings with him an army of impressive tools. He can use this diverse skill set to bring glory back to Seattle, whether in the form of a Lombardi Trophy, a Defensive Player of the Year award, or even both.