The Las Vegas Raiders entered the season expecting its defense to be one of the best in the league. That looked like a realistic possibility during the season's first two games, and it still is. However, the third game of the season showed what can happen to the Raiders' defense and to any defense in the league when everything goes wrong.
Shortly before the season's first game, the Raiders lost defensive end Malcolm Koonce to what appears to be a long-term injury. Sunday against the Carolina Panthers, they lost safety Marcus Epps to a season-ending injury.
That forced the Raiders to turn to third-year safety Isaiah Palo-Mao, who they have spent the last few seasons developing. Since joining the Raiders, Palo-Mao has played a decent amount but has yet to be an integral part of the defense. That now changes with Epps’ injury.
“Since we got Isaiah [Pola-Mao], the thing that stood out about him is his work ethic and his ability to work on his perceived weaknesses or things that he needs to work on since he was a rookie, and really proud about how he's gotten better at that,” said Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham. “You can see it from him, the range in the back, deep part of the field. His man-to-man cover skills have improved. His tackling has improved overall, and just in terms of how he strikes and the physicality in which he plays, it's all night and day from when we first got him. So that's a testament to his hard work. So really proud of him."
Standing 6-foot-4 and weighing just over 200 pounds, Palo-Mao is a large, physical safety. Graham says that Palo-Mao’s physical makeup and play style are what most coaches look for in players on the professional level. Graham says all of the traits Palo-Mao brings to the table are positive ones.
“Well, on defense, the idea -- you see the top defenses over time in the league, you're dealing with men that can run, men who are physical, who are having to be long, long levers whether it's legs, arms, big people,” Graham said. “It's a big man's sport. So that's always a positive."
