* VIDEO * Raiders DE Crawford talks to the media

[BK]

DE Jack Crawford stops by to talk to the media and expounds on playing at this level, how he fared today, and also speaks about His Alma Mater Penn State.

[raiderLUVjen]

Thanks for sharing! He is focused.

[danax]

Crawford has a good vibe and does well in front of a mike and camera. Could have a future after his football career in action movies...a new version of Terminator perhaps.

[DrunkenPirate]

wait so we got Charlie Villanueva? lol

[signal]

Young man has a really good attitude and seems grounded. I know it is early, but I do think we might be looking at a guy who will be one of the first draft picks from the new regime that will be contributing for many years and will be pivotal to the Raiders success in turning around their defense.

Can't wait to see him on Sundays!

[Mr Terrific]

Raiders rookie defensive end Jack Crawford had two would-be sacks Wednesday in the team’s first scrimmage with pads on.

“I’m pleased with Jack,” Oakland coach Dennis Allen said. “Jack, obviously he’s a young player so he’s still learning the game, but he’s a big guy that’s got athleticism, and he wants to be good. And I think if you have athleticism and some football instincts and you’re willing to work to get there, then he’ll at some point be a player for us.”

The 6-foot-5, 281-pound Crawford, the first of the team’s fifth-round picks, was just looking forward to hitting someone.

“Through OTA’s and stuff like that and these past couple practices without pads on there’s only so much you can do in terms of contact wise,” Crawford said. “And coach Allen had a big discussion about being physical and that’s something you have to be in this. And I think as the padded practices go on, you’re gonna get more intense, more physical and just trying to get ready for the first preseason game coming up.”

Crawford is not taking a roster spot for granted.

“It’s a lot of pressure,” he said. “I mean, honestly, coming in as a rookie nothing’s safe, that’s how I feel. There’s nothing guaranteed in this league so you really have to go and play every single play like it’s your last.”

He didn’t know what to expect Wednesday, with the likes of second-team tackle Joe Barksdale and running backs Darren McFadden and Taiwan Jones running at him.

“I felt good about today,” Crawford said. “There’s always that feeling of getting in pads, how much that’s gonna change. I’ve never played at this level before so coming into this practice, I didn’t know how it was gonna be with putting the pads on. I didn’t know what the step up was going to be from having no pads to putting them on. I feel like I had a pretty decent practice so I know I can compete. So now it’s just about getting better.”

I asked Allen to elaborate on Crawford wanting to be better — is that rare in NFL players?

“When I say that, what I’m saying is he’s willing to do the things that are necessary to be good,” Allen said. “And I think in my experiences, some guys are willing to go that extra to really be good and some guys are looking for some shortcuts to take. They want to be good but they’re not willing to pay the price to be good. And he’s one of those that’s willing to pay the price to be good.”

How easy is it for Allen to recognize the guys that aren’t willing to do that?

“It doesn’t take long,” he said. “It doesn’t take long. It sticks out like a sore thumb, and those are usually the guys that don’t last very long. And if they do make it for a little while you’re always looking to replace them.”

Crawford credits the work ethic to moving from London to New Jersey in 2005 and having no friends.

“I didn’t have no friends out here,” Crawford said. “I was a basketball player, I didn’t have no friends out here. I didn’t really make any friends quickly and all I could do was just practice basketball and over here I saw an opportunity to really get better. Not having any friends and really no distractions and that helped.

“I carried that on to football when I started playing my junior year and when I saw the success I had and I got offered the scholarship at Penn State then everything becomes more realistic. All the goals become more realistic and I just carried it on from there. Now it’s just a work ethic thing. I don’t even think about the end goal, I just think about every day getting better.”



Jack Crawford Day 3 star | Raiders Silver and Black Blog | an SFGate.com blog

[gil03]

Did the Vets shave his eyebrows?

[Jimi18]

Thanks for the clip