Defensive Line Coach Patrick Graham
September 16, 2017
Q: How do you think DT Dalvin Tomlinson played on Sunday?
A: He had a solid game, had a solid game. We’re just worried about Detroit right now. How we practiced this week and just getting ready for Detroit, but that game is behind us now.
Q: What does DT Dalvin Tomlinson need to work on to get better?
A: To get better – I think, I mean, at this point in the season we all have a lot of stuff to get better at. Obviously, we have to do a better job. I have to do a better job coaching, we have to do a better job playing, whether it’s against the run, feeding blocks, getting off blocks, getting to the ball carrier, transitioning the pass-rush. This point in the season and this game we’re getting prepared for, there’s so much we have to work on right now. Nobody is where they want to be right now, I don’t think.
Q: Could DT Jay Bromley be more effective once he’s healthier?
A: All the guys are. Everybody is a factor now. Period. They’re getting ready for the game. I mean, everybody is going to play a role in however we see fit in terms of pointing those guys out there on the field, whether it’s Jay, Dalvin, Rob (Robert Thomas), JPP (Jason Pierre-Paul). Everybody has a role and what we’re trying to figure out is how to beat the Lions on Monday.
Q: What’s holding you back from rotating DE Jason Pierre-Paul and DE Olivier Vernon more?
A: I can’t speak for Spags (Steve Spagnuolo). I can speak for myself. Everybody is going to play. Everybody is going to play. The number of snaps they play – that’s all dependent upon the flow of the game, what’s happening during the game. I can’t really speak about last week or last year. Nobody cares about that. So I know for this week coming up, the guys that are going to play are going to be the guys that are going to play and I feel comfortable with all the guys in my room playing in the game. So we’ll just see how it plays out.
Q: Are you comfortable with DE Jason Pierre-Paul and De Olivier Vernon playing all of the snaps?
A: I’m comfortable with getting a win. So, however we feel, however they feel in terms of what we need to do to win the game each week, and that’s all we worry about, one week at a time, that’s what we’re going to do.
Q: Do you ever get to a point in the game where you have to force guys who haven’t been playing as much into the lineup for a series, kind of like basketball?
A: Well, I’ve never coached basketball, but I can talk about football. In terms of just when you get into the flow of the game, you’re just trying to get guys in for certain situations sometimes. It can also be based on a fatigue factor because a game you play a lot of snaps, you want to get guys in there. There’s also just to get guys to get a flow of the game. You don’t want it to be the fourth quarter their first time getting in the game and they haven’t really gotten a flow of the game. So, it’s all based on each individual game and how we’re performing and how we see their role being.
Q: How has DE Avery Moss been doing?
A: Avery has been working really hard. He’s working really hard in the classroom, on the field, post-practice. He’s doing a lot of good things in terms of just improving himself as a student of the game, being a professional his first year here. Then also, just the skill element, whether it’s the pass-rush, whether it’s the run game. He’s doing a lot of good stuff there trying to work that. I’m real happy with his progression so far.
