WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. – Most wide receivers of Davante Adams' stature and resume would come out of a one-catch game rightfully frustrated or disappointed, whether that reception went for a touchdown or not.
While Adams was indeed disappointed – he said Thursday that he "played badly," and also said postgame he wished he could delete the tape from that game – he walked to the podium outside the Rams' locker room in SoFi Stadium, he was smiling from ear to ear.
As he explained during a recent appearance on the Fitz and Whit podcast co-hosted by Ryan Fitzpatrick and Andrew Whitworth, Adams is in a different role this season compared to his first 11, but he's perfectly content with the way he's been able to contribute to a Los Angeles team that sits at 8-2 overall entering Sunday night's game against the Buccaneers.
"I really appreciate the experience here (in LA)," Adams said on the podcast. "I actually told (quarterback) Matthew (Stafford) and (head coach) Sean (McVay) just recently, 'I appreciate y'all boys, man. Just working with you has been amazing.' I've been having a lot of fun, and I hope the world can see that."
Adams has made the most of those targets when they've come his way, especially in the red zone. Of his 10 receptions inside the opponent's 20-yard line, 9 have gone for touchdowns. His 10 receiving touchdowns overall lead the league entering Week 12.
The environment within the Rams' building itself has also been invigorating.
Adams recently spoke about the example the younger receivers in their position room set with their run blocking that inspired his efforts in that phase on a long run by running back Kyren Williams.
"I don't know if I told you guys, but I broke up the meeting for a minute just because we were looking at the tape, I forgot what game it was, and these dudes were flying around making blocks on the backside, doing a lot of stuff. It made me evaluate my performance as far as how much I'm able to give and the things that I could be pressing on and straining a little bit more in the run game," Adams said on Oct. 29. "I said, 'Look, y'all motivate me, man.' They laughed thinking that I was joking, but I let the jokes calm down for a minute and just let them know, I'm dead serious. Seeing the way you guys as young people…we obviously have great coaches in here, but they're not in here on our butt to the nth degree trying to make sure that you have to strain on the backside. It's just really just what's in them and you can see it in the way that they go about it."
Of course, that connection with Stafford and McVay helps a lot, too.
"They're just two really simple and easy guys to work with," Adams said Wednesday. "What you see is what you get. The communication's easy to maintain. They're always in a certain type of mood, which is obviously easy to deal with. It's just something to be grateful for. At this point, I could be jumping around, going to different teams and having all different types of experiences. To have a pleasant one is just a nice feeling."
