New York Giants Week 9: Examining the Las Vegas Raiders Defense
New York Giants fans will see a familiar face on TV during this weekend’s game, as Las Vegas Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham held the same position with the Giants during the 2020 and 2021 seasons. The Giants, meanwhile, could be getting more reinforcements back on their offensive line to help thwart that Raiders pass rush.
Let's take a look, though, at how Graham has built up this Raiders defense.
Personnel
It would be foolish to try discussing this defense by not starting with Maxx Crosby. Crosby has long-established himself as one of the best pass-rushers in football, and this year has put his name in the conversation for best edge defender with Myles Garrett, Nick Bosa, TJ Watt, and Micah Parsons.
Crosby has 47 pressures on the season, the most in the NFL right now, and 27 tackles for a gain of three or fewer, tied for the most among edge defenders and the eighth-most among any defenders. A versatile threat off the edge, Crosby’s playing out of his mind this season and has been one of the bright spots of this Raiders defense that has struggled mightily on the line.
Another bright spot has been safety Tre’von Moehrig. Moehrig is hitting his stride in his third year as a pro and second year under Graham. Schematically, this defense asks him to do a lot of the same things he was asked to do while at TCU, where Moehrig won the Jim Thorpe Award for the best defensive back in the country.
His IQ and range are exceptional. There isn’t a defender on this team who’s asked to move around more or as effectively as Moehrig.
Moehrig’s running mate at safety is Marcus Epps, who Giants fans may remember from his past few years as a Philadelphia Eagle. Epps is still settling into the deep safety role of this defense that’s got some stark differences from what he did last year under Jonathan Gannon.
Robert Spillane and Divine Deablo are the primary linebackers in this defense, but they leave plenty to be desired. Spillane’s run defense and occasional blitzing makes him solid early, but he’s average in coverage for a defense that’s been beaten by tight ends consistently. Deablo is still learning to play linebacker after starting as a safety, but he’s shown promise of putting strong performances together.
At cornerback, the Raiders have had a revolving door due to injuries and trying to figure out the best combination possible. The mainstay has been Marcus Peters, who’s been going through a bit of a career resurgence back to his high-risk/high-reward self.
Saving the worst for last, this Raiders defensive line outside of Crosby has been just bad--there’s no other way to put it. This line rotates heavily, although it’s hard to tell if that’s to keep fresh legs constantly cycling in or if it’s because they can’t find a combination that works.
Scheme
If Giants fans remember anything about Patrick Graham’s defense, they’ll remember that this is a zone-heavy system intended to create turnovers on the back end. Whether it’s about showing pressure but not blitzing or more focused on disguising coverage to cause hesitation, Graham is a more modern type of coordinator who isn’t doing too much as a play-caller but is constantly trying to confuse offenses.
The most common coverages Giants fans should expect to see are Cover 3 and quarters. Not only are those the most common coverages that the Raiders have played this season, but it’s also how NFL teams have defended the Giants.
Post-snap movement is going to be a focal point of the Raiders defense. Hopefully, Daniel Jones, after missing some time with a neck injury, will have no issues getting back into live-game situations. I’m also curious to see how many full-field reads we see from Jones if he still has any soreness or tightness in his neck.
The Raiders this season have made a habit of lining up with two-high shells, like many defenses do in today’s era of football. Where the Raiders separate from the pack a bit is how often they go from a two-high shell to single-high coverage, whether that be Cover 3 or Cover 1, as mentioned before.
When the Raiders go to man-coverage, it will likely be on third downs, and it will most likely be Cover 1 accompanied by a blitz from either Spillane or Deablo. Those two have blitzed 11.8% and 13%, respectively, and with the Giants offensive line being in its current state, it wouldn’t shock me if the Raiders chose to test that a bit more.
What This Means for the Giants
Daniel Jones is back from his neck injury, and the main focal point involving him has to be keeping him healthy while also being able to move the ball. Luckily for the Giants, the Raiders have one of the worst run defenses in the league and have been torched all season, especially in recent weeks.
In week 7, the Bears rushed for 173 yards against the Raiders, and in Week 8, the Lions ran for 222 yards. Saquon Barkley is coming off a career-high 36 carries, but against this defense, he shouldn’t be fighting for three-yard gains, and maybe this week, the Giants will attempt this crazy thing called “the forward pass” to limit those carries.
If there was ever a week for Matt Breida to be involved in the gameplan, it should be this week. That would keep Barkley fresh, and this is the best chance he has to be effective on the ground.
In the passing game, I would expect probably the most screen-heavy performance we’ve seen from Daniel Jones to let him grip and rip to keep him clean. I would also look to see if the throws go mostly to the right side of the field. If Jones’ neck is sore or tight at all and the offense does work with fewer full-field reads, I would expect those throws to go toward the right more often.
Final Thoughts
The Raiders may be undergoing changes in their front office and coaching staff this week, but their defense remains intact, at least for now. The weaknesses are there, and the Giants offense should be able to run the ball and attack underneath better than they have all season.
The Giants, currently the 32nd-ranked offense in the league (the Raiders are 31st, by the way), need five points in Week 9 to hit 100 points on the season, a mark every other NFL team hit either before or during Week 7. Let that sink in for a minute.
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