British Invasion For The Dallas Cowboys

Nov 9, 2014; London, UNITED KINGDOM; Dallas Cowboys defensive end Jack Crawford (58) sacks Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles in the NFL International Series game at Wembley Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The Dallas Cowboys though are becoming the team for Brits. Defensive end Jack Crawford will begin his third season with the team this year. Originally drafted in the fifth round by the Raiders in 2012, he became another cog in the Rod Marinelli rotating defense.

Crawford had his best game of the season at Wembley in November. He impressed with a sack a forced fumble and two tackles. It was unfortunate that a thumb injury later ruled him out for the remainder of the season, just as he seemed to be showing real promise.

Jack’s got all the make up to stick around on this Cowboys roster. He’s got a non stop motor and from speaking with coaches in London last year he’s one of the last men off the field after each practice. With the defensive line having an overhaul this offseason, 2015 will be a real opportunity for the Englishman to make his mark. An improvement in technique could be the difference in him making the 53 man roster or not.

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2014 saw an Englishman join the Dallas Cowboys coaching staff. Aden Durde formerly played at linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs and Carolina Panthers. In recent years he’s been involved in coaching. He’s currently the London Warriors defensive co-ordinator but spent last summer working as an intern with the Cowboys.

"“I learned from Rod Marinelli. He is a great leader and I learned about delivering a consistent message from him. He spoke about the same things every day in camp and you saw it go from words and an idea to a physical thing that shows up on the field. He did that through grinding a consistent message.”- Aden Durde"

The number of British players and coaches involved in the NFL is still low. But Durde is one of those backing the growth of the sport here in England. The equivalent to the Play 60 scheme is being introduced to schools in London.
The goal for Durde is to eventually coach within the NFL.

"“I want to coach in the NFL. It will be hard, but everything is hard that you want to do. I’ll just keep grinding and hopefully I can get there”"

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