To be a great NFL player, you have to be able to adjust on the fly and make quick decisions. Sometimes that applies off the field as well.
So, the other day when Maxx Crosby was asked about whether one of the Raiders players had some Richie Incognito in him, he didn’t hesitate in his answer. And it was the correct answer; “There’s only one Richie Incognito”
As it happens, I had a chance to catch up with Incognito Sunday as he is among several former Raiders players in attendance for alumni weekend.
First off, he said that Maxx was right; there is only one Richie Incognito. But there is also only one Maxx Crosby.
“There’s only one Mad Maxx,” said Incognito, who joined the Raiders the same offseason Crosby was drafted. “You watch him go out there and play with that effort and that passion. There’s very few guys out there that can go out there and transcend the game and transcend everything that we have to deal with to go out there and put on a performance like that. So, I love watching Maxx, because I play with passion and Maxx plays with a tremendous amount of passion and effort and it’s great to see.”
Two two spent three training camps competing with each other on the offensive and defensive lines respectively. The work ethic and relentlessness we have all come to associate with Maxx impressed Incognito as well.
“I remember pulling over there and whacking him on a counter play and I’m hitting him and I’m hitting him and I’m like ‘Man, this kid just keeps coming back’,” Incognito recounted from when Crosby was a rookie. “Because I’m bringing it and he wasn’t too big back then. I kept bringing it and it really started to click for me when we used to do pass rush drills and you saw Maxx putting it together. . . You really see the signs that this guy could be a premiere pass rusher.”
The 13-years NFL veteran had plenty of wisdom to impart on Crosby about work ethic. But it was obviously pretty early that Crosby brought plenty of that with him into the building. Though having a veteran example like Incognito could only help.