Morton takes another pass on

The biggest sore loser in the whole damn place also happens to be the most passionate about his work. He fights, he cares and he’s exactly what the Jets need more of during this transition from irrelevance to prosperity.

The Johnson brothers, Mike Maccagnan and Todd Bowles can win big if they find a locker room filled with people who love football as much as Jamal Adams.

The rookie safety grabbed everyone’s attention last week by disrupting Cam Newton’s obnoxious Superman touchdown celebration, a raw display of getthat-you-know-what out of my house that drew support from teammates.

Adams sat alone at his locker room in the wake of the Jets seventh loss before Bowles walked over to offer words of encouragement.

“I take every loss hard, brother. Every loss,” Adams told the Daily News in the run-up to Sunday’s game against the Chiefs. “That’s always been the case. I don’t like losing, man. I’m a sore loser. I can admit that.”

He’s a passionate loser who prompted Newton to offer his thoughts this week about the rookie grabbing his right hand in the middle of his oneman end zone party: “I don’t know what that was. I thought he was trying to get a front row seat (to the touchdown celebration).”

Adams, frankly, couldn’t care less

There is a laundry list of mistakes that led to the Jets’ fourth-quarter collapse Sunday at home against the Panthers. One of the more glaring blunders came early in the final period, when the offense passed three times from the Carolina 1-yard line and failed to score.

On Thursday in Florham Park, offensive coordinator John Morton defended his play-calling.

“I don’t second guess myself,” Morton said. “I was taught to trust what Newton or anyone else thinks of it. He’s not changing today, tomorrow or the next day.

“Everybody’s different,” Adams said. “Everybody comes from different backgrounds. Everybody was raised differently. Everybody grew up around the game of football differently. I just know that I’m going to do whatever it takes to win. I’ve seen the little comments that Cam said about it. He has his opinion. I’ve moved on from it. I don’t like losing. I don’t like people celebrating — extra — in the end zone. I understand that we got to stop him if we don’t want him to celebrate. That’s understandable. Of course, that’s true. But I don’t want it to happen.”

Make no mistake about it: Adams has made a real impact on his new team through the first three months of his career. If you’re caught up in the raw numbers (52 tackles, four tackles for loss, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, three pass deflections, two sacks), you’re missing out on a special player in the early stages of what promises to be a special career.

Adams’ position versatility has been something to behold. Bowles and defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers have used the No. 6 overall pick of this year’s draft as a linebacker, strong safety, free safety, slot corner and even a corner your preparation. That’s what I did. That’s the reason those plays were called in that certain situation.”

Morton also provided some clarity on the specifics of his decision-making.

On first down, he called a Josh McCown bootleg. But both Bilal Powell and Austin Seferian-Jenkins were covered in the right half of the end zone, and McCown was forced to throw the ball away.

On second down, Morton said he actually called a run-pass option. on the boundary. Although Adams has been far from perfect, you’re missing a hell of a show if you’re paralyzed by statistics.

“The man knows his stuff,” veteran defensive lineman Steve McLendon said. “You can tell that he’s been around football for a while. He knows how to be a professional on the field and off the field. He’s communicating very well with his teammates. He does the necessary things that you hope a second- or third-year guy does. But he’s doing it in his first year because he understands football. He’s coming along.”

Adams’ genuine love for the game is infectious. The Jets could do wonders if everyone cared that much.

“It’s a great thing to have,” McLendon said. “That’s what you want in every locker room. You don’t want guys to come in here and just play for the money. You want guys to come in and play because they love the game. That’s what it’s all about.”

The Jets have tried to remake their culture to flood the place with younger players who truly love the sport. Adams isn’t alone in his passion (see: fellow rookie safety Marcus Maye and others), but there’s an undeniable benefit of having a bunch of guys who care as much – if not more – than the frustrated McCown could have handed off to Powell, but the quarterback saw Seferian-Jenkins in a one-on-one situation on the outside to the right, and he opted to throw a fade to the 6-6 tight end. The play was originally ruled a touchdown. The call was overturned on review.

Then on third down, Morton called another pass play, with Robby fans, who have endured five decades of heartache.

“Hopefully everybody in here is passionate about what they do,” Adams said. “This is our jobs. The more you have that, the better off you are on the field.”

Adams’ competitiveness can be contagious.

“Man, if only y’all knew how upset I get after the losses,” Adams said with a laugh. “I don’t like losing in anything I do. It doesn’t matter if we’re playing trash-ketball (throwing empty bottles in trash cans) in here, an argument, chess. I just don’t like losing. I’ve always been like that. When I was young, if I was playing Madden against one of my friends and lost, I got mad. I’ve always been like that. I’ll never change. That’s just how it is.”

No matter how much the losses sting, he never lets his anger bubble to the surface. He hasn’t been a ranting, raving lunatic in the wake of these crushing fourth-quarter defeats.

“There’s a right place and a right time for a lot of things,” Adams said. “But my emotions are never going to distract the team. I’m never about distracting the team. If I’m mad or I’m upset, I’ll do it behind closed doors to respect the team and respect the organization. Everybody knows that I’m my harshest critic. I don’t worry about anything that’s said about me. I get it. I hear everything. I see everything. But Anderson running in motion from right to left. But the Carolina defense swarmed Anderson, and McCown was forced to improvise, eventually throwing an incompletion intended for running back Matt Forte.

“I’m satisfied,” Morton said of the play calls. “They just played good defense. That’s a good defense down there, that’s tough down there with what they did. They got us. But I don’t second guess. I stick with my game plan, I was always taught that. Trust your game plan and go with it.”

Forte previously criticized Morton in Week 8, after the offensive coordinator abandoned the run in a home loss to the Falcons. But he shied away from blasting Morton on Thursday.

“When the coordinator calls a play, we don’t gripe or groan about it. We run the play. And it’s designed to work,” Forte said. “Hindsight’s