Jets safety Jamal Adams had some strong comments about his rookie year with the team. His low-key (at least when talking publicly) head coach tried his best to downplay Adams’ remarks.
"[E]verybody was used to losing,” Adams told Bleacher Report. “You can always tell that vibe. I came in, and it was like everybody wanted to do the bare minimum. They didn’t want to go above and beyond. They didn’t want to take that extra step.”
Adams minced no words, and it’s unmistakable that the attitude he perceived traces back to the coaching staff.
“Me and Jamal have talked about that,” coach Todd Bowles told reporters on Tuesday. “Jamal is a very young player and he is a very smart player and he speaks from his heart and no different, we talked about it. He didn’t mean a lot of things that came out wrong, but from a necessary standpoint when you give everything, and you demand people to be like you, everyone is not like you. Some people learn differently, and some don’t, but we talked about it and it is just part of being a young player. He will learn over time things to say and what he really means and what not to say. We dealt with it and we moved on.”
It’s not clear what “came out wrong"; Adams’ words were as clear as they could have been. But what else was Bowles supposed to say about comments that ultimately reflect poorly on Bowles, since he ultimately was responsible for the team?
“I have talked to him today and I have talked to him another day, but it is just part of being a young player,” Bowles said. “It’s a process and I talk to all of our young players about that and they will get better. Obviously, there are going to be some bumps in the road, but you move on.”
So does Bowles agree with what Adams said?
“I didn’t really read it,” Bowles said. “No, and I really don’t discuss in-house business outside, so it really doesn’t matter.”
What if guys who were on the team last year take what Adams said the wrong way?
“You can’t take back what you said, if you said it,” Bowles said. “But you move on, you learn from your mistakes and you go from there.”
The mistake apparently wasn’t believing it. The mistake was saying it out loud to someone not within the Jets family. And chances are that what Bowles has said or will say to Adams privately will be a lot more blunt and pointed than what Bowles said publicly.