Everything Raiders DC Patrick Graham said Broncos Week

Las Vegas Raiders DC Patrick Graham spoke ahead of the Denver Broncos this weekend, and we have everything that he said for you to watch and read.

Las Vegas Raiders DC Patrick Graham / Darrell Craig Harris, Sports Illustrated

HENDERSON, Nev. — The Las Vegas Raiders (2-2), despite Davante Adams drama, are headed to Denver to take on their AFC West nemesis, the Broncos (2-2), on Sunday. 

We will address the Adams drama in great detail once the situation is resolved with another of our deep-dive articles. Still, the team has a full-steam-ahead mentality and looks forward to establishing their first multi-game winning streak of the season.

Raider Nation’s DC Patrick Graham held his weekly press conference before heading to Denver this weekend to take on the Broncos.  You can watch that in its entirety:

Below is a transcript of Graham’s entire press conference on Thursday:

Q: Charles Snowden really stepped up in that final drive against the Browns and had a good game overall. What have you seen in his development?

Coach Graham: "Just really proud of how he's really taken advantage of the opportunity. And from the moment we got him, Robbie [Rob Leonard] and Dre [Andre Carter] and AP [Antonio Pierce], they did a great job of explaining to him, 'Okay, this is where we see your possible role. Okay, we’re going to have to see this during OTAs. We're going to have to see this during training camp. And that's how you're going to give yourself a chance to be part of this organization.' And he fulfilled all that and when he came back to the practice squad, he kept working, and thankfully it's worked out for us. He's a hard worker, he's a hard worker, he's a smart football player. There's a desire there to be better, and you can see it each day. And thankfully, he has great leadership in that room to help him out, both with the coaching and with the older players."

Q: Are those the kind of stories that are rewarding to you as a coach, when you have a guy who's worked for a couple different organizations in three years just to get on the field and then finds a way to succeed in your system?

Coach Graham: "Absolutely. I mean, it's not my system, it's the player's system. Never think that – it's not my system. I'm just the facilitator. But they bring everything to life in my opinion, so that's why we have to be able to adjust. But he found his niche, and he was able to carve out something as an outside edge player, whether it's pass rush or set the edge. He displayed physicality, starting with the preseason and training camp, and then we start off the season with two – when Malcolm [Koonce] went down against the Chargers, a physical team, the Ravens, a physical team, Carolina ran the ball. He showed that he could go out there and hold the edge and be physical. So, is it rewarding? Absolutely. It's more rewarding when we win, yes. But yes, it's a great story in terms of just as I go through my coaching career, to have a guy like that come up big in a big game, definitely rewarding."

Q: Do you have enough of a sample size and film on Bo Nix in the NFL, or do you go back and look at some film on him from college this week to look at some tendencies as well?

Coach Graham: "One day, y'all are going to believe me. We watch everything. We watch everything, everything. We watch everything. But, I mean it's been really exciting to watch that kid play these first four games, go two and two, work through some tough weather conditions last week. Coach [Sean] Payton does such a good job. I have so much respect for him and the coaches on his staff, because he has guys that are his guys. Just like some of the players, like the tight ends, the fullback, those are his guys, and they do such a good job of painting the picture, I assume. I mean, when I retire one day and he's still coaching, I'm sure I might go sit in one of his meetings one day. I just, I love how they paint the picture in terms of how they utilize their people, how they develop their people from within. It's really interesting then to see him going through it with a rookie quarterback, and to see that guy mature. You see him picking up the blitzes, you see him getting in and out of calls with their run game. So, there's enough sample size to see that he's pretty good. And then when stuff breaks down, he's able to make plays with his feet. So, but do we watch a bunch of stuff? Yeah, we watch a bunch of stuff. But, I mean he's getting coached by one of the best right now. No disrespect to who coached them before, but Coach Payton is one of the best to ever do it. And you can see that, you can see the maturity out there on the field. I'm sure he has a lot of room to grow, but you can see him getting stuff done that gets done in a Sean Payton offense."

Q: We saw the plays that Isaiah Pola-Mao made on Sunday, the pass breakup, the sack that he had. But how did he do just in terms of stepping into that role of communication, leadership that's required for that position?

Coach Graham: "We value here the process over the results. So, you look at the sheet, sack, pass breakup, to me it's more important with the communication, the leadership he's displayed in the meeting room, 'Pat, what's this,' asking questions that might not be just for him, it might be he wants to make sure the group knows. So in terms of the process, him getting in and out of checks, him able to communicate on the sideline what he's seeing, possible suggestions, talking to GA [Gerald Alexander] who works with our DBs. It's more the process, and he's real process driven, like most of our guys are. And it's been encouraging to see."

Q: You talk about trusting the process more than the results. When you look at Robert Spillane from the time he came into this locker room to now, can you just talk about the process that you've seen him go through to become the leader and the player he is now?

Coach Graham: "You can see it all over the tape when he was with Pittsburgh. You can see it. You could tell he played with a chip on his shoulder. You can see the energy. You can see the ability to communicate. So when he got here, that's why we wanted him. We wanted him. So whoever the other free agents were, we wanted him, and then he got here and he quickly established that, and then we started to grow our relationship through communication, through disagreements. Our first interaction, he gave me the - you can ask him about that one, but I was just joking but he didn't take it like that - but it's just a great relationship. We're able to talk ball. That's why I love it. We're able to sit there, talk ball. I don't have to go up on the board. I'm like, 'Hey, if they do this, they do that,' 'Can you see this?' 'Yes, no.' 'Pat, this might be better,' 'Hey, do this.' It's a beautiful thing to be able to have your green dot, your inside linebackers in the middle of defense, to be able to communicate like that for me. For me, it's really good."

Q: Isaiah Pola-Mao's first start, he said early in the game, he kind of had a little bit of jitters but he settled in as the game went on and made a few key plays down the stretch. What did you think about his performance and what he can do moving forward?

Coach Graham: "I mean, just get better every day, working hard. Just had a baby, so happy for him there. Told him, 'Nobody cares if you're tired. We all have babies. There's 8 billion people on the planet, relax.' That's a joke I got from Vince. Vince gave me that one day. But yeah, he's just getting better every day. And he knows he has room to grow. He's listening to his coach. We've got really good coaches here. GA [Gerald Alexander] does a great job with those guys of simplifying it, then getting them to play above-the[1]neck football and understanding it conceptually. When Chris [Ash] was here, Chris did a good job of starting that growth process for him. But the main thing is, like most professional athletes, they've got to grab it, and they've got to make a choice. He made the choice to get better every day. He made a choice to improve. So, pleased with that."

Q: How proud are you of the cumulative effort with leaders that were hurt and other guys stepped up, next man up mentality? Just how proud were you of the cumulative effort of this team on Sunday?

Coach Graham: “Even though you preface it with that, I'm still going to go back to the Broncos. Nobody cares what's going on in our locker room. The opponent doesn't care, just like Denver is not going to care on Sunday. So, our job is to show up and perform. We got to get better each day. That's what we talk about, process over results. But it's our job to produce on the field, one, for our fans, for ownership. Me to do my job for the head coach, the players to do their job for themselves and their families and the coaching staff and the organization. So, we expect next-man up mentality. That's what we expect. Block out the noise, like AP has spoken about before. But great challenge this week with Denver. Love going to that stadium. It's a beautiful stadium, and I heard the weather is going to be good and the sun's going to be out. It’s going to be hard nose football, that's how they play. The defense is strong. Sean Payton's offense, they want to run the ball and throw the ball down the field. Physical. It's going to be fun. It's going to be football Sunday. I know it's cliche, but it's going to be a good place to be if you want to watch football.”

Q: What can you say about the progress of Tyree Wilson? And what do you expect from him going forward?

Coach Graham: “I expect him to get better every day. You all ask me this and I'm sorry it's the same answer all the time, but I expect him to get better every day. Just get better every day. He's a physical specimen obviously. He has good length; he plays with good strength. Most young players on the front, it's about getting your eyes right, get your eyes right on your keys, and then the next step is when your key disappears where do your eyes go to? That's really what NFL football is for a defensive player on the edge because how many times are they going to have the guy that you lined up block you? I mean, it's not recipe for success. So, usually he's going away and somebody else is coming into your vision and getting your eyes right. So, that's where most young players are at this point, and we're trying to make sure we get that right.”

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