Raiders DC Patrick Graham on How Tyler Hall Got Week 11 Opportunity

It's that point in the NFL season where players are being called upon to step up as a result of injuries.

Las Vegas Raiders defensive back Tyler Hall made the most of his opportunity last Sunday when he made his Raiders debut against the Denver Broncos.

The former Super Bowl champion registered three tackles, a quarterback hit, a tackle for loss and a crucial sack in the Silver and Black's overtime victory in Denver.

Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham said Hall's window was opened after a strong week of practice.

"He's been diligent," Graham said during his Tuesday press conference. "He's working hard in terms of studying, all the extra time studying. His skill set: he's sticky in coverage, he has physicality. He showed up in the run game. I know statistically, everybody wants to talk about the sack. But the play that stuck out the most to me was the two-yard gain on the run when he filled in the B-gap. That's what we look for in terms of Dave [Ziegler] and Josh [McDaniels] as they put the roster together; defensive backs who are tough, physical, and who can tackle. That showed up from him, and it was encouraging to see."

Hall was added to the Raiders practice squad last month after being waived by the Los Angeles Rams in early September.

Graham and the Raiders have a tough challenge awaiting them in Seattle on Sunday. 

The DC said one of the keys for his secondary will be staying deep.

"I mean, I think what you want to do is, again, it all ties together, whether it's the pass rush. … Well, first it starts with stopping the run, that's what you want to try to do," Graham said. "Because if they could do both run and pass, and feel comfortable about that, that's where the issues come into play. Then you start over-playing for the run and they run behind you. So, you've got to do a good job starting there. Controlling the line of scrimmage, that's the main thing there. And then from there, just in terms of whether you mix up the coverages or just try to do what you think is best to take away their top weapons. But again, when you're dealing with a team that has an offensive line that can block and they're gelling together, they have two backs who can run the ball and they can catch the ball as well. The tight ends also are an issue."

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