New Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham told Pro Bowl defensive end Maxx Crosby not to worry about whether he’ll be playing in a 3-4 or 4-3 defense.
Crosby says Graham called him just minutes after taking the defensive coordinator job to let him know that Graham likes the way Crosby plays and isn’t going to ask him to change much of anything.
“I’ve been a 4-3 [alignment] guy since high school,” Crosby said, via ESPN. “I want to be able to play 6-[technique] and 9-tech and Coach Graham, the first thing he said was, ‘Stop hearing all this noise about 3-4, 4-3. We’re going to put you in the right position.’ And that’s all it comes down to is just trust and obviously he wants me to succeed and help the team in any way he can. So that’s what I plan on doing -- just continuing going on the right trajectory in my career.”
The reality is, there’s not a bright line dividing a 3-4 defense and a 4-3 defense, and teams can play both. The most important thing for Graham is that he knows he has a good pass rusher in Crosby, and he’s not going to change that.
