Las Vegas Raiders DC Patrick Graham Week 16 Update

HENDERSON, Nev.--The Las Vegas Raiders (6-8) and headed to a collision in the cold against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium on Christmas Eve, Saturday.

Moments ago, Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham talked about last weekend's win and the state of the franchise.

You can watch the entire press conference below and read the transcript as well:

Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham

Q: Going back to the Rams game earlier in the year, you had success calling that same defense in a similar situation. Calling that defense in that situation goes against conventional wisdom. What is it about your team and your roster that you like using that in that situation?

Coach Graham: "It's just what I thought was best at the time. Obviously, didn't work out. But again, I got to coach that situation better. You can go look back, I've had several situations like that in my career just in terms of what's been successful, what hasn't been. I thought that was what was best at that time. And I probably could do a better job coaching that and learn from that experience and move on. Thankfully, last week against the Patriots, we had some success in two-minute. And Pittsburgh is going to definitely challenge us with that, with all the skill they have out there -- the quarterback and all the plays. But again, it just usually goes into like what I thought was going to be good at the time and it didn't work out."

Q: There's some uncertainty in terms of Pittsburgh's quarterback. It looks like they announced that it might be Kenny Pickett coming back. How much does that complicate preparations?

Coach Graham: "I've told you before, each week I always talk about how many opponents we have in the season. We're always prepared for whoever they have on their roster, you've got to be prepared for that. Sometimes you have to be prepared for guys who are on the practice squad based on the health situation in the quarterbacks. So again, that's the challenge for us every week. Most coaches are dealing with that in the league. Similar skill sets, [Mason] Rudolph is a little bit different than those guys, but similar skill sets in terms of being able to make plays with their feet on the move. They've got a whole bunch of other guys to worry about as well. From the running back to the O-line who's playing really well together. The receivers, tight end is a good player. The back, he's one of the best in the league, but we always take that into consideration each week."

Q: You guys are going against George Pickens, a guy who has good height, weight, speed. What do you see from his game that may present a challenge for you on the back end?

Coach Graham: "Well, most positions if you have height, weight and speed -- I mean, it's a big man league, that's what this game is about is a lot of big people playing and running fast, and he's one of those guys. He does a good job down the field catching the ball. He challenges you in the running game. That's what I’m always impressed with, the receivers who block in the running game, who get in there. He's in the C-gap area blocking. He'll come down there and crack you. I'm really impressed with how they teach that. Mike [Tomlin] does a good job of instilling toughness in those guys and you can see it on the tape. Just look at the last game against Carolina, just in terms of how many times they ran the ball. Mike's not one to say something and not mean it. So, he said they're going to establish the line of scrimmage, the toughness. He wanted that to show, and they took it down there on the road and they did that. So, we've got to get ready for that. Especially a Saturday night game. Christmas Eve. It's going to be pretty cool."

Q: What’s gone into the development of Luke Masterson and Tyler Hall?

Coach Graham: "I think it starts first with the position coaches. Tyler with Coach [Jason] Simmons, Luke with Coach [Antonio] Pierce, and then on top of that it's the quality control coaches. I think Josh [McDaniels] established that early on in the spring. He told those guys that’s part of what they're going to be evaluated on, getting the young players ready, and they've done a good job with that, both the coaches and the quality control coaches. But definitely I think it's a big part of your program when you have good quality control coaches. That's important to have, because they've got to get those guys ready in this league where you're going to lose guys throughout the season. So, kudos to those guys. They do a good job there."

Q: Amik Robinson started the game on the sidelines. He wasn't in there the first couple of series but then you turn to him, and he might have delivered his best game of the season. Can you talk about his response to not getting early playing time but being ready when his number is called. And what has he been able to bring to the table?

Coach Graham: "The thing about Amik, and all our guys, they know it's next man up and being ready to go whether it's because of injuries in the past, or what have you, or just like the rotation of the game. I think they all prepare. All the guys in defensive backfield, they all prepare, and they know that their number can be called at any point. So, just him being ready and that was a good thing. And I think all the guys were ready, we had some good plays. I mean, in terms of production in terms of the passing game, it was our best game. In terms of what does Amik brings to the table, I mean just going back to his college days, he's a ball hawk. I think he has one interception; he has a touchdown on the fumble recovery. That's one thing about him, you look for ball hawks when you're doing an evaluation process, and that's important to have. He's one of those guys who looks for the ball. He had a couple pass breakups right there. I mean, you want guys like that on defense."

Q: As a former defensive lineman would you have had your stiff arm ready to go?

Coach Graham: "Listen, you've got to understand. As a former defensive lineman, I carried the water. I warmed up the bench for when they came to sit down. I didn't do too much playing. I was in the defensive line room, I'll say that."

Q: How impressed were you with Chandler Jones?

Coach Graham: "You see how my face changes. Chan is Chan. From the first day I've met him, I've been in love since. It was love at first sight when I went to work him out at Syracuse. I didn't think there's anything on the football field that man can't do. I’m just proud of him, man. I was happy for him. That's my guy."

Q: Are you worried about losing him to the offense now?

Coach Graham: "No. I think he could do anything on the defensive side of the ball, let's say that."

Q: What was going through your mind process during that play?

Coach Graham: "Just get him down and then just start thinking about overtime. And then, saw the ball go back and then he started running and I didn't realize that he still was up. To be honest, I didn't realize it, and then someone said run and I turned around and I said: 'Oh.' But hopefully, we won’t need that this week. Big thing we need this week is to be able to stop the run and deal with their physicality and make sure to stay on top of the deep balls. But it should be a fun game. Good team."

Q: What did you see when you looked at the film because the Patriots did have success running the ball?

Coach Graham: "Basically, I saw a lot of stuff we need to work on in the next few days to get ready for Pittsburgh. So again, one, I've got to do a better job calling some stuff and getting the guys in the right spot. But we've got to work on our fundamentals in terms of run technique. Make sure we're leveraging the formation and just doing a better job of controlling the line of scrimmage. That's a big part of what we want to be as a defense, what coach [Josh] McDaniels sees us being as a football team, controlling the line of scrimmage. So, we got to do a better job there."

Q: When you look at Najee Harris and the skills that he has, how important will it be for guys like Luke Masterson and Denzel Perryman to be ready to go against him?

Coach Graham: "I mean, he's a big man. This is a very big man. I mean, just on the tape it seemed like he was bigger. I haven't seen him in person before, so I'm looking forward to it. I get excited about these big backs like Derrick Henry, those guys. But he's a big man, it's going to be a challenge. It's going to be a challenge for everybody, it's not going to be a one man show to tackle this guy. He has a stiff arm, he's elusive, he has good speed, he has great vision. And it's going to be a tough match-up. And then, the O-line I can't say enough about these guys. They're blocking people, they're being physical at the line of scrimmage. They're all big men and they do a good job of getting movement, so it's going to be a challenge. And then the tight ends, they come in there, they're all big and they can block, and the receivers can block. I'm sure when the quarterback comes out in one of these gadgets, he might block too. It's a Pittsburgh football team. It's going to be Saturday night; it's going to be cold. It's going to be fun."

Q: What do you see from Kyle Peko’s game coming in as a practice squad player and now being elevated to the active roster?

Coach Graham: "All the things we're looking for in terms of that position, one, staying ready and being ready. I mean, that's what he's done his whole career. He's a veteran. He knows how to play blocks; he plays with patience. A big part of that, people think defeating blocks is just shocking somebody and getting off it. It's about being patient. By the time you make contact with offensive lineman, the ball carrier doesn't have the ball yet. You've got to control the block first, so you could find where the ball is. You get off too soon, then you get in trouble. His patience in the running game, the ability to lock out and shed, that’s the stuff that stands out to me. And then being able to move laterally in terms of staying on his feet, and just being smart about it. Playing to the tendencies, reading his keys. So, real pleased with what Kyle has done."

Q: They haven't used Najee Harris as much as a receiver this year as they did last year, but it's still certainly in his skill set. In general, running backs who can catch the ball that well, how much of a variable is that for you to prepare for them?

Coach Graham: "Well, the game comes down to the people and is always coming down to match ups. So, whatever they're trying to do in terms of a match-up, whether it's get a tight end on a linebacker or a receiver on a safety, or back on a safety, it's always coming down to match-ups. So, that's just another tool in their toolbox right there to be able to use if you have a back that could catch the ball and it puts more stress on the defense. They could put them out at number one in empty, they could put him all over the place, and you just got to figure it out. But because of his skill-set, mainly because he's a tough tackle, it's a tough match-up for anybody. And because they can block, I keep telling y'all now, they can block. They do a good job of blocking."

Q: What have you seen from Tre'von Moehrig? Have you continued to see him develop? He's coming back from that hip injury that he had early in the season.

Coach Graham: "One, the film study is showing up. The maturity in terms of a second-year player, that process. And also, the safety position in my opinion, it's like a quarterback, you've got to get the looks over the years. Like, Duron's [Harmon] able to play with anticipation because he's had all those thousands of looks he's had. Last week, Devin McCourty, he's had so many different looks as a safety it's real similar to the quarterback, like, 'Okay, I know where the tilts coming here. I can anticipate this pressure.' It takes time for that to come and then you can start to develop a little bit of savvy about how you playing the position. You know the quarterbacks’ eyes are on you. So, it's all starting to come together. He's still early in that process. He’s only in his second year. But you see a maturity coming in terms of in the film room, practice field, and it's showing up in the games."

The Raiders return to action on Christmas Eve, on Saturday in Pittsburgh versus the Steelers. That game kicks off at 8:15 p.m. EST/5:15 p.m. PST and can be seen on NFLN.

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