RENTON — Don’t take this the wrong way, but Lawrence Jackson doesn’t care what you think.
Of course he wants to succeed on the field, and in doing so make Seahawks fans happy, but the second-year defensive end from USC is taking a big-picture approach to his NFL a career.
Jackson, a guy who comes off as quite a bit more intelligent and introspective than your average NFL defensive lineman, views his growth in the NFL as a process. He sees his 2008 rookie year — a season many outside observers dubbed a disappointment — as just a step on the way to becoming a finished product.
“Football is no longer a sport, it’s an art, and I have to perfect my craft,” said Jackson, the 28th overall pick of the 2008 draft. “If I were a cook, I would want people to like my food, so obviously you want people to like the way you play, but at the end, they don’t matter. It’s just about working every day at you craft and getting as good as you can, and you have to put that (criticism) aside, because the society that we live in, we want instant gratification; we want everything right now, but it takes time to be a good player in this league.”
It might take time, but Jackson seemed to take a big step towards becoming a good player in Sunday’s win over the St. Louis Rams. After a preseason in which Jackson did little to differentiate himself from other reserve linemen, he spent last weekend’s opener being a menace in the backfield and recorded one of Seattle’s three sacks.
“Lawrence played well, very well,” Seahawks coach Jim Mora said. “We have kind of been waiting for that. … Just to see him play physical, play aggressive, have a sack and have an impact on the game, that’s a real positive for him and for us.”
Jackson started 14 games as a rookie, but recorded just two sacks and wasn’t the impact player many fans were expecting out of a first-round pick. And even if Jackson is taking a more philosophical, big-picture approach to his career, Mora thinks the doubters have had an effect on Jackson, which might not be a bad thing.
“He’s human, he hears the criticisms and I’m sure there’s the element of ‘I need to prove myself, I need to prove myself to people, and I need to go out and play well and do it consistently,’” Mora said.
And there are plenty of examples of defensive ends who have taken a couple of years to develop in the NFL, including one of Seattle’s starters.
“Shoot, I had five sacks in two years to start off my career,” said Patrick Kerney, a two-time Pro Bowl player who had 221/2 sacks in his third and fourth NFL seasons. “(Jackson) did a great job Sunday,and I think he was excited to validate the hard work he’s put in.”
Jackson is more comfortable in his second year in the NFL, and that comofrt level is making the biggest difference, he says. Yet he knows he still will have his struggles, still have his critics as he tries to come closer to mastering his craft. He just won’t let that get him down knowing what lies ahead.
“I understand that everything looks better when you’re standing on the mountain top,” he said. “All the little trials and tribulations you go through don’t mean nothing when you get to the top, so that’s the perspective I have going into this thing. If today is bad, there is something that I can work on and get better on today. … You learn something from defeat: ‘Hey, I can’t do that crap anymore, I’m going to get beat.’ It just takes time to get comfortable with yourself as a player in this league.”
And if last weekend was any indication, Jackson could be on his way to silencing his critics. Even if that doesn’t happen right away, however, Jackson will continue with the process, confident he will “perfect his craft” somewhere down the road.
“You never know when it’s going to happen,” he said. “It could be year one, it could be year two, it could be year three, but if you keep working, the law of the universe is that it’s going to work out for you.”
Jones returns to practice
A positive sight for the Seahawks was that of left tackle Walter Jones on the practice field Thursday. Jones, who is recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery, was limited in practice, and a decision has not yet been made on his availability for Sunday’s game. Also returning to practice in limited roles were receiver Deion Branch (hamstring) and cornerback Travis Fisher (hamstring).
Sitting out Thursday were receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh (back spasms), center Chris Spencer (quadriceps), linebacker Lofa Tatupu (hamstring) and defensive tackle Brandon Mebane (calf). Mebane is the only new injury of the bunch. He suffered it during Wednesday’s practice.
Herald Writer John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com. For more Seahawks coverage, check out the Seahawks blog at www.heraldnet.com/seahawksblog
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
