Las Vegas Raiders DC Patrick Graham Week 17 Update
HENDERSON, Nev.--The Las Vegas Raiders (6-89 are headed home to Allegiant Stadium to host the San Francisco 49er on New Year's Day, Sunday afternoon.
Moments ago, Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham talked about last weekend's loss and the state of the franchise.
You can watch the entire press conference below and read the transcript.
Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham
Q: Your defense has been playing pretty well for the last four games. What's been going right for the defense?
Coach Graham: “Any time you start playing well defensively -- again, not well enough to win right now consistently enough -- it's because guys are coming together and learning how to defend the grass together as a unit, that's a big part of it. Again, all the space you're dealing with, the situations you have to deal with, the skill level of the teams we're going against, you've got to learn how to play together. And I think it takes some time for that. Some teams get to a quicker, some teams have some history. Not that any other season matters, but like that's what happens. When you look at the good defenses throughout the years, it's because guys know how to play with one another, they know to work off of each other, have some familiarity with the scheme, with each other. So, you can see that starting to build in terms of just the awareness, the alerts, understanding who they're talking to, how they need to communicate with the guys. So, that's one of the things that shows up when you start playing together as a defense."
Q: If Denzel Perryman isn't available, do you got some young players behind him in that linebacker room who you feel pretty confident in?
Coach Graham: "Again, it goes back to what Josh [McDaniels] talks about in terms of everybody being ready to go. The hires that coach made and Dave [Zeigler] made in terms of our young coaches, that's part of their evaluation process. I mean, that was a big part of my evaluation process, I believe, when I started off as a quality control. When you see those guys playing, it's because the quality control coaches, whether it's on the offensive side of the ball, defense, special teams. When you see young guys ready to play in this league and they’re ready for that next man up type mentality and they go out there and they're productive, you've got to look at the young coaches, because they’ve spent the most time with them. So, Matt Feeney, Matt Edwards, those are the guys on the defensive side of the ball. I mean, they've done a good job, along with their position coaches. I'm not taking away from that, but it's the young coaches. I'm real pleased with the progress they've shown in this league. It’s Matt Feeney’s first year in the league and just the ability to coach those guys up and help us out with the extra time. I'm really proud of what they've done with that work."
Q: With that being said, how much did it hurt when Denzel Perryman went down, when Chandler Jones went down? It felt like the Steelers really focused in on Maxx Crobsy and weren't really going to let him wreck the game.
Coach Graham: “Maxx is a game wrecker, you know that. So, like, whether it's last week, two weeks before, this week versus San Francisco, I'm sure Kyle's [Shanahan] going to try not to let Maxx wreck the game. This league is about personnel, it's about the people. So, like, each week, people go into it: 'OK, how do we take away their best player? How do we take away what they do best?' That's what both sides of the ball are doing. In terms of when you lose good players, I mean, does it hurt? Of course, it hurts. But again, we all have a job to do and that's what we have to do. That's why we prepare, we prepare for all scenarios, guys are ready to go. We got in there, guys played well. Unfortunately, we didn't get the result we wanted, but we'll just keep grinding away at it."
Q: Clelin Ferrell was one of those guys who came in and played productive. What did you think about his performance coming in for Chandler and what do you want to see out of him in these last two games?
Coach Graham: “The big thing about Cle for me, he's a big physical body. Play big and physical, do that. Usually when you put somebody in a category, you want him to do that. I mean, he's done that. He did a good job setting the edge. He had a few plays where he power rushed their tackle. He made a play in the passing game getting his hands up. Then we asked him to drop into coverage. The good thing about Cle is that he could wear multiple hats. And whenever you've got a guy like that on the edge, that helps you, because it helps you with disguise, it helps you with what you can do defensively. And then he's really taken hold of just studying and just understanding his role, whether it's in the pass rush, whether it's in the running game, the different positions he's playing. He's really doing a good job being studious and diligent working at it, and I couldn't be happier with that. And then we've got a big challenge this week because all those guys on the edge are going to get tested. One, you got to deal with Trent [Williams], who's the best in the league probably. I mean, he's a point of attack tackle. You've got all the formations and all the adjustments that Kyle's going to throw at you, which is always interesting. One thing he's going to do, he's going to run the ball. So, we've got a big challenge in front of us. Last week, we had a challenge with Pittsburgh and thankfully we did some good things in the run. We've got some stuff to clean up. But this week is going to be a big challenge. They've got big men blocking, they've got good backs running the ball. They present a lot of different challenges with the looks. So, it's going to be a challenge. You look forward to that. That's why we got into this profession."
Q: How much does that come down to discipline, because they are a team that likes to make you think they're doing one thing when the ball is really going over there?
Coach Graham: “A big part of my job as a coach is to put their eyes in the right place. I can't go out there and physically do it, obviously. Even when I was able to physically do it, I really couldn't do it that well. But a big part of it is me trying to get their eyes in the right place and help them go through their progressions. Because the reason why they're here in this league and there are a lot of people who play football, there are a lot of people who are talented playing football, but they get paid to make split second decisions out there. To be able to decipher whether it's a flash play, whether it's a power play, whether it's play action pass; that's why they get paid to do this. And a big part of that is getting their eyes in the right place, getting lined up the right way, and that's where my job comes into play."
Q: Neil Farrell and Matthew Butler have been working hard to get back on the field. What have you seen from them throughout the season?
Coach Graham: “Just progression in terms of getting better. Learning how to use their hands more consistently. Learning the patience that's required in the run game. When you're better than everybody else, whether it was high school, college, because everybody doesn't go to the pros, you're better than everybody else. You have a tendency to put your hands on the blocker and look for the ball right away. But when he's evened out more at this level, you've got to learn how to get your hands and control the blocker, be patient, and don't give the runner too much space to move. Because you're dealing with one of 32, that's what we talk about. When you deal with the back, there's one of the 32 of these people in the world. So, do you want to really play that space game with this man. Like, you're one of four on the line, and then four times 32, you guys do the math, 128. So, I'm not trying to knock you guys, but he's one of 32, your one of 128. That's a little different. Don't want to play that game with them."
Q: A lot of people talk about the unique system that Kyle Shanahan runs with his offense. How unique really is it when you watch them, as compared to watching another offense. How different is it from what a lot of people do?
Coach Graham: "I don't know if this is a proper term or not, but like a natural play-caller. He's just really good. He's really good at calling it. I know there's different branches from his tree and from his father's tree. And there are some similarities, I think, with the Kubiak tree. But in terms of just how he calls the game, I think it’s unique. We're blessed to have Josh [McDaniels], who's one of the best that I've ever been around. And then you watch Kyle, just in terms of the times I’ve gone against him, it's just really hard to get a beat on what he's doing. You know he's going to run the ball; you know they're going to do some play action, you know they're going to give you some window dressing. But in terms of the natural ability to call within the game, have a good feel for it, know how to use his players. Because again, it's about personnel and he knows how to use those guys and he knows the right situations. He presents a lot of challenges because of just his natural ability to call the game, I guess. I'm not trying to come up and be all philosophical about it, but I mean, he's just really good at calling the game and keeps you off balance and does a really good job. I'm always impressed with what he does with his offenses no matter who's out there. And it comes down to the players, they got really good players, but he does a good job of calling the game."
Q: How much of a difference have you seen from what they did earlier in the season with [quarterback] Jimmy Garoppolo to a guy like Brock Purdy and what he's brought. Is there much difference there?
Coach Graham: "I mean, there are some differences. But again, it's Kyle's [Shanahan] system. And the young kid, I mean, he's good. He's getting the ball out quick. I mean, he's doing what you ask a quarterback to do. Again, I've never coached offense at this level. But get the ball out quick, get the ball to the skill people, make good decisions in the running game. You see him checking the run. You see him doing all the right stuff and I'm sure that comes from Kyle, it comes from the quarterbacks coach, their running game coordinator, who does a great job. And I'm sure it comes down to their young coaches having him prepared for the situation. I mean, everybody's usually in the same boat, but those young guys when they play, it's probably had something to do with the young coaches on their staff. So, kudos to them."
Q: Are you pretty pleased with the way that you've seen the communication on the back end of the defense? Seemed like on that last touchdown pass against Pittsburgh that Nate Hobbs was waiting for Duron Harmon to circle over a little faster or looking for help that wasn't there?
Coach Graham: “Communication in terms of it keeps progressing as the year goes on. The guys are doing a better job of communicating now than what we did earlier in the season, and that starts with me. Making sure that I'm being clear with what I want communicated and what we're looking for. You definitely see improvement there from the guys and it comes from being comfortable with one another and playing together. So, that's a big part too of the improvement, whether it's statistically or what you guys were talking about earlier of the defense. So, communication is a big part."
Q: With Luke Masterson and Darien Butler, how valuable do you think it was for them to be out there against the Steelers? How much will the opportunity these next two games help them in the long run of their careers?
Coach Graham: “Huge. I mean, the more looks you get, the more you can play with anticipation. Same thing for the play caller. The looks I get based off of film, based on my experience. In this league, there's only a certain amount of trees that you're dealing with, so when something pops up and you're like: ‘OK, I remember this.’ For me in particular, I might think: ‘OK, this is like the Cleveland game from 2012 because someone from that tree is similar here.’ Same thing as a player, the more looks you get, the more you can play with anticipation. Everybody talks about playing fast, it's not necessarily your timed speed. It's about you eliminating some of the variables and playing with some anticipation. So, any player would tell you that that's why we do the scouting report, that's why we practice, to try to eliminate some of the variables so we could play with some anticipation situationally by formation, by personnel. And the best way to get back experience is real game time, so that always helps."
The Raiders return to action on Sunday, New Year's Day, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas versus the San Francisco 49ers. That game kicks off at 4:05 p.m. EST/1:05 p.m. PST and can be seen on FOX.
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