Patrick Graham is Maximizing Pieces Given to Him

The Las Vegas Raiders defense was expected to be a work in progress this season. So far, they've exceeded expectations as they continue to develop their younger players.

It is said that if you stay ready, you don't have to get prepared. That seems to be the mentality of the Las Vegas Raiders' coaching staff as the season continues. 

The Raiders must depend on lesser-known players in key positions and at important times during this season. They've been able to rely on those players somewhat comfortably because of their ability as a coaching staff to acclimate their young players to the NFL properly. 

"We prepare them like they're going to play every week," Coach Josh McDaniels said. "I mean, if you're on the roster or the practice squad, you're really only a man or two away from playing."

The Raiders coaching staff is very in tune with the roster and honest about their strengths and weaknesses from a personnel standpoint.

"We look at it as our roster in totality," McDaniels said. "If they're sitting in the squad room in the morning, they're part of the Raiders and might play.

"We don't have four or five backups at every spot on the active roster, so if you get -- Nate [Hobb's] injury happened in practice a few weeks ago, and all of a sudden it changed things, and someone else has to be ready to go.

"Certainly, Tyler [Hall] was, and I think that's the mentality you have to get into if you're on the practice squad. You can never let your guard down. A player like Tyler I think's a great example.

"[Kana'i] Mauga is another good example of that, just he comes up and bam -- he's in there, he's making an impact in the kicking game and playing a lot of roles."

For McDaniels, where a player falls on the depth chart does not matter, as he expects them to be ready when called upon.

"If you're here, and you're in the meetings, and you're going through the daily and weekly preparation, you have to assume that there's an opportunity that you're going to play and get called up," McDaniels said. 

"If we all can adopt that mentality, then they'll be ready when their number is called. So, we practice those guys, too. It's not like they don't ever get any reps, so they get some reps, they get to compete, they're also on the show team. So, they're out there playing, we evaluate all that tape, we see it all.

"We're really trying to help them improve as players, but also, they have to really push to make sure that they're up to speed on the game plan in case something like that does happen."

Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham stresses the importance of the coaches properly developing all of their players, including guys who may not see the field often. 

Graham shared that each player must be ready to go at all times.

"Guys have got to get ready for that, and as a coach you're always excited to see them seize those opportunities," Graham said. "So, in terms of just excitement, we're always excited about that. It's just that we're teachers, so it's just the same thing." 

So far, Graham and the Raiders' coaching staff have extracted the most they can from every player on the defense. If they can continue to do so, the defense could get even better.

The Silver and Black will stay home at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas to play the New England Patriots on Sunday, Oct. 15, at 4:05 p.m. EDT/1:05 p.m. PDT.

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