Las Vegas Raiders DE Maxx Crosby on Antonio Pierce, his health after two surgeries, OC Luke Getsy, GM Tom Telesco, and more
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 Max, out here with the youth working up this event, Madden, and EA Sports. First of all, the Madden name, what does that mean to you as a Raider to be able to be a part of this event?
00:10 I mean, it's legendary. You know, John Madden, obviously, rest in peace, an incredible Raider, one of the greatest to ever do it. So, you know, it's an honor. I love being here, being with the kids, you know, just sharing a little bit of advice on the 40, and just having fun interacting with them. That's what, you know, it's all about.
00:26 Max, for you, a guy who likes to give back, how important is it to be part of an organization that wants to give back like the Raiders and EA?
00:33 I think it's super important. I mean, at the end of the day, it's all about giving back. That's how I live my life. Everything I do, I'm trying to, you know, give back. And I feel like in the end, if you give with no intent to receive, you're always going to, you know, get blessings on the back end.
00:46 So, for me, being in this position, you know, it's an honor to come out here for these kids. You know, I know how it would be, you know, in their position if an NFL player would have came through to a practice or anything like that, it would have been the coolest thing in the world. So, I don't forget where I come from, and I just try to represent and, you know, show love to, you know, everybody out here.
01:03 For a guy like you that always talks about wanting to be the best, how cool would it one day to be on a cover of Madden?
01:09 It would be incredible. You know, that's definitely, you know, a goal of mine. It would be an absolute honor. You know, for me, I've been playing Madden since I was a little kid. So, like I said, you know, I've got Jordan and Kobe on the front row, and I want to be the greatest at what I do. And, you know, that would be an honor for sure.
01:22 You came out just, like, days removed from surgery to do this?
01:26 Yeah.
01:27 I mean, like, just where do you get that from the get up and go that, you know, you're out here with the community, and where does that passion and drive come from, regardless of what kind of situation you might be in?
01:37 Yeah, you know, it comes from within. You know, every single day is a journey. I start fresh every single morning, and I'm willing, you know, I'm trying to get better in every single way. So, you know, I'm working all day today, doing different things, and, but first off, you know, first off, I've been starting at 630 in the morning.
01:53 Got my strength coaches, my rehab guy there, and we're there putting in work for four hours and doing body work as well. So, it's just, you know, every single day I try to stay 100%, you know, not try, but I stay, you know, on point in every way I can on and off the field. So, you know, it just keeps me locked in and keeps me, you know, hungry for more.
02:11 The kids are kind of front and center today with the combine events. How important is it for you to help instill confidence into young athletes?
02:20 I think it's super important. I know as a younger guy, I wasn't the most athletic. I was still growing into my body, and confidence was something that I struggled with at times. So, you know, having a good support system, but also knowing how to gain confidence, it's strictly from the work you put in every single day.
02:35 So, you've got to do it consistently. You've got to show up every day with a mindset to improve and an attitude and an action-based, you know, principles. So, that's what's the most important thing to me is showing up every single day and trying to show these kids, like, I didn't get, you know, I wasn't a five-star recruit. I didn't just, you know, fall into a position where I was on a professional team.
02:55 It literally started with the work every single day and, you know, put my best foot forward and just trying to improve. And it took years and years and years to get to this level, and I'm still looking for improvement. I know I can still get better. So, that's why, you know, that's my message I share with these kids, for sure.
03:09 You're up for Defensive Player of the Year as well as the Walter Payton Man of the Year. When you think of those two awards and the possibility that you could be somebody that, you know, is a recipient of them, like, which would be more to you?
03:23 You know, both of them are obviously an absolute honor, you know, to be up for those awards. You know, for me, personally, I think, you know, Defensive Player of the Year would be, would mean more to me just because I know what I want to be. You know, I know legacy is the number one important thing, you know, for me.
03:40 And off the field, the Walter Payton, you know, that's, it's like right there with it, but Defensive Player of the Year, you know, my whole life is football. Every single day, I put in the work behind the scenes when nobody's looking so that everybody can get a show 17 weeks guaranteed out of the year. So, being Defensive Player of the Year is one of the top things on my list, and, you know, I plan on being in that, you know, conversation, you know, as long as I'm playing football.
04:04 Have you had a chance to talk to Tom yet and congratulate him on being at his job?
04:08 Tom Selesco?
04:09 Yeah.
04:10 Yeah, yeah, we, I called him right away. You know, I had my agent, you know, give me his number and we got on the phone and the next day we, you know, we had a good conversation. So, he's been awesome. You can tell he's about business. He stays behind the scenes and does his work and, you know, he has a great track record. He's a GM for 10 years for a reason. He drafted a lot of great players over there, unfortunately, with the Chargers, but now he's with the, you know, the dark side, the right side. And, you know, we're excited to have him, for sure.
04:34 Luke Ketzie is coming in as the offensive coordinator and he's played the Bears, I guess, that offense during the season. What do you kind of make, obviously, your defensive side of the ball, what do you kind of make of what you saw from his offense?
04:46 Yeah, I mean, he does a lot of different things. They love to run the ball, set the tone, big physical tight ends, big physical all-line and running back. So, I know that's what we want, you know, is being a run-based team with variations off that from the play action, RPO and different things like that. And it's about putting the right pieces in place and everyone buying into what he's coaching and preaching. And, you know, I think, you know, obviously they did well against us and, you know, there's some ups and downs, but that's what that's about.
05:15 You know, he's met with great coaches, Shanahan, he was with LeFleur and Green Bay as well. And I got to have a conversation, this was before he was hired, but I happened to run into him in the lunchroom and we sat down and talked and, you know, just had some good conversations. So, I know he's excited and, you know, I'm fired up to have him part of the Silver and Black.
05:33 We know that you rallied for AP to get that job as head coach, so now that he is submitted in that role, what has that meant to you and some of the other teammates that you have and just talking to them about him getting that role full-time?
05:45 Yeah, you know, I know the guys are super fired up. You know, obviously I took a stand and I was passionate about it. You know, for me, I was speaking for the guys, I was speaking for the fans. And I just want to win. I want consistency. I want to have, you know, keep building what we already started.
06:02 You know, for me, all I care about is winning. You know, I'm going into my sixth year already, it flies by. I'm only getting better and I want to be a part of a winning culture. And keeping AP was the first step, but we have a ton of work to do. So, I'm fired up for it. I know AP is and everybody's on the same page. So, we're going to keep, you know, we're going to keep reloading the clip, bring more people in and just, you know, take this thing to where we know we can be.
06:26 How's the recovery going? With the thumb and the knee?
06:30 Yeah, the knee's going great. I've been rehabbing for weeks now. Same with the thumb. You know, I got to, it's obviously a process. I got to slow play it, but at the same time, I'm doing a ton of different things. I'm working my butt off every single morning. So, I'm getting after it and recovering just as much as I'm working. So, yeah, it's going great so far.
06:48 Everyone knows how excited you were about AP, but how excited were you when you knew Patrick was going to be back and Rob Leonard?
06:55 Yeah, I was fired up. You know, those guys as well, you know, I spoke publicly about them as well. You know, I love Pat, Robbie Leonard, me and him are like this. One of the best coaches I've been around. And those guys in general are football guys to the core. So, you've seen what our defense did from, you know, the beginning two years ago to where we ended this year. We ended up, you know, being a top ten defense and that's what we want to be. We want to be one of the best defense. We want to be great, not just a really good defense. We want to be the greatest.
07:21 So, we talked about it and it flipped our whole season. You know, we were competitive no matter where we played, no matter if it was home away, best offense in the league, worst, it doesn't matter. We set the tempo and that's what we preach all the time. So, I'm so happy they're back. And, you know, like I said, bring in more guys, bring in more dogs and just keep building this thing up.
07:41 Max, what are you talking about, you know, coming in the league, being overlooked, going from where you are now to where you were then. How awesome is it to be able to get back to the game and have events like this, you know, just based on your growth in the league?
07:54 It's incredible. Like I said, I don't take it for granted. Every single day I'm grateful to be in this position. I work every single day to not only stay here but keep gaining and growing in the right direction. And if that's making a positive impact in the community or whether that's on the field on Sundays or whatever I'm doing, if it's, you know, leading guys and runs at 6 a.m., like, I'm willing to do that and I'm going to keep doing that every single day until I can't do it anymore.
08:16 So, I don't take a day for granted, man. I love what I do. I love coming here and showing love to the guys and, you know, giving them little pointers and, you know, a little bit of, you know, just show love, you know what I mean, instill confidence like he was mentioning. So, yeah, you know, I'm fired up. I'm excited I'm here and it's been fun so far.
08:33 It's been talked about a lot how you were able to play through injuries last season. Is there like a threshold where your body kind of tells you, like, okay, actually you need to take some time off or is that just not existent for you?
08:44 Yeah, for me, you know, if I can, if I got a heart beat and I could run, you know what I mean, somewhat, I'm going to play. That's my mindset. I've played, you know, I've had five surgeries in five years and I've never missed a game. So, I mean, it speaks for itself and for me it's not like going out there being a shell of myself out there.
09:02 You know, people are telling me to shut the season down after the Chiefs game when I went out there and played and I was, I heard everything. We went to the bye week and I'm like, watch what I do when I come back and I went out there versus the Vikings and destroyed them, just being honest and, you know what I mean, that was on my mind.
09:16 I'm like, I'm not done. I know I can still play. I was just locked in and focused and things were a little bit different. I'm used to practicing every day, doing every workout with all the guys, doing all the normal stuff, but I had to go down a different street, but my goal never changed.
09:28 And that's why I was able to finish the season, you know, on a strong note and it just gives me more confidence going into offseason. I get my body back together. Like I said, it's another road I have to travel doing rehab on two different things, but I'm still putting the work in every single day and I'm trusting the process and I'm trusting my team around me to help me on a daily basis.
09:44 basis. Thank you guys.