Raiders DC Patrick Graham: Observations From Week 7

Raiders DC Patrick Graham: 3 Observations From Week 7

Someone needs to take the lead on defense

Throughout most of the game, the Texans were converting third downs with relative ease. In fact, Lovie Smith’s group converted nine out of 15 third downs. The Raiders’ passing defense surrendered 12 passing downs in total on Sunday.

The fact that the teams were tied at halftime doesn’t tell the whole story. There are several red flags about this defense, most notably communication issues.

"“I think when you look back at any game, there is usually something that comes up. Again, you usually keep that in house or just try to figure it out because of any competitive advantage for the other team, but very seldom do you play a perfect game, and it’s hard enough to cover those guys and it’s hard enough to have 11 guys on the same page, but that’s what you’re striving for. So, usually you are going to see something in any game you watch,” said Graham with regard to communication breakdowns on the field."

To be honest, it sounds like a lot of the typical jargon you hear coordinators give out. While it’s true that a perfect game is impossible, miscues need to be rectified, especially if the Raiders consider themselves contenders this season.

Neil Farrell Jr.’s role following the Johnathan Hankins trade

Raiders fans were rather surprised to hear that interior stalwart Johnathan Hankins had been traded for a sixth-round pick. However, with Hankins gone, Raider Nation can expect more of rookie Neil Farrell Jr. moving forward.

While moving forward with a youth movement along the defensive line isn’t exactly a shocker, the fact is, fans haven’t seen a whole lot from Farrell. While he played 113 snaps in the preseason, the regular season has seen him mostly buried in the depth chart. With a declining Hankins out of the way, the coaching staff can begin Farrell’s on-field development.

So, that begs the question, what has Graham seen out of Farrell at this point? Should fans be excited about this apparent move? Well, the defensive coach spoke on that,

"“The typical progression you see from rookies is just in terms of learning how to study better, taking care of their bodies better, and then it shows up in practice. Because any snaps earned on the field, how we do it here, is based on practice. And so, he’s had an emergence on the practice field. When we talk about the idea of practice execution becoming a reality, that’s what we are looking for. And he’s worked really hard at practice, and it’s been encouraging. He knows he has a lot of room to grow, and that’s the case for most of us out there, but the thing is, you’ve seen it in practice.”"