Improved Adams puts Manziel past behind
Als quarterback says he forgives fans for last year’s ‘We want Johnny’ chants
Remember when Johnny Manziel was supposed to become the saviour for the Alouettes as their new starting quarterback? Vernon Adams Jr. does.
Last July 26, Adams was the starting QB for the Alouettes in a 44-23 loss to the Edmonton Eskimos at Molson Stadium as Manziel watched from the sidelines less than a week after being acquired in a blockbuster trade with the Hamilton Tiger-cats. Adams completed 15 of 28 passes for 217 yards with one interception and no touchdowns and also ran the ball eight times for 72 yards and a TD while fans chanted “Johnny! Johnny! Johnny!” and “We want Johnny!”
Adams wasn’t impressed.
“Yes, it hurt me to hear that,” Adams told La Presse after the game. “I have nothing more to say or to give to the Montreal fans. Never again. Their behaviour was very disrespectful. It was not like I was playing badly. I do not want them to ask me for anything, not even a small piece of equipment.
“In the future, I’ll treat the fans as they treated me. That’s all.”
A year later, Adams is now the Alouettes’ starting quarterback and Manziel is out of football. The Alouettes released Manziel in February after the CFL found he had contravened the agreement that made him eligible to play in the league. The former Heisman Trophy winner as the best player in U.S. college football with Texas A&M who became known as “Johnny Football” then had a brief stint with the Memphis Express of the Alliance of American Football before that league folded in April.
Adams will face the Eskimos again on Saturday afternoon at Molson Stadium as the Alouettes look to extend their winning streak to three games after losing their first two games this season. It will be the fourth straight start for Adams after Antonio Pipkin suffered an ankle injury in a season-opening 32-25 loss to the Eskimos in Edmonton. Pipkin won’t be in the lineup again Saturday.
“I think I’ve definitely grown,” Adams said after practice this week when reminded about the “We want Johnny!” chants last year. “That was very immature of me to come out and say things like that. I just was hurt at the time. I know it’s just how it is, it’s how life goes and you just got to move on with it. I forgive the fans and the fans hopefully forgive me. We’ll just keep moving forward, keep plugging and try to get these wins and hopefully they get over it with the wins.”
Adams has improved in each of his three starts since Pipkin went down with his injury. In the last two games — a 36-29 home win over the Hamilton Tigercats and a 36-19 victory over the Redblacks in Ottawa — Adams has completed 37 of 55 passes (67 per cent) for 529 yards and two TDS with no interceptions, and has carried the ball 13 times for 101 yards and three TDS.
“I knew he had it in him, so I’m not surprised by it,” head coach Khari Jones said about Adams’ performance following a quick walk-through practice Friday. “He’s maturing as a football player and that’s what you want to see. You want to see guys take those next steps and it’s not going to be without ups and downs still. But he’s figuring things out, he’s able to kind of wash away negative plays well and come back and be a consistent guy out there and that’s what you want.
“The guys that are successful here in this league are just consistent football players,” Jones added.
“Play in and play out, you know what you’re going to get and you’re getting that with him and you get kind of get the added bonus with his athletic ability and ability to get things done with his feet sometimes.”
Adams is playing like he did at the University of Oregon in 2015 when he led the Ducks to victories in their last six games of the season, completing 112 of 169 passes (66.3 per cent) for 1,865 yards and 21 touchdowns. He also led the NCAA in passing efficiency (179.1).
“Guys just have kept believing in me and kept coming up to me after practice,” Adams said this week.
“I’ve never been the best practice player and guys still come up to me and say: ‘We got you, we got your back. Don’t worry about it, just stay confident. You don’t have to do it by yourself.’”
On Saturday, Alouettes fans should also have Adams’ back.