Malcolm Koonce’s breakout season has been the culmination of persistence over three years

Consistency is the biggest area of improvement Graham has noticed in Koonce’s game. The defensive coordinator believes the strides Koonce has taken of bringing a sense of urgency to the facility and practice throughout the week has translated over to gamedays.

“Skilled player in terms of speed, quickness, the ability to bend, plays with his hands, and just the consistency of his showing up. Where did it start? Started in practice,” Graham said.

“You can ask everybody on defense. Me, myself, Robbie [Rob Leonard], Matt [Edwards], AP [Antonio Pierce], we’ve pointed out how he’s been practicing this whole year. I will say, especially over the last six weeks, it’s been impressive. … It’s him making the decision to practice the right way, get better, to improve, put in the necessary work, that’s just what it comes down to in professional football. Guys making the decision to improve and then me trying to stay out of the way and not mess them up. I couldn’t be more proud of that guy.”

In the midst of his a standout campaign, Koonce’s six career sacks still hold a special place. But he made it clear that his most recent sack doesn’t matter, because it’s all about the next one for him.

“It raises my confidence tremendously. There’s still more to be done so it’s not like I’m settling just on that [Chargers] game,” said Koonce. “I’ve kind of flushed that game, so I’m ready to get on to Kansas City.”