Patrick Graham – October 8, 2019
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Tuesday, October 8, 2019
Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham
(We’ve asked about the ever-evolving role for LB Raekwon McMillan. He’s done different things each and every week. Is there more consideration to putting him back as the inside linebacker?) – “I think when you look over the first four games of the season, he’s played inside linebacker. We’re moving him around, just like a lot of people on the defense; but I think he’s shown some value both on the edge, both off the ball and inside. We’re going to do what’s best for the team, but thankfully for us, he’s been doing a good job and he’s continually improving at the roles we’re giving him, if that makes sense.”
(With LB Jerome Baker, I guess based on what we saw during the preseason and training camp, there was a higher level of expectation for him, especially from a blitzing standpoint. Why do you think that that’s not hitting home yet?) – “I think we’ve got – obviously, we’ve got to do what’s best in terms of going against the opponent, in terms of whether it’s a blitz or not blitz. I think, again, everybody’s really just trying to get more and more comfortable, trying to – again, it’s the early part of the season. Guys will improve. The thing is, you get the bye week so you get a chance to work on some things and then you hope to see improvement moving forward, so that’s really what we’re focused on. That – improvement moving forward – and dealing with Washington because again, whether you blitz or don’t blitz or whether (Jerome) Baker’s coming or Raekwon (McMillan) or Sam (Eguavoen) – they’ve got a lot of good skill players, a lot of good offensive linemen, guys that do a good job of blocking. We’re going to have to prepare for those guys.”
(How do you prepare for a team where you have no idea who’s going to be playing quarterback?) – “I think – kind of similar to what (Head) Coach (Brian) Flores talked about, we prepare for all of them. That’s usually – if you take a look again – whether it’s your pass game coordinator, your coordinator, or whoever, just the whole defense and the head coach – you’re always looking at the other quarterbacks because you never know what can happen. You’ve got to have some familiarity, so if somebody went down during the game, it’s not like, ‘Oh, no! What does he do?’ and nobody knows he’s a scrambler or he’s left-handed. That would be bad on us in terms of preparation, so we always prepare for them all.”
(Is that requiring more work than a typical week when you have three guys that can start?) – “More work? (laughter) I don’t know. I try to maximize the work every week. You’ve got to throw effort at it. You’ve got to throw effort at it and it definitely is a challenge, but I don’t know if I would use the phrase ‘more work.’ You’ve definitely got to throw effort at it to get ready for those guys.”
(One guy who becomes available to you next week if the team decides to do so is CB Cordrea Tankersley. What has your interaction been with him and how does he look physically to you?) – “In terms of injured guys and stuff, you’ve got to go back to ‘Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) on that; but just in terms of in meetings, he’s been diligent. He’s been a diligent worker. He’s been somebody that asks good questions and (I have) just been pleased with that.”
(How badly do you and do you want the staff and players to experience victory?) – “What I really want to do, I want to win today. Today means in terms of our preparation. Yesterday, the guys got back and we worked on fundamentals and things of that nature. Again, I’m the type of guy I don’t look too far ahead. I think you can kind of get lost doing that – looking too far ahead – so to me, I find the victories in the small victories. It can be today when we’re preparing for early-down run and pass. Do we win that today in terms of our preparation as a coaching staff? Tomorrow morning when we install and the guys understand what we’re trying to do and what we’re trying to accomplish, can we win that? Then as you pile up the small wins, hopefully that leads to the bigger win in terms of on Sunday. That’s always the goal, but I really don’t look too far ahead in terms of that. That’s just not how I’ve been raised to coach. That’s not how I’m built. I’ve just got to try to find the victories where I can focus on today.”
(S Reshad Jones came back two weeks ago and has contributed to two of the scores in terms of the play where he went for Chargers QB Philip Rivers and he made that amazing pass and then a missed tackle on I believe another situation. Where would you assess Reshad in terms of understanding and comfort level for your defense?) – “I think just looking ahead to Washington this week whether it’s Reshad (Jones) or the other players on the defense, we’re going to try to – I think guys are growing more and more comfortable with the scheme and obviously, that’s our job as coaches to get them up to speed. We’re going to utilize their skillset the best that we can in terms of trying to stop Washington because again, going back to Washington, the skill level they’ve got at the backs. Obviously (Chris) Thompson, you’ve got Adrian Peterson – these guys are very skilled running backs. That includes (Wendell) Smallwood – another guy who’s a challenge. Then you’ve got the tight end situation. We’ll see how that plays out with – they’ve had some flux there over the last weeks, but – And then the quarterback situation, you guys already referenced to it but it’s three guys you’re getting ready for. (Case) Keenum, you’ve got (Colt) McCoy and then you’ve got (Dwayne) Haskins – the rookie. That’s where the challenge lies and then we’ve got to make our improvements on our fundamentals. We’ve got to – everybody across the board – we’ve got to improve our tackling. That starts with practice. In terms of us throwing effort at it there, trying to get it right, working to get it right and get it fixed.”
(If I could ask you one question that doesn’t involve Washington – who’s been your best defensive player through a quarter of the season?) – “Just in terms of evaluation, I think right now, the whole self-scout, that part of it, I’m really just focused on how we’re going to defend Washington really right now in terms of the group.”
(Right, but I’m not as focused on that. I’m focused on who has been the best, if you could please answer that question. It’s not asking much.) – “(laughter) All right. I would say this: there’s been a number of guys playing well in terms of guys playing well up front. There’s a number of guys. I can’t single anybody out, per se right now; but we’ve got some guys playing well and then the goal is for us collectively play well as a group of 11 out there on the field for a sustained period of time.”
(With CB Jomal Wiltz down and S Minkah Fitzpatrick gone, how do you find somebody to sort of replace that nickel spot and fill that void?) – “Again, in terms of who’s down, who’s up, what we do is we practice it, we evaluate it and we see what’s going to be best for the defense and for that week. Again, the matchups could be different based on who’s in the slot for them and who’s not in the slot, so it could vary from week-to-week. We’re very much dealing with week-to-week in terms of how we game plan, so that’s probably the best way to answer that.”
(What traits do you look for from a nickel?) – “In terms of the inside corner, what you’re looking for is the same traits you’re looking for in the outside corner. You’re looking for toughness, can they tackle and can they communicate. That’s really – if you were to ask me – that’s really what we’re looking for in terms of all of our defensive backs: can they tackle, toughness and can they communicate.
(Head Coach Brian Flores, Offensive Coordinator O’Shea, yourself – you’ve all talked about it – the need to be fundamentally better. The fan might say, “blocking or tackling – you’re either good at it or you’re not.” Can you speak on that and whether or not things for an NFL player – can they literally improve their blocking and tackling, or are they who they are?) – “To bring it to the fan level or maybe just someone that doesn’t know football, I’ve been married for 10 years and three months. I’m a better husband now than I was four years ago. I know that. I’m a better father now that my daughter is 7 years old and my son is 5, about to turn 6 – I’m a better father now than when I first started. I’m a better brother to my younger and older brothers now. I’m a better son to my parents right now. I appreciate them more. I think over time, you definitely can improve. Whether that’s – again, taking it from football (to the) everyday, walk in life, I would think they would be able to relate to that. So yes, if you throw effort at it, if you try to improve and you put work in, you’ll get improvement.”
