well it could be something like that if its smooth after starting.... that could be either a worn finger... or a cable now im leaning towards a cable
the easiest thing to do right now is look under and see if the cable is frayed... i had one go bad on me once, it frayed and had a few strands left on the cable that could actuate the clutch... usually it snaps closer to the pedal the "crunch" is also what i heard
usually a TOB or PP finger will be seen in other areas, but the cable being frayed might not be as noticeable
i really doubt it has anthing to do with the adjustment, but if you'd like, take a bungee cord and lift the pedal off the floor a bit, and disconnect the cable from the trans, then reconnect it and let the pedal off the bungee cord, then lift up on the pedal to re-adjust it... like i said i doubt it has anything to do with this, but its free to try, so you might as well do it