Tag: Patrick Graham

Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 9 vs Jaguars

Raiders Ballers & Busters in the loss to the Jaguars

Jacksonville is often where teams go to bounce back from a funk. The Raiders sure could’ve used a bounce-back. But instead, they stayed in the funk they had been in after a 24-0 loss in New Orleans.

It appeared early on that the Raiders were putting New Orleans behind them. They jumped out to a 17-0 lead early in the second quarter. But the wheels started to fall off late in the second quarter and that car went off a cliff in the third quarter.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, the Raiders’ lead was no more. The Jaguars scored on their third straight drive to take a 24-20 lead and never gave it back. The high-powered Raiders offense from the first half was a distant memory and they were shut out in the second half to lose 27-20.

Ballers

WR Davante Adams

Adams scored the Raiders first two touchdowns. The first one, he played the DB perfectly up the left sideline. Carr’s pass was on target, but wasn’t out in front of Adams, so the savvy All-Pro receiver knew he needed to make sure he didn’t reach for the pass until it was right on him or risk the DB turning to bat it down. The DB never saw it coming and the result was a 25-yard touchdown.

On the second touchdown, Adams went on a corner route from left to right, got the safety turned around and broke wide open for a 38-yard touchdown.

Adams was a big part of the offense that put the Raiders in scoring position for three of their four scores as well. He had nine catches on nine targets for 146 yards and two touchdowns in the first half.

Though Adams was frustrated with how the game played out in the second half, he did still get eight targets. Just one of those passes could be considered a drop. Another would have taken a miraculous play by Adams to keep his feet inbounds. So, while his work was a big reason the Raiders’ offense was clicking the first half, his lack of catches in the second half was not his fault.

DE Maxx Crosby

Crosby was a big reason for the Jaguars’ inability to score early in the game. He recovered a fumble to end their first drive. Then he ended the second drive by making a tackle for loss on third and one.

Late in the game, with the Raiders still within four points, Crosby was still full board. He had a run stuff and then came flying in on third and seven and had to be held to keep from blowing up the play. The Raiders declined the penalty because it was stopped short of the sticks, but the six-yard gain on the play made for a 48-yard field goal and a seven-point lead.

He finished with five tackles, a tackle for loss, a QB hit, and a fumble recovery.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2

Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 8 vs Saints

Plenty of blame to go around for the Raiders terrible performance in New Orleans Sunday

If you’re reading this, I admire your perseverance. It isn’t easy to relive games like this if you’re a fan. But it can be cathartic. And sometimes you just go searching for answers. I hope I can provide some for you from this completely lopsided 24-0 game.

Ballers

None

This should come as no surprise in a game such as this that there were no standout exceptions to all the terribleness. I came out of the live viewing expecting this and the more in-depth look confirmed that. Pretty much just bad top to bottom.

And, no, there aren’t even any Honorable Mentions.

Busters

HC Josh McDaniels, DC Patrick Graham

The offense went nowhere and the defense couldn’t seem to stop anything. It was 24-0 and really it wasn’t even that close. The Saints missed a chipshot field goal and spent most of the second half just running the clock.

The Raiders were down 7-0 heading into the second quarter. The first play of the quarter was third and one. And instead of going to Josh Jacobs, McDaniels tried to get cute and gave it to Davante Adams on a sweep. It was blown up for a loss.

Now fourth and two at their own 28, the Raiders lined up in punt formation. And McDaniels tried to get even cuter with a fake. The direct snap to reserve safety Matthias Farley was stopped for a loss and the Saints took over already in scoring range. They added a field goal to make those two bad calls by McDaniels worth three points and a 10-0 deficit.

After a Carr interception gave the Saints the ball in Raiders territory again, Graham’s defense quickly made it 17-0 when Alvin Kamara was left wide open over the middle for a 16-yard touchdown catch and run.

That was Kamara’s second TD of the game, but not his last. In fact, his third TD, he was also wide open over the middle, this time going 36 yards for the score. Graham’s defense wasn’t accounting for Kamara just as it was completely failing to contain Taysom Hill who got good yards time and time again on designed runs.

This team never got off the plane. How they could be this unprepared is mind-boggling. An earlier start due to the Eastern Time Zone doesn’t explain this level of ineptitude. Not sure anything does.

QB Derek Carr

Not one snap in New Orleans territory. Not one. His fewest yards ever thrown in a game (101) with at least ten completions or 15 attempts. His third-worst passer rating (50.3) of his career. His third fewest yards per attempt (3.88) of his career. His fourth-fewest completions (15) in a game in which he threw more than 25 passes (26).

The first drive ended with him throwing too high for a wide-open Mack Hollins. Second drive with him throwing short of Davante Adams. Fourth with him getting picked off.

The first drive of the third quarter ended with him getting sacked twice — the second time because he held onto the ball too long — and then giving up with a dump on third and 23. His next — and final — drive ended with him throwing a three-yard bubble screen to Davante Adams on second and 27. Then, of course, another give-up dump to call it a night.

CB Rock Ya-Sin, CB Anthony Averett

When Taysom Hill wasn’t running wild, Andy Dalton was picking apart the secondary. Andy. Dalton. And Ya-Sin and Averett were making it look easy.

The first TD drive featured Averett giving up a 30-yard catch. It was Averett again who gave up an eight-yard catch that put them at the 11-yard line and they scored on the next play.

Late in the first half, the Saints drove into scoring range with Ya-Sin giving up a 14-yard catch on third-and-nine and Averett giving up a 10-yard catch on third-and-four. They escaped it being a scoring drive because of a missed chip shot field goal.

They wouldn’t escape it to start the third quarter with Ya-Sin being called for pass interference on third-and-nine and the Saints going on to score their third touchdown.

The two of them would give up third-down conversion catches on the final Saints drive to allow them to bleed the clock down.

T Kolton Miller, G Alex Bars, TE Foster Moreau

Blocking was a real problem for the Raiders. No one was great. These three were especially bad.

It wasn’t a happy homecoming for LSU alum Moreau. He was getting pushed all over the place trying to block. The first play had him blocked into the gap to cause a run stuff. The second play he gave up a pressure that led to a tackle for loss and ultimately a three-and-out to begin the game.

The second drive saw Bars miss his block to give up a run stuff for a three-yard loss. The drive ended with Miller giving up a pressure that forced Carr to step up and throw on the run and the pass fell short and incomplete. Miller would end the next drive when he did a face plant on his block that got Davante Adams nailed for a loss on the sweep.

Moreau would give up another run stuff on the next possession, then Carr was picked off on third-and-two.

After falling down 24-0, Bars gave up a sack on Carr and he was sacked again on the next play while trying to make up the yards lost on the first one.

Carr’s final drive began with Miller being flagged for a false start. Then after Moreau made a first down catch, he gave up another hit on Carr that led to another tackle for loss. And Miller gave up a hit on Carr on the next play to set up third and 13. So much for all that settling in they were doing.

LB Denzel Perryman, LB Divine Deablo

It’s times like this that you realize just looking at tackle numbers doesn’t tell the whole story. If it did, it would look as if Deablo had a great game. After all, he did put up 14 tackles. But many of those tackles were downfield after the damage had been done. The same goes for Perryman and his eight tackles.

For proof of this, you need only look at the game Alvin Kamara had. Seven of his nine catches came with either Deablo or Perryman in coverage. Against Deablo he had four catches on four targets for 38 yards and a TD. Against Perryman he had three catches on three targets for 47 yards and a TD.

I don’t think much more needs to be said.

DE Chandler Jones, DT Bilal Nichols, DT Andrew Billings

Nearly the entire defensive line. Maxx Crosby did enough to stay off the list. The others did not.

Jones was routinely losing containment on the edge and watching Taysom Hill run by him for first downs and chunk plays. He let Hill get by him for good yards on each of the Saints’ three touchdown drives. And after an early pressure on Andy Dalton, he didn’t breathe on him the rest of the game.

Neither Jones nor Nichols nor Billings had a single tackle until after the Saints had taken their 24-0 lead in the third quarter. And none had a single stat other than that. Just utterly ineffective.

Just so you know they were actually on the field, the first TD of the game was set up by Nichols giving up a five-yard keeper on first and goal from the eight. And then Kamara scored from three yards out right through Billings’s position,

WR Davante Adams

I don’t blame him for much of what he’s going through. But he did have a drop, couldn’t seem to get open consistently, even when lined up against a rookie corner, and at one point was even flagged for an illegal shift. He was targeted five times with one catch on a bubble screen. In total, he touched the ball twice for a net of two yards.

Ballers & Busters for Raiders Week 5 vs Chiefs

Raiders made a game of it with the Chiefs. But fell short in the end again. So let’s look at the game’s Ballers & Busters

Monday Night was a much closer game in the end than most thought it would be. The Raiders jumped to a 17-0 lead and twice were within one point late. But in the end, that one point deficit was where it would stay and the Raiders would fall to 1-4 on the season.

Ballers

RB Josh Jacobs

Once again, Jacobs was running with a mission against a Chiefs Run D that was best in the league coming into the game. Jacobs made mincemeat of that top ranked run D.

His mission was never more evident than early in the second quarter when he followed up a 13-yard run with a 21-yard run that ended with him plowing through the safety. Jacobs had already scored the Raiders’ previous TD from one yards out and those two runs set up the Raiders’ third score to go up 17-0.

Late in the third quarter, Jacobs followed up another 13-yard run — he created himself with a broken tackle — with a 37-yard run. The Raiders had long since lost the lead and the field goal off that run brought them back within one at 24-23.

Jacobs’s second TD of the game brought the Raiders back to being down one late at 30-29 before the failed two-point conversion. That’s where it remained on their final drive which started with a couple Jacobs eight-yard runs; the second of which gave him a new career-high for a single game, breaking his previous mark (144) he set last week vs the Broncos.

His last run went for five yards on third-and-one, setting his new career-high at 154 yards. Unfortunately, the Raiders went away from him on their next third-and-one and fourth-and-one and the game was over on consecutive incompletions.

DE Maxx Crosby

Every play Crosby made was a big one. It started with a wicked inside spin move to get the sack to end the Chiefs’ first drive. The next drive he made a run stop for no gain and it ended with a missed field goal.

The second quarter featured Crosby’s second sack of the game. That one moved him into a tie for the league lead in sacks (6). Though it wasn’t enough to keep the Chiefs from scoring their first touchdown of the game.

After the Chiefs had completed the comeback to go up 24-23, the Chiefs were back on offense looking to extend their lead. That drive started with Crosby making a run stop for a loss. The Chiefs would still get the touchdown, but on the two-point conversion attempt, the Condor would get pressure on Mahomes and get his long arms up to bat down his pass attempt.

DE Chandler Jones

For the first time this season, Crosby had some help from the other side. Jones didn’t manage to get his first sack as a Raider, but he put plenty of pressure on Mahomes from his side of the line and made some run stops as well.

Jones helped set up Crosby’s first sack with a run stop on first down and pressure resulting in an incompletion on second down. He then broke up a screen pass on the next drive and two plays later the Chiefs would miss a field goal attempt.

The third possession went three-and-out and it was all Jones. Starting with a run stop at the line and ending with a hit on Mahomes to force an incompletion.

Those efforts helped the Raiders build their 17-0 lead to start the game.

T Kolton Miller

Miller didn’t give up any sacks or hits on Derek Carr and as far as I can tell, he didn’t give up any run stuffs either. In addition, he had blocks on several Josh Jacobs runs including his first touchdown run and a 21-yard run in the second quarter that set up the Raiders’ third score.

FB Jakob Johnson

Doing a fine bit of lead blocking for Jacobs was his fullback, including leading the way for Jacobs’s 37-yard run in the third quarter.

WR Davante Adams

Derek Carr went bombs away to Adams several times in this game. The first one went for a 58-yard touchdown. The next two were underthrown and Adams came back for them, forcing a pass interference. The second of them happened in the end zone, setting up their second touchdown.

The next long ball was easily the best pass and catch between Carr and Adams since they became Raiders teammates. Adams got behind two Chiefs defenders and Carr placed it perfectly in his hands in-stride for a 48-yard touchdown.

It was the last two passes to Adams that ended the game. The first would likely have set up the potential game-winning field goal, but Adams didn’t finish the catch before stepping out of bounds. The final pass, Adams and Hunter Renfrow ran into each other. The pass was way long, but it wouldn’t have mattered considering Adams and Renfrow were on the ground. It was a terrible way to end an otherwise great day for Adams who had three catches for 124 yards and two touchdowns.

LB Divine Deablo

Deablo finished with a team leading ten tackles. On the last two Chiefs drives alone, Deablo had three run stuffs, one for a loss. His last tackle helped lead to the Raiders stopping the Chiefs on their final drive and keeping them from just running clock to give the Raiders offense one more shot.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2

Giants’ Darnay Holmes embraces ‘Dirty 30’ nickname

New York Giants CB Darnay Holmes is embracing his “Dirty 30” nickname as he dominates on the field after finding his zen.

New York Giants cornerback Darnay Holmes has had a stellar training camp to date. He’s impressed both his coaches and his teammates, even earning the nickname “Dirty 30” from defensive coordinator Wink Martindale.

“What I like about Nay is he’s been productive while he’s in there and he wants to go against the best every time he gets in the one-on-one reps, and I love his toughness,” Martindale told reporters. “You know, I call him, ‘Dirty 30.’ I just love his toughness and I’m not saying he plays dirty. I’m just talking about how he embraces the grind of practicing every day, doing things right and asking the right questions. He’s got some qualities that we haven’t had before at that position.”

As someone who grew up in a tough neighborhood and whose family went through some hard times, Holmes has embraced the “Dirty 30” identity.

“I think it was something that was earned. I feel like I’m a relentless player, so I feel like it’s very fitting,” Holmes said. “I grew up in an impoverished area. Pretty much growing up in those type of terms you’ve got to always have your guard up and put your best foot forward. When things get rough, you just keep your head down and keep on working. So, as I said before, a very fitting name.”

To his credit, Holmes has done exactly that — kept his head down and continues to work. In fact, over the past year, Holmes has spent a lot of time working on his game and himself. He feels much more clear-headed entering the 2022 season, and he had a lot of help in reaching that zen state.

“I just want to give a salute to those who put the work in for me in a matter of giving me insight and giving me wisdom. The OTAs played a major role for our early success — understanding the system, understanding the scheme,” Holmes said. “Just the people who worked on my body beforehand once I got up here. My coaches, my lady, my family, they all played a mental role in my mental state now and just where I am being later on in life.

“I’ll say I’m a guy who is very open minded, so, I’m constantly evolving. You know, I’m more in tune with things. I’m in tune with understanding that you’re never going to be able to eliminate doubt. You’re never going to be able to eliminate fear. You’re never going to be able to eliminate the inevitable of losing reps. Having the understanding that when I hit that field, it might not go my way and be able to respond. I feel like I’m more grounded and more free flowing.”

Part of this evolution began last season following what Holmes called a “heart-to-heart” with former Giants defensive coordinator Patrick Graham. It was a message that bettered his game on the field and bettered his mind off of it.

“One thing he told me was being from the West Coast, you have that Cali cool, and I wasn’t getting on the line right when I got out of the huddle,” Holmes said. “Pretty much once you get in line, once the offense breaks the huddle, once you get in line, you’re able to be more observant. You’re able to read what they put right in front of you. So that little tip right there has took my game to the next level for sure. That was a much-needed thing that he instilled in me for sure.”

Holmes is currently listed as the Giants’ starting nickel corner and is poised to play a significant role for the defense this season.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbx61yex5whq8aq player_id=none image=https://giantswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

[lawrence-related id=695337,695339,695317]

[listicle id=695335]

Xavier McKinney acknowledges ‘disagreements’ with previous Giants regime

New York Giants safety Xavier McKinney admits there were several “disagreements” with the previous regime.

Things have not gone well for the New York Giants over the past decade but under the watch of general manager Dave Gettleman and head coach Joe Judge, they bottomed out. Literally.

The Giants hit low-water marks in both 2020 and 2021, including a franchise-worst 13 losses a season ago.

Understandably, that prompted yet another regime change. Gone are both Gettleman and Judge, and in are Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll. That’s been refreshing for the players, including safety Xavier McKinney.

Although McKinney publicly supported Judge and his staff at the time, he recently acknowledged “disagreements” with the previous regime. That includes defensive coordinator Patrick Graham.

“I think a lot of times we weren’t seeing eye to eye on certain things,” McKinney told the New York Post. “Last year, my first three or four games, I was barely playing. There were some games where I didn’t even play the whole first half. I think people forget that, too. It was a lot of different things, we had our disagreements time to time. I’m happy with our new staff, man, I’m happy with what they’re doing with us and how they’re communicating with us.”

Judge prided himself on his ability to communicate with players but since his departure, we’ve learned that wasn’t exactly his strong suit. And all of those “teachers” he hired? They struggled with communication as well.

In McKinney’s eyes, things have already changed drastically under Schoen, Daboll and the new staff.

“They’ve done a great job of taking care of us. Dabes has done a great job of communicating with us,” McKinney said. “Some coaches, they’ll ask you like, ‘Are you good?’ And then you say, ‘Nah, not really,’ and then we’ll do the same thing. So all right, why did you ask me if you weren’t gonna change anything? So like with him, he’ll ask, and he’ll actually stand true to that. When you give everybody your word and you actually live by it, that means a whole lot more when you don’t.”

As for the new-look Giants, McKinney is optimistic. And he shared that optimism in a message to Big Blue fans.

“I know it hasn’t been the best the last couple of years or so. But I think we’re really gonna change things around. Just be prepared, and we’re gonna make you guys proud. I appreciate you all for sticking with us, I know it’s been rough, but we’re gonna turn this thing around,” McKinney said.

[listicle id=694505]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbx61yex5whq8aq player_id=none image=https://giantswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Giants cut CB James Bradberry who made Pro Bowl under Raiders DC Patrick Graham

CB James Bradberry had his best seasons for Raiders new DC Patrick Graham. Bradberry has now been released.

New head coach Josh McDaniels and GM Dave Ziegler have been busy this offseason adding familiar faces. It helps when taking a new job to have people with whom you are familiar. A pretty big name familiar face just hit the market.

The Giants cut former Pro Bowl CB James Bradberry, who spent the past two seasons under new Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham in New York.

Bradberry is just 28 years old. He has 15 career interceptions and has had double-digit pass breakups every one of his six NFL seasons, including 18 and 17 the past two seasons with Graham as his DC.

Obviously, this figures to make him a great fit with the Raiders, where he would be an instant starter and upgrade their defense significantly.

Currently, the Raiders’ outside starters figure to be Trayvon Mullen and Rock Ya-Sin. Neither of whom have had careers that make them sure starters. While Bradberry has started nearly every game since he entered the league with the Panthers in 2016.

Whether the Raiders can afford him right now is the question. Right now, they have around $5 million in cap space. They will free up a lot of money in a few weeks with June 1 designations placed on Cory Littleton and Carl Nassib.

Bradberry figures to have many suitors, one of whom was said to be the Chiefs when the Giants were trying to trade him. This means, should the Raiders NOT sign Bradberry, they could then be looking at facing him twice next year.

[listicle id=93053]

[lawrence-newsletter]

Raiders new DC Patrick Graham talks his defensive philosophy and ‘illusion of complexity’

Raiders DC is all about ‘sub-defense’ and the ‘illusion of complexity’

The day Josh McDaniels took over as head coach, he had yet to officially name a defensive coordinator. Still, he was asked whether the Raiders would be going with a 4-3 or a 3-4. To which, he said those base defenses don’t really exist anymore in today’s NFL.

At the scouting combine, Josh McDaniels took to the podium for his second press conference, at which point he had hired Patrick Graham as his defensive coordinator. And, of course, he was asked if the Raiders were thinking 4-3 or 3-4 defense. His answer was the same.

Friday Patrick Graham took to the podium for his first press conference since being officially announced as Raiders defensive coordinator. Any guesses as to the first question he got? Yep, he was asked the ol’ 4-3 vs 3-4 question. His answer was not surprising.

“The game is sub-defense. Period, point blank,” said Graham, referring to the lack of a defined 4-3 or 3-4 base defense. “Whether it’s 11-personnel that we’re seeing from teams or the 12-personnel that plays like 11-personnel and the way we combat that a lot of time is playing sub-defense. So, when I say sub-defense, now you’re getting into the 4-2-5 world of it. Whatever the spacing is – four-down, five-down, three-down – however the spacing is, you’re really dealing in a world of five DB’s on the field at once. And four bigger bodies with two linebackers.

“So, to me the 4-3/3-4 discussions is almost like it’s antiquated, to be honest with you. What you’re talking about sub-defense do you have guys that can rush the passer? Yes. Do you have guys that can stop the run? Yes. Do you have guys that can cover, that have shown they can cover in the past? Yes. So, those are the three major things I’m looking for aside from tackling, so, yeah, I’m good with that.”

For those unfamiliar, 11-personnel mean one running back and one tight end. 12-personnel means one running back and two tight ends.

In either instance, the offense is essentially lining up with three and even four receivers. Whether that be two wide receivers and two tight ends or three wide receivers and a receiving tight end.

Those instances being so common forces defenses to line up in a 4-2-5 which mean four defensive linemen, two linebackers, and five defensive backs — usually two outside cornerbacks, two safeties, and a nickel corner.

Hopefully, that answer will finally dispense with the question of whether the Raiders run a 4-3 or 3-4 once and for all.

As to the three things Graham said he needs in order to make that defense work, he’s a couple of pieces shy at the moment. In particular, he’s one DB shy (cornerback) and at least two big interior run stoppers. The pass rushers is the one thing he has.

Aside from that, Graham discussed his philosophy, which, if I might pull from Raiders’ recent past, basically suggests it will have the appearance of something Paul Guenther might draw up, but actually something closer to what Gus Bradley would draw up.

“We’re all teachers. What we do is develop lesson plans and try and implement what we want to see out there on the field,” said Graham, noting that he isn’t going to be doing anything especially unique. “The complexity… it’s probably more of an *illusion* of complexity because honestly . . . if you think we’re about to do that many coverages and be good at it, that’s going to be real hard. So, it’s the illusion of being complex. What we try to do with our lesson plans is teach the guys conceptual football, teach them situational football, all the stuff Josh [McDaniels] talked about being a smart, tough football, just making sure we getting that stuff down and from there it grows. It evolves more over time than creation. So, we’re trying to evolve the defense as opposed to trying to create new things every week. That’s a big part of what we do and it starts with the conceptual learning early on.”

When you hear players talk about defenses they like the best, they talk about simplicity allowing them to play fast. Guenther’s defense was complex and confusing, causing players to second guess themselves and take too long to think about where they needed to be instead of react quickly.

Complexity is important in the NFL if only because so many of the good quarterbacks are given the autonomy to step up to the line, read the defense, and call audibles based on what they see.

If a team can create confusion through disguises, while behind that is something easy to process for the players, you get the best of both worlds.

[listicle id=91687]

Report: Patrick Graham bolted for Vegas because he was upset with Giants

Patrick Graham left the New York Giants because he was unhappy with several things, including the Brian Flores lawsuit alleging racial bias.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbx61yex5whq8aq player_id=none image=https://giantswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Shortly after the New York Giants hired Brian Daboll as their next head coach, he revealed expectations that Patrick Graham would return as defensive coordinator.

Graham had worked with Daboll in the past and is well-respected throughout the Giants’ organization, so the assertion made sense. To everyone except for Graham himself, that is.

Rather than staying with the Giants, Graham took off for Las Vegas, joining Josh McDaniels’ Raiders’ staff. And he did so silently.

As it turns out, there was a specific reason for that. Or reasons, as it were.

Dan Duggan of The Athletic reports that Graham’s decision to bolt for Vegas was spurred on by several events that troubled him. Primarily, the team’s decision to fire his close personal friend, Joe Judge, after promising him patience.

So why did Graham bolt for Vegas? A source said multiple factors rubbed Graham the wrong way, particularly the way his close friend Judge was fired after two years by owners who promised to be patient with the young coach.

Graham was the defensive line coach on Ben McAdoo’s staff, so he has now witnessed the Giants fire two head coaches within two years.

That wasn’t the only thing that didn’t sit well with Graham. He was also bothered by the Brian Flores lawsuit, which alleged racial bias in the Giants’ hiring practices, and the proposed timeline of events.

Aspects of Flores’ lawsuit didn’t sit well with Graham, particularly the timeline of some of the actions by ownership and front office members who were included in the complaint, according to the source.

As the late, great Billy Mays would say, “but wait, there’s more!”

Finally, Graham was troubled by the Giants’ decision to publicly announce that he was expected to return prior to him completing his interview cycle with the Minnesota Vikings.

And Graham also didn’t like when Daboll and Schoen announced that he would be back before he interviewed for the Vikings job, the source said.

So with all of those issues festering, Graham left to join another former Patriots assistant, Josh McDaniels, in Las Vegas. Graham was under contract with the Giants, but it obviously wouldn’t have been good for the new staff’s chemistry to force an unhappy coach to stay.

Once upon a time, Graham said coaching the Giants’ defense was his “dream job.” He even turned down head coaching opportunities so he could remain in East Rutherford. But as each domino fell this offseason, Graham fell more and more out of love with the organization, and more bothered by several of the ongoings.

Graham has not yet commented publicly about his Giants exit, but we should expect to hear about it at some point soon.

[listicle id=688755]

5 DC options Giants could consider to replace Patrick Graham

A look at some names the Giants could consider at defensive coordinator with Patrick Graham set to leave for Las Vegas.

The New York Giants have suddenly found themselves in the market for a defensive coordinator after Patrick Graham skipped town to join Josh McDaniels’ Las Vegas Raiders staff on Friday.

The Giants had hoped to retain Graham, but had to grant permission for Graham to seek out other opportunities, including lateral ones.

Here are some possible names to keep in mind for Graham’s replacement.

Raiders land former Giants DC Patrick Graham to same position

Josh McDaniels lures over Patrick Graham from the Giants to be his DC

Josh McDaniels has landed a big hire for the most important position on his staff. The Raiders’ new defensive coordinator will be former Giants DC Patrick Graham.

Graham was with the Patriots along with McDaniels from 2009-15, alternating from defensive line coach to linebackers coach.

The past three seasons Graham has been the DC and assistant head coach in New York under head coach Joe Judge, another former Patriots assistant.

The Giants hired former Bills OC Brian Daboll to be there new head coach this year, freeing up Graham to seek out employment elsewhere. On the same day reports had Raiders former DC Gus Bradley hired on with the Colts, the Raiders find his replacement.

The defense slipped a bit for the Giants last season, but was a top ten unit in 2020 under Graham. They were 12th in the league last season in interceptions (15), which is a step up from the Raiders which were dead last with just six interceptions on the season.