Giants defensive coordinator Patrick Graham knows Dolphins head coach Brian Flores well; the two spent seven years together as assistants on Bill Belichick’s staff in New England, and Graham was Flores’ defensive coordinator in Miami in 2019 before coming to New York – a move Graham said earlier this week wasn’t a tough conversation to have when he made the decision to come back to where he played college football (Yale) and began his coaching career (Wagner).
“We’re like brothers, and he just respected my decision and allowed me to come. It was just a chance to come back here to the New York Giants, close to home, close to my family, so that's really most of what played into it,” Graham said. “But I learned so much from Brian. He's one of the smartest human beings I've ever been around, and he challenges you to get better every day. I wouldn't be in this position if it wasn't for Flo; I learned a ton about football, and about life.”
Graham has the task of trying to stop Flores’ offense this weekend in Miami, and one of the keys to the game will likely be doing what the Giants did to Philadelphia: take away the biggest playmakers on offense and make the ancillary players beat you.
“That's how I learned football, in terms of who are the guys that can win the game, who are they trying to win the game with. If we can take those guys away, then it forces them to play left-handed,” Graham said of the philosophy. “Not saying the other guys can't make plays, but that’s the process; you try to make them play left-handed, and but you've got to be ready for their other options. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't.”
Last Sunday, it was one Alabama receiver in DeVonta Smith that got the blanket treatment, and this week, it will be another in Jaylen Waddle who is in the Big Blue defensive crosshairs.
“He's really, really fast and explosive out of his breaks, and they are doing a good job of putting him in spots to get open,” Graham said of Waddle. “They have really smart coaches and they're doing a good job of getting him in space, creating mismatches with the guys, so that's one thing they're doing. On top of his skill level, they're putting him in the right spot, and that's what I'm seeing on tape.”
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Graham was jokingly asked about triple-teaming Waddle, which he denied with a smile citing the prowess of tight end Mike Gesicki and running back Myles Gaskin, but he knows Miami has a ton of weapons at their disposal.
“The key thing is just thinking about Miami, they've got guys that could really hurt you. You know who they're trying to get the ball to. You try to take them away and see if the other guys can beat you,” Graham said. “But when you've got a bunch of skill guys – Albert Wilson, Gaskin who's playing well, you've got Tua (Tagovailoa) playing well – you can try to take away the other guys, but then you've got to make sure you're defending them.”
The Giants forced four turnovers against Philly, including three interceptions, and the DC is hopeful that with Logan Ryan back this weekend, the trend can continue.
“I think we have some ball hawks. Darnay (Holmes) was a skill player back at UCLA, and Zay (Xavier McKinney) has always been somebody who can get the ball,” Graham said. “I think that's part of the evaluation process when we're going through the draft. We're looking for guys who are ball hawks because some of it can be taught, but some of it is just natural with those guys that want to get to the ball. The more of those guys that we can have and the better we can execute in terms of practicing the techniques, and giving them some tendencies to be able to play fast with anticipation. We always talk about taking the ball away, and that's something they take pride in.”
“I’ve just always been able to get to the ball, and had good instincts,” McKinney added. “Even when I was in high school, I always found the ball no matter what.”
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This is also a second straight week for McKinney to face a former Crimson Tide teammate, but while he’ll be happy to see Waddle and Tagovailoa, he’s not giving them any leeway.
“It’s fun playing against old teammates, but they aren’t teammates anymore; those are my opponents and I treat them as such,” McKinney said. “I don’t play fair! I’m trying to win the game just like they are; they aren’t going to make it easy for me, and I’m not going to make it easy for them. I attack it like that.”
Hopefully, Zay will be able to double his career interception total against Tua Tagovailoa, who he managed to get once in practice at Alabama.
“I only picked him off one time over the course of the three years we were there together, and when you get one, you relish it,” McKinney said. “He’s tough to get because he’s good with his eyes and being able to look you off; I was still growing as a safety in college, but he sees different things and that’s always been a challenge.”
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With Mike Glennon at quarterback instead of Daniel Jones, Big Blue may need another stellar defensive effort to walk out of Miami with a victory, but the group is up to the challenge.
“I keep the same mindset every day – I have to come out here and keep working and stay level-headed,” McKinney said, “but I know what I’m chasing. We keep coming out here and working and getting better. Every week we say it’s on us defensively, and always go into week saying we don’t want the other team to score.”
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