Crawford Accustomed to Playing Catch-Up
Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Jack Crawford is the furthest thing from a stranger to playing from behind.
In many ways, he’s done it since he was a foreign exchange student at St. Augustine Preparatory High School in New Jersey.
A native of London, Crawford did not arrive in the United States until he was 16 years old, when his original dream was to play basketball. He didn’t strap on a football helmet and pads until his junior year of high school.
An American football fan and a rugby player growing up, Crawford said that contact wasn’t the problem. Instead, it was learning the ins and outs of the game.
“I just had to learn the rules, to be honest. So, my junior year I just went out for the team and they took me,” Crawford said this week. “I probably didn't get the rules down while I was in high school. I probably didn't understand all the rules until I got to college. The coaches kind of lined me up and told me what to do. That’s how I got introduced to it, to be honest.”
While the situation is vastly different for Crawford nowadays, the 31-year-old will once again have to play catch up.
Signed to a one-year deal by the Titans in March, Crawford had to get used to new teammates, coaches and schemes via Zoom calls this offseason. And when he finally was able to step foot in Nashville, he was placed on the Titans’ COVID-19 reserve list shortly after.
As a result, Crawford was sent to quarantine. Without a home or apartment in Nashville yet, he said he had to stay focused on team and defensive meetings from an area hotel. Even before that it was hard for him to get any football-related work in during an offseason in which many gyms and facilities were closed.
Thus, Crawford said, he worried about falling too far behind with his new team until he was released from the COVID-19 list last week. Head coach Mike Vrabel, however, gave him reassurance.
“Coming back from that, I felt like I was over-worrying,” Crawford said. “I felt like I was stressing too much. Coming back, the coaches, Coach Vrabel, they take it in stride. They're glad that we’re back. It made me feel better about coming back.
“...I'm fairly patient, but I also worry about normal things people do when they're at work. That's falling behind or not being able to perform at the level that they need to.”
Throughout his career, Crawford has performed at a fairly consistent level as a role player.
A fifth-round pick by the Oakland Raiders in 2012, the 6-foot-5, 288-pound Crawford has appeared in 93 career games (23 starts) with three franchises (Oakland, Dallas, Atlanta). Crawford has recorded 16 career sacks and 132 total tackles.
His best season to date was with the Falcons in 2018, when he set a career-high in sacks (six) and tackles (35). Crawford has played in all 16 games in four of the last five seasons.
In short order, his new teammates and coaches got a sense of what they missed when Crawford was unable to practice.
“I'm excited to work with Jack,” Vrabel said. “Just watching his effort the other day. The first play that he was in there in the scrimmage, the play went to the sidelines and he was flying down the line of scrimmage and was there.
“Just his effort level. He's a veteran player and what has stood out to me has been the effort that he's been able to show since he's gotten back off that COVID/Reserve list.”
Added defensive line coach Terrell Williams: “He’s just a hard-playing dude. And that’s as simple as it can get. To me, he does exactly what we want him to do as far as his effort and finish. That’s part of our team goals, and Jack is a guy who believes in that.”
It may take Crawford some more time to catch up. He even said it for himself.
But there is no doubt he will put in the work.
“In terms of effort, that’s something that I brought to football since I started playing,” Crawford said. “I guess it's helped me stay in the league, it's also helped me catch up when I have to.
I understand I'm coming from a position where I'm a little bit behind. So, I think that that kind of helps me probably catch up with the rest of the team.”
