After a couple practices in which the offense looked sharp, Jamal Adams set the tone for the defense Sunday.

In the first team period, quarterback Sam Darnold tried to go over the middle to tight end Chris Herndon, but Adams came streaking down and popped Herndon to break up the pass. A few plays later, Darnold tried to connect with wide receiver Quincy Enunwa in the back corner of the end zone and the third-year safety made a nice adjustment before punching the ball out of Enunwa's hands.

"I saw him come from behind like a shadow," Adams said. "I saw Sam's shoulders went back and I said, 'Where is he throwing?' I turned, I looked and punched it out, so it was a good play by me. That was definitely big to just set the tone of as far as how we're going to play in the secondary. We have a standard in that room and we're going to keep that standard."

The rest of the defense was also extremely active in Sunday's workout. Cornerback Trumaine Johnson, who had a strong weekend, had a pair of pass defenses including a Darnold pass he nearly picked off intended for Robby Anderson down the sideline. Outside linebacker Brandon Copeland also batted down a ball to Herndon in a short-yardage period and OLB Harvey Langi added a PD as well.

Adams, who's perpetually vocal and hypercompetitive, let his head coach know the defense was having a day.

"He was crushing it today," head coach Adam Gase said of Adams. "They did a good job today. They played physical in the run game. He was really active. The whole group, the defensive line, they played very physical. It was really hard to run the ball today.

"I like the fact that we're going back and forth like this. They cleaned some things up. We were in the red area some today and we couldn't run the football. I'll put the head coach hat on there for a second and say that's a good thing."

Tight Ends on Point
The Jets tight ends are battling for a starting spot with Herndon's four-game suspension on the horizon and Ryan Griffin, who joined the team Monday, has made a number of plays in camp. In Sunday's practice, Griffin found the end zone in the short-yardage period on a pass from Luke Falk. He later hauled in a toss from Trevor Siemian up the seam for a big gain.

"I'm still learning. There's no doubt I'm going to make mistakes out there, but I try to just make mistakes at full speed," Griffin said. "Football is football, so I just try to come out here, make some plays, learn every day and try to get better every day."

Gase said the group, including Eric Tomlinson, rookie Trevon Wesco and Temuchin Hodges, have all done a really good job.

"We're not really having a lot of errors from that group," he said. "John (Dunn) has done a good job of making sure that the guys that have been brought in have been caught up to speed really fast. I think both those guys have done an outstanding job at learning what we're doing."

Bell Slowed by Cramps
Le'veon Bell, who was removed from the field the past two days due to drug tests, received more work Sunday. He delivered a present to fan in the bleachers after catching a touchdown pass in 1-on-1 work. But Bell was forced to the sideline after taking a read-option handoff from Sam Darnold and running for a few yards. He later attempted to participate in 7-on-7 work, but cramps ultimately ended his day.

"We've had some guys cramp up and then they're out a little bit and then they go back in there," Gase said. "We're just emphasizing the hydration. Just doing a good job of eating every meal and making sure that we're putting the right stuff in our body. It's just sometimes you're in the hotel, different environment, guys kind of slip on the drinking of water and Gatorade. So, we're cleaning up some things like that."

OL Qvale Suffers Knee Injury
Veteran Brent Qvale, a reserve swing tackle for the Green & White suffered what could be a serious knee injury. The 6'7", 315-pounder, who suited up in 60 games in 2015-18, had to be removed from the field on a cart after trainers put a cast on his right leg.

Jetcetera
Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams addressed the crowd today and told them the team "wants to defend MetLife Stadium for you guys."…Rookie TE Trevon Wesco took some first-team reps on offense and S Rontez Miles continues to work alongside Adams with Marcus Maye on the mend… In red zone work, Bilal Powell had a short scoring reception from Siemian and Davis Webb found Eli McGuire for a TD after a clever play call from Gase… Bell had a good blitz pick-up of C.J. Mosley, allowing Darnold time to throw to the corner of the end zone to Robby Anderson. But Johnson came up with a great PD, getting his hands on the rock and taking aware a sure score… Jamison Crowder is a must watch in 1-on-1s and a bear for the DBs, combining impressive short-area quickness and explosion out of his breaks. Crowder got free over the middle in one team period and was sent to the ground on a thunderous shot from nickel corner Brian Poole. Crowder simply jumped up and spun the ball and play ensued. Jordan Jenkins had a sack of Darnold and Brian Cashman also got to Falk behind the line of scrimmage.