New Oakland Raiders linebacker Bruce Irvin believes that he was stifled by the previous system in Seattle that he played under.
On Tuesday, Irvin told Sirius XM Radio that he hoped that he’d be utilized to make more plays in Oakland, which he wasn’t in Seattle.
“I honestly felt if I stayed in [Seattle’s] system, I don’t think I would ever be the player I think I can be in this league, being a pass rusher. SAM outside linebacker is cool,” Irvin said, via Will Brinson of Eye on Football. “But you can do your job the whole game at SAM linebacker and you have two tackles. I just want to be utilized more and get put in position more to make plays. I really think Jack Del Rio and Ken Norton are going to do a great of allowing me to do that.”
“I was drafted to be a pass rusher. The situation in Seattle, they brought in Cliff Avril my second year and Michael Bennett,” Irvin said. “And I was kind of pushed into a linebacker role, which I didn’t complain. I just went with the flow. But I think Jack Del Rio and Coach Norton are really going to let me rush more. I don’t have a problem rushing, but I prefer to go forward more than I go backwards.
“I haven’t even scratched what I know I can do. Like I said, Seattle kind of limited me in that defense. I did the best I could do, but I haven’t scratched my surface. I’m far from it. I feel like I got a lot more great years and a lot more to prove. The money is cool. Everyone wants to be paid, but at the end of the day it’s about the last name on the jersey and the legacy you’re going to leave.”
Irvin sounds like a guy who wants to stuff the stat sheet and become an elite pass rusher. Seattle’s defense, of course, has had a lot of talent over the last few years and some of the players involved have to do some dirty work. Now Irvin will get his chance to show what he can do.
Irvin isn’t the only free agent to take some parting shots at his former employer.
