Four quarters with Jamal Adams: The First Quarter

Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty ImagesAnalyzing a highlight reel is good hype but bad scouting.

Consider this analogy: In 2000, Tony Batista hit 40 home runs but finished 70th among all batters in wins over replacement. Batista was an above average defender, but he didn’t walk very often, and his batting average was .263. Alex Rodriguez also hit 41 home runs that year but was nearly four times as valuable as Batista.

All sports have some kind of equivalent because in all sports splash plays are infrequent, but contribution is constant. It is my belief that splash plays are massively overvalued. The entire value of a very cool looking and very exciting tackle for a loss can be…