Tag: Patrick Graham

‘They can run run’: Raiders DC discusses preparing for Dolphins speed on offense

The Raiders know they will be dealing with serious speed vs the Dolphins week 11. They will set out to keep from getting burnt.

This season, the Raiders have seen a lot of opposing teams run away with games. With their trip to Miami this week, they will be trying to stop the Dolphins players from literally running away from them.

“One, you’ve got to be able to find a way to match up with their speed,” said Raiders DC Patrick Graham. “Whether it’s staying on top, whether it’s to run with them, you’ve got to figure out a way. There’s true speed out there on the field at a number of positions.”

The main focus in terms of speed will be wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. Both of whom are established burners who are electric with or without the ball in their hands.

For the Raiders, it will be hoping that they have enough speed on defense to match up with them.

“There’s several guys that we got on the defense that can run,” Graham continued. “Now, I’m not saying I want to line up and do a foot race with anybody from Miami. These guys can run run. When I say true speed I mean true speed out there on the field. And it’s not limited to [Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle].

“So, for us as a defensive staff, we’ve got to figure out the best way to deploy the defense and try to keep this speed under control a little bit. Take away the space, staying on top, things of that nature. Jakorian [Bennett] in terms of Jakorian and Jack [Jones]. All of our defensive backs. We got guys that can run too, so it’s going to be a fun game in terms of just being able to challenge ourselves. I think that’s the big thing for the players. It’s a good challenge.”

When Graham mentions that the Dolphins’ speed is not limited to Hill and Waddle, he is thinking primarily of running back De’Von Achane and Raheem Mostert. And you could throw QB Tua Tagovailoa in there as well.

In other words, the Dolphins have many different ways they can beat you.

Al Davis was all about speed on both sides of the ball. But the classic Raiders were also all about hard nosed football. For the Raiders, if they can’t match their speed, they must outplay them in physicality.

“One thing Flo (Brian Flores) used to always say ‘You can’t ever forget about the physicality of this game,” Graham continued. “I don’t care how fast it looks, how much they try to make it — whether it’s run and shoot, whether it’s whatever they want to call the different offenses — NFL football is a physical game, especially as you start to move into November and you’re starting to ramp up into after Thanksgiving. You can’t ever forget the physicality of the game.”

So, it will be important for the Raiders to remind the Dolphins this is a physical game. However they need to do that.

Busters for Raiders Week 9 loss to Bengals

Those who had the roughest outing in the Raiders big loss in Cincinnati.

Over a ten minute stretch from the end of the second quarter to midway through the third quarter, the Bengals left the Raiders in the dust. What was a 10-10 tie because a 31-10 Bengals lead and they pretty much never looked back. Next thing you knew it, it was a 41-17 game and coaches’ heads were rolling before the night was up.

Busters

LB Divine Deablo

Tight ends have been gouging the Raiders of late. Opponents are realizing that’s one of their weaknesses and they’re exploiting it. Mike Gesicki alone had five catches for 100 yards and two touchdowns.

Often times it was Deablo who they went after for those catches. But that wasn’t the only area Deablo struggled in this one.

The Bengals’ first drive went for a touchdown. At one point, on three consecutive plays, Deablo gave up either the catch or run for 27 yards to put them at the Vegas 33. The second TD drive came in the final three minutes of the first half and it was Deablo who gave up the TD catch from ten yards out.

First drive of the third quarter saw the Bengals drive for another TD. Deablo missed a tackle on a 21-yard run early in the drive, then in first and goal at the seven, he was out of position on a five yard run, and two plays later gave up another touchdown catch.

LB Robert Spillane

Kudos to him for playing through his injury, but he doesn’t look right out there. Just like last week, he’s still making some tackles. They’re just several yards down the field. And he’s having more troubling fighting through blocks and cutting quickly.

The Bengals’ second scoring drive, he gave up the two biggest plays on the drive — an 18-yard catch and a 12-yard catch and run where he missed the tackle. Then the first play of the third quarter, he had Joe Burrow dead to rights on the blitz and missed the tackle to give up an 11-yard scramble instead.

He finished with seven combine tackles, which was his second lowest total of the season and had just one solo tackle.

WR DJ Turner

Even with the Bengals scoring to end the first half and to begin the third quarter, it was still a two-score game. Then Turner lined up in the backfield to take the handoff and fumbled it. The Bengals recovered it at the Vegas 21 and drive for another touchdown. Dagger.

T Thayer Munford

What Troy Hendrickson did to him in this game was sickening. Henderickson finished the game with a single game career -high four sacks. And three of those came from the left side while Munford was in the game.

It may be considered cruel to call Munford out considering he was pressed into left tackle duties after Kolton Miller and Andrus Peat both went down with injuries. But, I am not here to give consideration to such things. He got embarrassed in this one. Enough so that you realize why he is the third string left tackle and not the primary backup. We’re talking about the season opening starting right tackle here too.

HC Antonio Pierce, OC Luke Getsy, DC Patrick Graham

No coach is safe from criticism here. And not just because it was a bad game and we’re spreading around blame liberally. But because they each had their very specific issues.

The offense once again dried up after the opening drive. Just a few days after Getsy took exception to the term “scripted drive”. And probably about the time the Raiders plane landed in Vegas, he was no long employed by them.

Even still, the Raiders were down just one score in the final seconds of the first half and driving. But in third and four from the 48, after Getsy called a doomed screen, they are in prime position to go for it on fourth down. Just 17 seconds left and about five yards away from Daniel Carlson field goal range. Instead Pierce showed no aggressive and a complete lack of faith in his offense and his defense by sending out the punt team. There was nothing to gain from that decision and almost everything to lose.

If you are worried you won’t make it and the Bengals would drive into field goal range, then you think they can just easily to that anyway, so what’s even the point? Otherwise, you just go down fighting. You don’t give up. Before halftime, the Raiders gave up.

As for Graham and this defense…the Bengals scored on every one of their first five possessions; four of which were touchdowns. And far too many times, there were wide open receivers. Whether it be backs squirting out of the backfield with no one around, tight ends finding huge soft spots in the zone, or running backs finding gaping holes for chunk plays. This defense is a shell of what it looked like when it found inspiration late last season.

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Busters for Raiders Week 8 loss to Chiefs

The Raiders had their chances to make this game more competitive, but could never capitalize.

The Chiefs ran away with this game just before the half and never looked back. A 10-7 Raiders lead turned into a 17-10 deficit in just two minutes time. The Raiders had their chances to come back, but couldn’t get out of their own way or were just outmatched.

Busters

OC Luke Getsy

So many wasted opportunities in this game. Let’s start near the end of the second quarter. The Raiders had just fallen down 14-10 with under two minutes left. They had the chance to at very least be the last to have the ball. But instead they went three-and-out. First play was an end around the Chiefs sniffed out for no gain. Then a two-yard run. Then a blitz by the Chiefs that wasn’t picked up, forcing Minshew to throw it away. The Chiefs only needed to use one of their timeouts to get the ball back with a minute left. They used that time to drive for a second score in the final two minutes of the first half. That’s how to suck the air out of the building.

The first possession of the third quarter, the Raiders AGAIN went three-and-out. And it happened in much the same fashion as the previous one – run for minimal gain, short catch for no gain, and free runner on a blitz leading to an incompletion.

Next possession, the Raiders got a gift. First the defense stopped the Chiefs for a three-and-out with just one yard picked up. The punt was fielded near midfield by DJ Turner and returned to the KC 43. A late hit out of bounds tacked on another 15 yards, starting the Raiders out in field goal range at the 28. And despite getting some help from a KC holding penalty, and driving all the way to first and goal at the four, they still couldn’t punch it in. First play inside the five, Getsy had Tre Turner blocking a defensive end, leading to a four-yard loss on the run. Then on third and goal from the seven, he had John Samuel Shenker and Ameer Abdullah trying to block George Karlaftis, who brushed past both of them to get the sack.

Next possession the offense got an even bigger gift. An interception put them right back in first and goal inside the five. A second chance to get right what they got wrong the previous trip. They had the ball at the three, ran it three straight times and were still at the three. Minshew then ran right into a sack for the turnover on downs. 

Understand what happened here. They had been abysmal at running the ball all day, with their backs averaging less than a yard per carry. So, they, of course, ran it three straight times and were held out of the end zone. This time last week, they were having some success running it against the Rams. And in this same situation, they abandoned the run, opting to pass it three straight times and were likewise kept from getting in the end zone. It’s like the only question when it comes to what play(s) to run is what will they least expect. Even though the reason they may not expect it is because it’s just a very bad idea that doesn’t play to your own strengths.

The only times the Raiders were able to score a TD in this game were the opening scripted drive and after they were down by two scores late. Any positive offensive numbers have to take those facts into consideration. That’s not winning football.

LB Robert Spillane

This was tough. On paper, Spillane had a great game. He led the team with 12 combined tackles (six solo) with one for a loss. But just three of those 12 tackles were inside four yards and didn’t result in a first down or touchdown.

He gave up a 13-yard catch on the first third down of the game to open up the Chiefs first touchdown drive. Their second touchdown drive, he again gave up the first down catch on their first third down. Then on third and goal from the five, he gave up the touchdown catch to Travis Kelce over the middle.

The Chiefs got the ball back with just under a minute left until the half. And Spillane gave up a wide open catch to Kelce along the way to them adding a field goal to go up 17-10. He later gave up chunk runs on each the Chiefs’ last two scoring drives.

T DJ Glaze

He gave up run stuff on the opening drive and a sack along with another run stuff that threatened to upend the Raiders’ second scoring drive. Then on their third scoring drive, he was tossed to give up a run stuff for a loss, and was flagged for illegal formation on third and goal. The Chiefs got a sack on the play, but no matter what, the Raiders weren’t scoring on the play because of the Glaze penalty.

CB Jakorian Bennett

Bennett also gave a 20-yard catch and a third down conversion. He just did it on three straight catch to lead out the Chiefs second touchdown drive. He then gave up a 16-yard that put the Chiefs in Raiders territory at the 40 in the final seconds of the second quarter, setting them up for their third score and the second in the final two minutes of the first half.

RB Alexander Mattison

Mattison finished with just 15 yards on 14 carries. Several times it seemed he left yards on the field. And a couple times perhaps even a touchdown. The big one was on third and goal from the one, where it appeared as if, had he run it straight up the gut, he would have just had LB Nick Bolton to go through to cross the goal line. But he went out right instead and was met by half the Chiefs’ defense where he was stopped for a loss.

DT John Jenkins

Credit to Jenkins for getting the tipped ball that led to the Raiders’ only takeaway. But other than that, it was that a great outing for the veteran defensive tackle. He was once again getting pushed all over the field.

He was run through on the first touchdown, then was blocked on an 11-yard shovel pass on the second TD drive. Then gave up two runs on the Chiefs’ final TD drive, including the one that put them in field goal range, and the third down conversion.

DC Patrick Graham

I lost count of how many times a Chiefs receiver was able to find a wide open soft spot in the zone or a running back came out of the backfield completely uncovered for big yards off the dump pass. Both happened multiple times on the back-to-back scoring drives to end the first half. It’s just inexcusable to so many times be wondering how a guy gets so wide open and just who was assigned to him. And coming away thinking maybe no one was and the Chiefs exploited that to the fullest.

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Ravens vs. Raiders: Top photos from Week 2 matchup at M&T Bank Stadium

The Ravens have gone from a Super Bowl hopeful, to a team searching for answers after a shocking 26-23 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday.

The loss dropped Baltimore to 0-2 on the season, while creating more discourse centered on the offensive line, secondary, run-pass ratios, and Lamar Jackson. The disappointing loss also creates something of a hotseat for head coach John Harbaugh with a difficult matchup against the Cowboys looming.

Here are the top photos from Week 2.

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Patrick Graham: Raiders DE Tyree Wilson’s time at DT last season ‘critical’ to his development

Patrick Graham: Raiders DE Tyree Wilson’s time at DT last season ‘critical’ to his development

It was a disappointing rookie season for Raiders defensive end Tyree Wilson, partly due to lofty expectations as a top 10 selection in the 2023 NFL Draft.

But fair or not, those expectations will follow Wilson throughout his career. Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham says Wilson’s time at defensive tackle last season could give the Texas Tech product a boost in an important area: using his hands.

That will help Wilson tremendously as he looks to make a jump in year No. 2, starting with Raiders organized team activity practices that began on Monday.

According to The Athletic’s Tashan Reed, Wilson says he’s noticed the improvement, and Graham called the experience critical to Wilson’s development.

The Raiders moved the second-year defensive end inside to defensive tackle more often toward the end of last season, which helped him grow his skill set. Wilson said it reduced the amount of thinking he had to do, sharpened his ability to pick up on things pre-snap and improved his hand usage.

“It teaches them to use their hands because they’re dealing with a more immediate block from the guard or the center,” defensive coordinator Patrick Graham said. “I thought that was really critical to Tyree’s development.”

Using your hands is a critical skill up front, so I understand Graham’s word choice. For the 6-foot-6 Wilson, it could work to his advantage more than most. He has an 86-inch wingspan, one inch shy of the wingspan owned by NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Reed also reported that Wilson is behind DE Maxx Crosby and DE Malcolm Koonce on the depth chart. That’s no surprise, and it could help Wilson. The pressure on him to perform this season is far less than in his rookie campaign due to the rise of Koonce. And on defense, the more maulers you have up front, the merrier.

Wilson also sounded mentally prepared for the upcoming season, according to Reed, especially as he’s started to follow the lead of Crosby.

So will Wilson fulfill those lofty expectations this season? As long as he helps the Raiders earn a winning record, it won’t matter too much in the short term. But given his new skills and mindset, Graham and the Raiders have every reason to believe that Wilson can eventually become an impact player for the silver and black.

7 realistic DC candidates options for Ravens after Mike Macdonald lands Seahawks HC job

We’re looking at seven defensive coordinator candidates the Baltimore Ravens could target after Mike Macdonald accepted the Seahawks job

The Ravens are one of the gold-standard organizations in the NFL, and every few years, teams from around the NFL poach personnel from Eric DeCosta’s front office and John Harbaugh’s coaching staff.

Another coaching cycle has seen two front office personnel exit, along with defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald.

After landing Joe Hortiz (Player Personnel Director), the Chargers hired Baltimore’s player evaluation and analytics manager, Corey Krawiec, for a position.

On Wednesday, the Titans hired Dennard Wilson as their defensive coordinator hours after Macdonald arrived in Seattle to be officially introduced as the new head coach.

The Ravens became the first team in NFL history to lead the league in points allowed (16.5 per game), sacks (60) and turnovers (31).

In his second year calling Baltimore’s defense, he led them to the AFC title game before a shocking 17-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday;

Macdonald’s defense allowed two early touchdown drives but only a field goal over the final 40-plus minutes of the game.

With Baltimore needing to regroup again, we’re looking at seven realistic options to replace Macdonald.

Raiders DC Patrick Graham could stick around with all HC jobs he interviewed for now filled

Raiders DC Patrick Graham could stick around with all HC jobs he interviewed for now filled

The only part of the Raiders that was really working this season was the defense. That was especially true once head coach Josh McDaniels was fired and defensive coordinator Patrick Graham was given the chance to do things his way.

Over the final nine games of this season, Graham led the best defense in the league.

This success put him on the radar for teams who were looking for new head coaches this offseason.

There were reports of two teams that interviewed Patrick Graham ifor their head coach opening — the Chargers and Seahawks.

The Chargers had their sights set on Jim Harbaugh and got him. The Seahawks — who even called Graham back for a second interview — took longer to fill the job.

Today, they got their man.

The Seahawks named former Baltimore Ravens DC Mike MacDonald their new head coach.

MacDonald led the best defense in the league over the entire season in Baltimore. So, the Seahawks clearly had a type. It was just a matter of waiting for the Ravens to finish with the playoffs, which they did last Sunday when they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship game.

This leaves just one remaining head coach opening in the NFL. That’s in Washington where they had their sights set on Lions OC Ben Johnson before he said ‘thanks, but no thanks’ and decided to run it back in Detroit after a run to the NFC Championship game.

What this could mean for the Raiders and Patrick Graham is that his best option is to stick around with head coach Antonio Pierce and see if they can continue to have one of the league’s top defenses next season.

That’s certainly what the Raiders are hoping is the case.

Eagles defensive coordinator tracker: Vic Fangio now the favorite after Dolphins departure

We’re tracking and identifying the current candidates who have interviewed for the Philadelphia Eagles vacant defensive coordinator position and a new favorite to land the job

In a move speculated on for weeks, Ian Rapoport reported that Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni had fired defensive coordinator Sean Desai.

The Eagles finished the season with six losses in their last seven games, with those losses by an average of 15 points, and their only win since Week 12 came against the Giants after they nearly blew a 17-point lead.

Desai was stripped of playcalling duties before Week 15, and the move comes after Philadelphia finished their second-half collapse with a 32-9 loss to the Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Monday night.

With the move now official, we’re tracking coordinator candidates ahead of the Senior Bowl and the new league year.

Eagles coordinator candidate Ryan Nielsen set to join Jaguars as DC

Jaguars are set to hire former Falcons’ defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen as their new defensive coordinator

Philadelphia is looking for a new defensive play-caller after head coach Nick Sirianni fired Sean Desai before he met with owner Jeffrey Lurie.

Senior defensive assistant Matt Patricia had his contract expire, and he’ll explore other league opportunities.

According to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, the Eagles had already reached out to interview former Falcons and Saints assistant coach Ryan Nielsen for the vacant defensive coordinator job.

That won’t happen, as Adam Schefter reports Nielsen is taking his talents to Jacksonville to join Doug Pederson’s staff as the Jaguars defensive coordinator.

Nielsen’s defensive schemes focus on his unit stopping the run out of a light box, and his aggressive approach upfront would have meshed with what Philadelphia has previously done.

The Falcon’s defense jumped to 24th this season in defense-adjusted value over average, which measures the efficiency with the opponent’s strength factored in after being 31st in 2022.

Atlanta’s pass rush went from 32nd in pressure rate in 2022 to 11th under Nielsen in 2023.

Most importantly, the Falcon’s defense under Nielsen ranked 17th in blitz percentage last season compared to the Eagle’s 24th-ranked unit.

Philadelphia will now turn towards landing an interview with Wink Martindale, while the team is also interviewing former Commander’s head coach, Ron Rivera.

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Seahawks start second round of interviews with 5 head coach candidates

Tom Pelissero at NFL Network reports the Seahawks are setting up a second round of interviews with the following five candidates…

The Seahawks’ search to replace Pete Carroll as head coach has moved onto the next stage. Last week the team sent out interview requests to eight different offensive and defensive coordinators around the league. They were also reported to be interested in speaking with former Titans head coach Mike Vrabel.

Then on Sunday Tom Pelissero at NFL Network reported that the Seahawks are setting up a second round of interviews with the following five candidates…