Player Profile

PRO: In five NFL seasons, Flozell Adams has proven himself to be one of the league's reliable young offensive tackles. After seeing extensive time at right guard as a rookie, Adams has now started 64 consecutive games at left tackle since making the switch in 1999. A picture of durability in recent years, his string of 69 consecutive starts is the longest active streak on the club. His consistency has made him a key figure in a Dallas line that has allowed just 166 sacks in the last 80 games (2.1 per game). With tremendous natural strength and athletic ability, he has rapidly developed into one of the NFL's most promising performers at tackle and is becoming a fixture on the Dallas line. His natural athletic talents have also made him an imposing figure on the Cowboys field goal/PAT defensive unit, where he has blocked four opponents' kicks in his career. Evidence of Adams's effectiveness along Dallas' offensive line can be seen in Emmitt Smith's rushing production. Over the past five seasons, Smith rushed for 5,928 yards, the fifth most in the NFL during that time span, and moved into the No. 1 spot on the all-time NFL rushing list. A Dallas back has rushed for over 100-yards 28 times in Adams' 76 career starts. At 6-7, he is the tallest member of the Cowboys roster.

2002: In a season plagued by injuries and uncertainty on the offensive line, Adams was the one constant as he was the only Cowboys offensive lineman to start and finish every game. After missing a large amount of training camp with a hyperextended right knee (Aug. 6), Adams returned to the starting lineup for the opener at Houston (9/8) and helped Dallas rush for 155 yards. In the win over Tennessee (9/15), he played a key role as the offensive line allowed just one sack in 25 pass plays. After reshuffling the line at St. Louis (9/29), Adams anchored a unit that allowed two sacks in 38 pass plays while helping the Cowboys rush for 112 yards in the last second victory over the defending NFC Champions. In the Cowboys loss to the Giants (10/6), the Dallas line helped rack up 340 yards, including 249 in the air, against the NFL's second ranked defense at the time. The line allowed just two sacks in 44 pass plays against New York. He was the only Dallas offensive lineman to start and play the entire Carolina (10/13) game as Dallas produced 148 yards and 14 points in the fourth quarter to nab a 14-13 win. In the loss to Seattle (10/27), Adams played a key role in NFL history as Smith ran for 109 yards on 24 carries (4.5 avg.) and became the League's all-time leading rusher with an 11-yard run in the fourth quarter. It was Smith's first 100-yard game of the season, and his record breaking run came over Adam's (left) side of the line. In the win over Jacksonville (11/24), the Dallas line provided time for Chad Hutchinson to throw for 301 yards, while the unit helped pace the Cowboys to 118 rushing yards. The 405 net yards against the Jaguars was a season-high. In the Thanksgiving Day victory over Washington (11/28), Adams helped lead the way for a season-high 211 rushing yards, including a season-best 144 yards by Smith, who went over the 17,000 yard mark for career rushing and recorded his fourth consecutive 100-yard day against the Redskins. Adams suffered a sprained left ankle early in the second quarter but returned in the second half. He also blocked his fourth career kick when he got his hands on a James Tuthill field goal attempt in the second quarter. In the loss to San Francisco (12/8), he helped hold the 49ers without a sack in 28 pass plays, marking the first time in 2002 that the Dallas line had not allowed a sack.

2001: As part of a line that helped Dallas finish third in the NFL in rushing at 136.5 yards-per-game, Adams extended his club-long streak of consecutive starts to 53 (48 at left tackle). The 2,184 rushing yards Dallas gained for the season was the second best total by a Cowboys' team in the last 20 years (1995 - 2,201). Also excelling at pass blocking, the line allowed just 34 sacks in 447 pass plays. Just 12 teams allowed fewer and only eight teams lost fewer yards due to sacks than the 190 lost by Dallas. For the season, opponents were held to two sacks or less in a game 10 times. That streak started Week One when the vaunted Tampa Bay (9/9) defense was limited to just two sacks while allowing Dallas to rush 23 times for 99 yards (4.3 avg.). The following week saw the line create holes in the San Diego (9/23) defense as Smith ran for 85 yards on 17 carries (5.0 avg.) and moved past Barry Sanders into second on the NFL's all-time rushing list. Adams excelled on special teams at Philadelphia (9/30), blocking his first career PAT after having blocked two field goals in 1999. Against Washington (10/15), Adams helped lead Smith (107 yards) to his first 100-yard rushing game of the season and Dallas to 211 yards on the ground. He was also part of an offensive line that opened the way for Troy Hambrick (127 yards) and Michael Wiley (85) to rush for 207 yards and a 6.3 yards-per-carry average at Atlanta (11/11). Against Philadelphia (11/18), Adams helped Dallas rush for 132 yards on 23 carries (5.7 avg.) against the NFL's eighth ranked run defense. Working against Hugh Douglas most of the day, Adams limited him to one tackle. He helped Dallas to its third 200+ yard rushing day of the season as the Cowboys ran 44 times for 215 yards, including a 102-yard effort from Smith, at Washington (12/2). The pass protection was again stellar against the N.Y. Giants (12/9), as Adams and his co-workers helped limit the Giants, who entered the game ranked fifth in the league in sacks-per-pass play, to two sacks in 29 pass plays. Smith logged a season-high 128 yards at Arizona (12/23), and the offensive line allowed just one sack in 30 pass plays. In the Cowboys upset win over San Francisco (12/30), Adams and the line led the way to 186 rushing yards, including 126 by Smith, and limited the 49ers to one sack as Quincy Carter threw for a season-high 241 yards. The Cowboys offensive line closed out the season with a sackless performance at Detroit (1/6/02) and led the way as Smith gained 77 rushing yards - putting him over the 1,000-yard mark for the 11th consecutive season, an NFL record.

2000: In his second season as the Cowboys starting left tackle, Adams was part of an offensive line that allowed 35 sacks in 480 pass plays on the season. Only 12 teams surrendered fewer sacks than Dallas. In six games, opponents were held to one sack or less. During Troy Aikman's final 172 pass attempts of the season, the Dallas line allowed him to be sacked only four times - once every 43 attempts. In addition to pass protection, Adams helped Smith (1,203) eclipse the 1,000-yard barrier for the 10th consecutive season. Adams' work also allowed the Cowboys to average 4.2 rushing yards-per-carry for the year, a mark the club has topped just twice in the past 12 seasons. Only four NFC clubs posted a better yards-per-carry average in 2000. Adams' blocking at Arizona (9/10) helped limit the Cardinals to one sack in 35 pass plays as Randall Cunningham threw for 243 yards and three touchdowns. Adams helped lead Smith to his first 100-yard rushing game of the year at Carolina (10/1) when Smith romped for 132 yards on 24 carries (5.5 avg.). In the rematch against Arizona (10/22), the Cowboys rushed for 200 yards, including 112 by Smith, while allowing just one sack. Against Jacksonville (10/29), Smith again eclipsed the 100-yard mark with 102 yards on 24 carries. Adams helped Smith clear the 100-yard barrier for the third consecutive week at Philadelphia (11/5) as Dallas rushed for 204 yards against the league's ninth ranked defense entering the game. Adams and the offensive line held Cincinnati (11/12) sackless in 37 pass attempts, and then duplicated the feat by holding Minnesota (11/23) without a sack in 43 pass attempts. The line's work against the Vikings also allowed Smith to rush for 100 yards on 12 carries before leaving the game in the third quarter with a concussion. For the sixth time during the season, Adams and company led Smith past the 100-yard mark against Washington (12/10) as he rushed for 150 yards. Against the Redskins, the Cowboys rushed for 242 yards as a team, marking the most rushing yards by the Dallas offense since recording 271 yards on the ground at Philadelphia on Oct. 31, 1993.

1999: Adams was the only Dallas offensive lineman to start all 16 regular season games, and he provided the production of a seasoned veteran in his first season at left tackle. He was a key part of an offensive line that allowed just 24 sacks in 531 pass plays (one every 22.1 pass plays), the second fewest sacks allowed in the NFL. The Dallas line also allowed one sack or less in nine regular season games, including five of the final six games. In addition, Adams helped Smith to his highest single season rushing total (1,397) since 1995, while enabling the Pro Bowl running back to collect more 100-yard rushing games (nine) than in any other season in his career other than 1995. In his first NFL start at left tackle, at Washington (9/12), he helped lead the way for a Dallas offense that gained 541 total yards, the highest offensive output by Dallas since Sept. 15, 1985 when the team gained 554 yards against Detroit. In addition, Aikman was sacked just one time in 50 pass plays in the overtime win over the Redskins. The following week, Smith gained 109 yards in a win over Atlanta (9/20), marking just the third time in 29 games that the Falcon defense had allowed a 100-yard rusher. In the win over Green Bay (11/14), Adams and Co. provided run blocking that helped spring Dallas' ground game to 149 yards on 34 carries despite Smith missing the game with an injury. On special teams, Adams blocked a Ryan Longwell field goal, marking the first blocked field goal by a Dallas offensive player since Doug Cosbie blocked one against the St. Louis Cardinals on Oct. 21, 1979. Two weeks later in the Thanksgiving Day win over Miami (11/25), Adams blocked a 47-yard field goal attempt by Olindo Mare in the second quarter. That effort tied the club record for blocked field goals in a season (two), as Adams became the 11th player in club history to accomplish that feat and the first since Leon Lett in 1994. In that same Miami game, the Cowboys offensive line permitted just one sack in 30 passing plays and helped lead Smith to 103 yards rushing against what was the NFL's sixth ranked defense going into the game. Dallas finished the season as the NFL's sixth ranked rushing offense, averaging 128.2 yards-per-game.

1998: The Cowboys second-round choice (38th overall), Adams was forced into extended work as a rookie after injuries to right guard Everett McIver. He started 10 games in place of McIver, who suffered serious injuries to both knees. Adams's 12 total starts were the most ever by a Dallas rookie offensive lineman. Although inexperienced, and playing a new position, he earned All-Rookie recognition and was a key part of a Dallas line that allowed just 19 quarterback sacks - the fewest in the NFL. Adams was marked ready for duty in the Dallas opener against Arizona (9/6), where he was used as a third tight end on short yardage situations. Adams wound up playing the final three quarters of the game at right tackle after starter Erik Williams was ejected. Adams helped the Dallas offense amass 444 total yards (188 rushing) against the Cardinals - both totals were the team's highest since 1996. In addition, the offensive line did not allow a sack of Aikman in 32 pass plays. The next three weeks, Adams saw considerable action at tight end as a short yardage blocker, and earned a starting assignment against Oakland (9/27) as the team opened the game in a two-tight end set. After McIver went down with his first knee injury at Washington (10/4), Adams earned his first start at right guard against Carolina (10/11). Against the Panthers, Dallas rolled up 428 yards of total offense while the line allowed just two sacks in 24 pass plays. In his first five starts at right guard, Adams helped Smith rack up four 100-yard rushing games, including a season-high 163 yards on 29 carries (5.6 avg.) against the N.Y. Giants (11/8). In that battle with the Giants, the Dallas offensive line allowed no sacks to a New York defense that led the NFL in sacks during the 1998 season. Adams did not start against Seattle (11/22), but he entered the game when McIver tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. Adams started the remaining five regular season games at right guard and earned his first postseason experience by starting against Arizona (1/2/99) in the playoff loss at Texas Stadium.

COLLEGE: Adams spent three years in the starting line-up for Michigan State, and during that time, the Spartans went to three straight bowl games for only the second time in school history. They also had a running back top the 1,000-rushing yard mark each season. Adams started the final 28 games of his career at tackle, and in 34 career starts, he helped a Spartan running back reach the 100-yard mark 21 times. As a senior, Adams moved from right tackle to left tackle and picked up All-America honors and was named the Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year by the league's head coaches. One of four offensive linemen who were semi-finalist for the Outland Trophy and Lombardi Award, Adams earned postseason invitations to the East-West Shrine Game and Senior Bowl all-star games. He was a second team All-Big Ten selection at right tackle following his junior and sophomore seasons.

PERSONAL: A high school All-America and all-state selection as a two-year starter on the offensive line at Proviso West High School in Maywood, Ill., Adams also lettered three times in wrestling and four times in track (shot put). He advanced to the state heavyweight wrestling finals as a junior. Adams earned his degree in criminal justice from Michigan State and is a cousin of former NBA guard Hersey Hawkins. Since joining the Cowboys, Adams has participated in the offensive line's support of The Rise School of Dallas with the �First Downs for Down Syndrome� project. In the fall of 2001, the entire offensive line helped paint a Dallas Cowboys Pegasus with the children from The Rise School. The Pegasus, a project to promote the City of Dallas, was donated to the school for a charitable fundraiser. He also served as a guest speaker for the Coppell, Texas, High School football team as part of the NFL High School Tuesday program. The program encourages NFL teams to visit a local high school to speak on the importance of education and the benefits associated with sports.