LAS VEGAS – The bye week is the perfect time to assess and evaluate what the team does and doesn’t do well. Las Vegas Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham took some of the bye week to review the team’s fundamentals. He looked at tackling, block shedding, and pass coverage.
“More importantly, it is important to review and do a report card on fundamentals,” Graham said via the Raiders website. “That’s the main thing that will drive the engine as we go forward.”
Graham also looked at the defense’s tendencies, trying to highlight the good things they’ve been doing but focusing on the bad habits and trying to remove them from the team.
Fundamentals will be crucial against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. The Raiders will need to tackle well, be physical, and find a way to keep up with the overall team speed of the Dolphins.
“We have to find the best way to deploy the defense and try to keep this speed under control,” Graham said. “Take away space. Staying on top. It’s going to be a fun game in terms of challenge yourself.”
Graham also mentioned some things the team can use on tape from last season’s meeting on Nov. 19, 2023 – a 20-13 Dolphins victory. He noted quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s play as something the Raiders must look out for.
“The ball gets out so fast. He’s a quick decision-maker,” Graham said. “It’s the decisions they make in the run game that impresses the most. … He’s doing a good job at that. We have to take some stuff from the game and try to apply it. Then, you try to take some things away schematically to see if it’s applicable to us this year. The main thing for us to be able to go into South Florida and play a certain way.”
Paul Delos Santos is the Las Vegas sports insider for Dice City Sports. Follow him on X at @PaulDelos_.
