A Pro Bowler again, Adams expects more to come

FLORHAM PARK >> Jamal Adams insisted he was excited, even if his toned-down reaction to making his second straight Pro Bowl didn’t quite match last year’s emotional moment.

The Jets safety was home relaxing Tuesday when he received the news — an announcement that a year earlier resulted in a tear-filled phone conversation with his father. This time around, Adams remained low key, with his focus on the big picture.

“I expect it, man,” Adams said Wednesday of his Pro Bowl selection. “That’s what I work hard for, obviously. The main thing is being in the playoffs. It didn’t happen.”

After not making it to the NFL’s all-star game in his rookie season, Adams tweeted that it would be the last he’d miss. So far, he’s 2 for 2 on that promise.

“It’s just confidence, man,” he said. “I expect to be in the Pro Bowl each and every year. That’s how I wire myself. That’s the goal I write down each and every year going into the season.”

Adams, 24, has been one of the Jets’ few bright spots in a mostly dismal 5-9 season.

“He’s played as well as any player I’ve been around, consistently,” coach Adam Gase said. “Week in, week out, you never see a dip. It’s always elite level.”

Still, even he hasn’t been able to avoid some not-sogood personal moments.

Adams missed the last two games with a sprained ankle, the first contests he has had to sit out in his three-year NFL career. He was a limited participant at practice Wednesday, a positive sign that he could be trending toward playing Sunday in the Jets’ home finale against Pittsburgh.

“I keep talking to him about making sure he’s OK, if he goes,” Gase said. “He has to feel right. I do not want him out there if there’s any chance that there’s an injury that prolongs something down the road. That’s not what we’re looking for. That’s why the communication between him and the training staff and everybody is critical.”