Dave Tollefson was channeling his inner Lloyd Christmas during a conference call with Bay Area media on Tuesday afternoon.The newest Raiders defensive lineman, signed as a free agent on Saturday after five years and two Super Bowl rings with the New York Giants, was asked how his championship pedigree would rub off on his new teammates.RELATED: Signing with Raiders homecoming for Tollefson
"I don't know much, but there's a few things I do know," Tollefson said after a brief pause. "And one of them is getting in the tournament. I mean, you've got to have a chance. If you're not in the tournament -- which is playoffs when I say that -- you don't have a chance."I always like to quote my favorite movie "Dumb and Dumber," when he was asking what are the chances a girl like (you) and a guy like (me) can be together and she says, 'One in a million.'"The character of Christmas, played by Jim Carey in the 1994 film, was anything but crestfallen."And Jim Carey says, 'So you're saying there's a chance,'" Tollefson recounted with a laugh. "Just to have the opportunity to play for the title and get in the playoffs, that's all you need. And then you take it one game at a time and next thing you know you're hoisting up the Lombardi Trophy. There's no secret to winning championships. It's just a matter of doing the work and when it comes to playoff time, taking advantage of the opportunities."In Gotham, the Walnut Creek native who grew up in Concord and played at Ygnacio Valley High was a role player, of sorts, on the Giants' fearsome defensive line. Drafted by Green Bay in the seventh round (No. 253 overall) of the 2006 draft out of Northwest Missouri State and later being a member of the Raiders' practice squad, Tollefson played behind and alongside some of the game's best at the position and contributed his own flavor.Michael Strahan. Osi Umenyiora. Justin Tuck."It's huge, man." Tollefson said. "To be the best, you've got to be around the best, you've got to be surrounded by people that are successful in order for yourself to be successful. So being with those group of guys for that period of time was really special."I just got here (to Oakland) today, my first workout in today, but there's a group of guys here that can play ball up front, too, which is exciting to see. I'm not quite an old, wily vet yet. I've got a few years left in me. I think I've seen quite a bit in this league and they got a group of guys here that can do some big things also. I look back fondly on my time with those guys (in New York). It was special, for sure, but you can't dwell on the past. You've got to keep going forward and make the future."The 6-foot-4, 266-pound Tollefson has started just two of the 62 career games in which he's played and he's not expected to replace either Lamarr Houston or a physically-healed Matt Shaughnessy in the starting lineup. Rather, he's expected to provide a boost off the bench and on special teams.Last season, Tollefson, 29, played in all 16 regular season games with the two starts and had career highs in tackles (21) and sacks (five). In his career, he has 81 tackles (56 solo), with 10 sacks, five passes defensed and three forced fumbles.RELATED: Dave Tollefson 2011 game logs
So what does he anticipate his on-field role being in Oakland?"You know, I think it's the multiplicitywhat I can do as a player," he said. "I played a lot of snaps inside. Will I do that here? I'm not quite sure. We've got a great groups of D tackles that can do a really good job inside. So I think that's what intrigued the Raiders about me, just the ability to do anything. And that's something that you have to do as a guy that hasn't necessarily started in this league."I've started a couple of games but you kind of got to be good at everything because you really don't know when an opportunity's going to come for you to contribute to a team winning a game. So I think that's what, hopefully, they're going to use me for. Just kind of, whatever, what do you need me to do? I can even mow the grass if you want to."Rather, the Raiders would prefer he mow down opposing running backs.The Raiders' run defense has been an Achilles' heel in recent years. Last season, the Raiders ranked 27th against the run, giving up 136.1 yards per game on the ground. The Giants, meanwhile, were 19th, with a 121.2 average."You've got to be physical and I think sometimes run defense can be overshadowed by a want to get sacks because that's considered to be such game-changing plays," Tollefson said. "But I'm always thinking you've got earn the right to rush the passer and the way you do that is by stopping the run. That's going to be a focus of mine no matter what, and I think it will be the guys' (focus) up front."You've got to do it up front and obviously the linebackers are named linebackers because they back the line. If the guys up front aren't getting the job done, it doesn't matter who you have behind you. It's definitely going to be a focus of ours -- stop the run -- because if you can't stop the run you better not even start thinking about getting sacks, because they'll just run the ball all day on you."
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