In Carolina.Quote:
Originally Posted by TuffGuy84
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In Carolina.Quote:
Originally Posted by TuffGuy84
igeaux.mobi
Quote:
Quote:
<blockquote> <p align=justify>
TEMPE, Ariz. - In his Louisiana home, Rickey Bustle yelled at his television as if his voice might carry all the way to Arizona. One of Bustle's former Louisiana-Lafayette players, Cardinals cornerback Michael Adams, was getting embarrassed by Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers on Sunday in a National Football Conference wild-card playoff game.
"Keep picking on him," Bustle said he screamed, "because he's going to make a play."
At 5 feet 8 inches, Adams was the second-smallest player on either team, but on the third play of overtime his stature grew immensely when he blitzed Rodgers and knocked the football loose.
<center> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/14/sports/football/14cardinal.html?DB_OEM_ID=15400&emc=eta1" target="_blank">The rest of the story </a>
New York Times
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Adams's teammate Karlos Dansby grabbed the ball out of the air and ran into the end zone to give the Cardinals a 51-45 victory and a date opposite the Saints in a divisional match-up Saturday in New Orleans. It was sweet redemption for Adams, who was burned on a third-down play in the second quarter when he blitzed Rodgers and Rodgers connected with Jermichael Finley on a 44-yard pass.
"When I didn't make that sack, it was a big play for them," said Adams, who also was flagged for pass interference on two of the Packers' scoring drives and for holding on a third.
He said he stood on the sideline as the game wore on and prayed for the chance to make a game-changing play. Some teammates approached him and offered encouragement. Running back Tim Hightower told him: "Keep your head up. You're going to make the play that wins this game."
When Hightower's prophesy came true, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, a Pro Bowl cornerback who is one of Adams's closest friends on the Cardinals, said: "I couldn't do nothing but smile. It almost brought tears to my eyes and I'm not a crying man."
He added: "Never have I seen Mike hang his head. He always stays in there and fights. That's why I like to be around him. He's got a fighting spirit."
Packers fans were fighting mad the next day, condemning the 24-year-old Adams after photographs and video replays showed his index finger hooked on Rodgers's face mask. A league official would affirm the no call, saying it appeared to be incidental contact and not an attempt by Adams to twist or turn or pull Rodgers to the ground by his face mask.
"I just did whatever I had to do," Adams said, adding, "I never even realized I had my hand on his face mask or anything."
Rodgers-Cromartie was asked what went through his mind when he saw the photographs and video replays of Adams's sack. "I'm thinking like, 'Shoot, he did get away with a face mask,' " he said, adding, "I was just, like, 'He made the play, man, regardless of how he did it.' "
To know Adams is to appreciate how hard he has had to fight to put himself in a position to make a game-deciding play. He is the ultimate underdog on a team that remains the dark horse of these playoffs despite having won last year's N.F.C. title.
"This guy has worked very hard to make our team and earn a spot on the field," Coach Ken Whisenhunt said. "You want to pull for him." He added, "As tough as it is when guys are making plays on you, you just hope that because of the fighting spirit that he has, that he's going to make a play. I think it's very fitting that he had the opportunity at the end of the game to make a play and he did."
Adams said the odds had been stacked against him from the start. In the rough area of Dallas where he grew up, he said: "It's a bunch of underdogs out there. For me to be able to make it out of where I grew up at and go to college, no matter what happens to me for the rest of my life, I feel like I succeeded already."
Bustle, the coach at Louisiana-Lafayette, said there was no bigger competitor than Adams. He recalled a practice during Adams's junior year when he sat on an ant hill. "When he realized there were ants crawling all over his body, he sprinted to an equipment shed throwing his clothes off right and left," Bustle said.
After frantically brushing off all the ants, Adams returned to the field. "He didn't miss but three plays and then he was right back out there competing," Bustle said. "That's him."
The ants-in-the-pants story will no doubt tickle Adams's fellow defensive backs. They are a close-knit group, these class cut-ups who occupy the far corner of the locker room. After practice, they routinely gather around Rodgers-Cromartie's cubicle and try to trump one another with their mirth and merriment while playing cards.
Their teasing is merciless. When a reporter mentioned that she is as tall as Adams, Rodgers-Cromartie's lips curled into a sly smile and he said, "No, you might be a little taller."
Adams's height - he's an inch taller than his rookie teammate LaRod Stephens-Howling - surely will make him a target again this week, with Drew Brees and the New Orleans fans.
"Sometimes the fans are really funny," Rodgers-Cromartie said. "We'll be in our little huddle as a defense and you'll hear somebody yell, '27 stand up!' or 'You must be mad you can't go to Disneyland and get on the rides!' I try to tune them out, but sometimes I've got to laugh."
Adams is glad to be a target. "I don't worry about that," he said. "People may think I don't belong here because of my size, but for them to be talking about it means I'm doing something right."
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Per the transactions in today's DA.
Awesome!! Go Cardinals!!Quote:
Originally Posted by BeauCajun
Good for him. Sucks that all everyone was talking about after the Cardinals beat the packers in the wild card game was Early Poocet, when it was the hit Mike Adams put on Rogers that caused the game winning play. Go cajuns!
Don't get me wrong, I love the Saints as much as anyone, but...
I sure did enjoy seeing Michael Adams get as much attention as he did today.
He did make a few nice plays. " Little Mike"
I agree. Even as a Saints fan first and foremost, Michael Adams played a heck of a game and I was glad to see that he's doing well in the league.Quote:
Originally Posted by BabbForHeisman
Quote:
So one day Dan suggested that I attend a news conference at Louisiana-Lafayette during the Ragin’ Cajuns’ football season. It would serve as a distraction and, besides, the pizza was free. While Dan attended his journalistic duties, I found myself in ...