Raiders Defense Plans to Play Even Faster This Season

As the Las Vegas Raiders defense enters the third season under Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham, the unit's comfortability with Graham and each other is noticeable through the speed in which they've displayed through camp.

Las Vegas Raiders Maxx Crosby / Darrell Craig Harriss, Sports Illustrated

The Las Vegas Raiders defense enters this season with higher expectations than the unit has had in recent memory, primarily because of the addition of defensive tackle Christian Wilkins. The talented defensive lineman is the only new face on the Raiders defense, as it returns every other starter from last season. The defense started last season showing improvement from the previous season but still only ranked near the middle of the National Football League defenses.

However, after the Raiders fired Josh McDaniels and Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham was able to unleash the defense’s talent fully, the Raiders' defense climbed to the top half of the defensive rankings in the league. Over the final nine weeks of the season, the defense was one of the best in the league, regularly keeping the team in games.

The Raiders' defense is now entering the third year under Graham, entering its and the cohesion that has been built over that time is evident as the defense is flying around in training camp. Graham believes the defense's familiarity with each other and his system is seen through how fast and physical the defense is. As the Raiders progress through the first week of training camp, Graham hopes the defense continues stacking together productive days on the field.

“When you're playing fast, everybody thinks when coaches say play fast, we're talking about speed, timed speed,” Graham said. “We're in the NFL, everybody's fast. When you're playing fast, it’s because guys know what they're doing. They know what they're doing. So, it was day one install, and it seemed like guys knew what they were doing. 

“Now, it's going to start to compound in terms of day two because we're going to do day two install but still have day one and be able to use that,” Graham said. “So, the speed of it, guys being able to play with anticipation and good communication, it all stems from us knowing what to do. And I know that's what AP is harping on this training camp: know what to do so you can play fast, so you can play with anticipation, so we can improve every day.”

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