Raiders icon Howie Long plays 'big brother' offering bold advice to Maxx Crosby
Maxx Crosby is staking a claim to become the best Raiders defensive end to ever play the game and if he must do so, he needs to get past Howie Long. The Pro Football Hall of Fame player won eight Pro Bowl nods and played his entire career with the franchise.
And on his podcast today, Maxx Crosby had the pleasure of taking some advice from Howie Long. The current Raiders player asked what he should do to become even more successful and the former great advised him to use the allowances in the game today to ensure he rotates.
The Hall of Famer qualified his statement by saying it was just an advice and not an instruction, saying:
"Listen, I’m not going to tell you what to do, because I played the same number of snaps. You know I didn’t rotate, there was no rotating then. Now they rotate and that can be a good thing you know, it’s like you could pick a spot here or there to take a blow and you know inevitably if I hit you with a hammer enough, you’re going to blink."
Howie Long says he is rooting for Maxx Crosby to succeed with Raiders
Howie Long also continued by acknowledging that Maxx Crosby is an extremely durable player and has been involved in a high volume of snaps. He said that the advice he is giving to the current Raiders player is just as an alumnus and somebody who is a well-wisher; kind of an older brother. He said,
"When you’re at the kind of snaps you are, I think you were the No. 1 defensive lineman in snaps played percentage-wise, I’d like to see you rotate a little bit more, just as an alumni, an older brother, you know someone who wants to see you do great."
Getting advice from the man whose legacy he intends to touch is something Maxx Crosby should be grateful for. However, his path toward glory is arguably tougher than Howie Long's, at least in terms of winning a Super Bowl for the Raiders franchise.
Instead of being the top dogs in the league as they used to be once, they are currently struggling to make the playoffs and have a fluid quarterback situation. They also have a dynastic Kansas City Chiefs to contend with in their own division. So, if Maxx Crosby has to emulate Howie Long on that front, he will need much more help from across the team.