Patrick Graham – December 10, 2019
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Tuesday, December 10, 2019
Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham
(I don’t know if you want to talk about this, but you seemed to have an emotional moment with LB Raekwon McMillan after he came off after that fourth =0down stop in the third quarter, which was a great play. Can you share that?) – “I think Raekwon, I’m just really proud of how his play has steadily improved throughout the season and for him to have the two back-to-back plays – the third-and-1 where he did a good job there, and then the fourth down – I was just telling him how that’s the way to step up when we needed you the most. Whether it was emotional or not, I just thought it was a great play by him. I just wanted to let him know. I spend most of my time screaming and yelling, so I wanted to give him some positive feedback there.”
(What differently could CB Nik Needham have done on that pass interference call?) – “I’m not going to get into that stuff. It’s a competitive play. We were trying to make a play on the ball. Whatever the refs do, they do and then they review it – whatever it is – but he’s trying to play football the way we’re going to ask him to; so I’ll leave it to them on that.”
(Have you had to alter your instructions to your defensive backs because of this pass interference rule?) – “We coach to the rule. We get clarity from the guys in in terms of that’s how we coach. We coach so that we can abide by the rules. I don’t think anything changes there.”
(LB Andrew Van Ginkel had his first career sack on Sunday. What have you seen from him in terms of his development?) – “I think just the thing that we’re looking for at this time of year – improvement. He gets in there a few weeks ago, looked rusty and now you’re starting to see he still has a ways to go, but (we’re) seeing some improvement. I always think any time you get some production, you reap the reward of all the hard work whether it was coming back from injury, being a rookie, and all that stuff like that. Once you get that reward right there – which again, it’s not always about the stats and sacks and all that stuff like that, but he’s worked hard and he made a big play when we needed it. Hopefully that leads to more plays (and) production this week against the Giants because we’re definitely going to need it whether it’s holding point in the run game, being sound on the cut-back in the run game and not just necessarily sacks or TFLs and things like that, but hopefully build some confidence.”
(With DE Taco Charlton, I know one thing that’s consistent about your coaches is, if you practice well, you’ll play on Sunday. What did Taco not do or what do you hope to see him do in this coming week that will get him to be on the active roster?) – “Taco had again, a solid week of practice last week. Really, decisions like that, that’s based on game plan really. Whatever we think for the game plan this week, that’s what’s going to play out. Whether it’s him or other players, we’re going to do what’s best for the team and what we think is best for the defense in this week against the Giants.”
(How humbling do you think that is for a guy like DE Taco Charlton, who’s leading the team in sacks that their coaches say, “hey, we’re not playing you this week?”) – “You’d have to ask him. We’re all in this together. Taco is a team player, so you’d have to ask him specifically about the emotional part of it, but we’re all in this together.”
(The longest run you gave up against the Jets I believe was 11 yards. Now you’ve got Giants RB Saquon Barkley this week. Are you losing sleep over him already?) – “You’re dealing with a guy that’s arguably one of the more talented players in the league in terms of skill-wise. To be a young player, to have the vision he has, the balance he has, the combination of strength, the ability to give him the ball in the pass game, the run game; he presents several challenges on top of him being one of the more dynamic athletes in the league. So am I losing sleep? I don’t sleep that much during the season anyway. (laughter) Am I getting grayer? I mean, probably. That’s why I’ve got the hat on to disguise it a little bit. (laughter) But yes, he’s a good player and we’ve got to prepare for him. We’ve got to prepare for whoever is at quarterback, whether it’s (Daniel) Jones or Eli (Manning), the receivers. They’ve got a lot of good skill guys out there and on the offensive line, they’re veterans. Aside from No. 71 (Will Hernandez) – he’s a second-year guy – but they’re veterans, they’re working together and they’ve been together all year. We’ve got a big challenge for us.”
(How do you approach a week where there’s uncertainty at the starting quarterback position?) – “We’ve got to prepare for both of them – all of them – just like we normally do because you never know. It’s a physical league, so you never know who’s going to get injured or what have you; but we always take our notes on everybody and make sure that we go over that with the players.”
(Did their offense look any different last night with Giants QB Eli Manning operating?) – “Eli is a vet, so maybe that just a little bit more. I don’t know like play-wise how different it looked, but Eli (is) just a really comfortable vet, seen everything, put them in the right play, make the right throw. The throw that he threw to – that first touchdown – when it was like third-and-16 – it was a little slant or hitch – he threw it to the outside shoulder to lead him back away from the defender and that’s what – it’s the small details right there. It wasn’t just a throw on third-and-16. He threw it to the outside shoulder, so the guy could turn and then he ran way from the defense right there. It was a pretty good play.”
(Did you watch the game live?) – “Yeah, while I was working. (laughter) It was on while I was working.”
(How much do you glean from TV copy live?) – “You can get some stuff just watching it, just getting an idea like, ‘okay what’s the personnel,’ and stuff like that. But I’m working on the other stuff for the game while that’s on. It’s just on in the background and stuff like that.”
(How would you describe your two years coaching with the Giants and is there anybody on that defense you particularly enjoyed coaching?) – “Guys – “Jackrabbit” (Janoris Jenkins) was there, Dalvin Tomlinson was there my second year; but my time there, I enjoyed it. The Mara family was really good to me. I have some good relationships with people there, but I’m not really worried about that (this week). I had good relationships there and enjoyed my time there.”
(DT John Jenkins is a guy that’s quietly had a solid season. What do you expect from him and how often does he deliver on what you expect?) – “What I expect for him is to be a physical presence inside, play with his hands, paly with good knee bend and win the one-on-one blocks whether it’s run or pass, whether it’s push in the pass game, getting to the edge – because he does have athleticism – or just winning the one-on-one blocks in the run game. I think he’s done a good job of that this year. Again, I’m sure there’s some plays he would like back, just like there’s some calls I would like back and he just keeps grinding and comes to work every day. (He’s a) diligent worker and a great personality. Great to be around. He’s even-keel, never too up, never too down, and I just think that has a calming effect on a young group like we have.”
(I wanted to ask you – I’ve been obsessed about the run game and edge setting all season – now you guys are on pace for 2,000 rushing yards allowed. How does this get fixed and where do you hope that somebody steps up to contain this edge?) – “I think the edge setting again is a combination of good fundamentals, good technique, stuff that we were harping on during the practice. We’ve got to get better there. We’ve got to do a good job of understanding the situation. Again, sometimes a bounce-out run here and there, and the leaky yards that come up; but just in terms being more firm inside, setting a sure edge and just having some patience in the run game. And then as usual, what it comes down to is getting off of blocks – block destruction – so being violent there, getting off the blocks and find the ball carrier. We’ve got a lot to work on, including myself, just getting that right, but we’re going to keep working toward it.”
(You’ve spent years and years working alongside Head Coach Brian Flores. Did you ever see him as upset as he was on Sunday?) – “(laughter) I don’t know. I was getting ready for the next call, so I don’t even know.”
(It was a pretty emotional exchange though for that moment.) – “I’ll leave that to you all. I was getting ready for the next call.”
(How tough is that for CB Nik Needham? There was two plays that initially went his way and then they didn’t go his way. How does he mentally handle that?) – “Again, I’m onto the Giants right now, but any time – and this is just my opinion again, I don’t know anything – but in my opinion, the experiences you have in the past, they help you grow as a person in whatever profession you’re in for the next challenge, and the next challenge is the Giants. So I don’t know specifically, but I know this – any human being that I’ve been around that’s trying to be the best and trying to be good at what they want to do, you take the past, you learn from those experiences and you apply it for that week. That’s what we have to do. Regardless of what happened whether it’s the run game, the pass game, whatever – we’ve got to apply it for this week, focus all our energy on the Giants and that’s where my focus is. I can’t even – last week was so far, it was two days ago, but it was so long ago. I’m focused on the Giants, trying to figure out how (Saquon) Barkley, Eli (Manning), (Daniel) Jones, whoever they put back there, these receivers, the offensive line. That’s where I’m at.”
(I was curious about your assessment of DT Christian Wilkins in his rookie season. How has he performed in what you’re asking him to do?) – “He has improved and where the improvement has come is really with his hands, and that’s the one thing I told him. I said, ‘naturally my eyes go to d-line. That’s the position I’ve coached most of my career – that and linebackers. Naturally (my eyes) go there. Unfortunately for you and fortunately for you, you’ve got to be a d-lineman and my eyes are going to be there.’ (laughter) I’ll say, “Here’s what I’m going to tell you. I’m going to coach you in using your hands.’ And that’s where we’ve seen the improvement, so it’s been positive and I give him a lot of credit for working at it.”
