Before the Oakland Raiders hit the practice field Thursday afternoon to continue their on-field preparation for their Week 15 matchup with the Green Bay Packers, defensive coordinator Ken Norton, Jr., held his weekly press conference.
Here are the highlights from his time behind the microphone.
He spoke about the development of the Raiders defensive line.
"It's just a testament of the hard work they put in. They've really, really been grinding, working hard at their technique. They're out here early. They're staying late. A lot of time in the meeting room, getting coached up by the coaches, and you can see the growth and the development of each and every player. I think that they understand now that the better each one of them gets, it makes them all better, it makes the group better. They have really shown that."
Norton also spoke about the recent play of defensive end Denico Autry.
"Very consistent. Consistently playing hard, consistently understanding where he's supposed to be. Consistently understanding it's a team defense. It's not one guy is bigger than the other. They all work hard and work together. There's enough sacks and pressure to go around for everybody."
Khalil Mack wants to be a special player.
"He really is focused on being a really good player. It's really important to him. Just coming in every day and [his] study habits, he really studies the top rushers. He really studies his ability and his technique. You see he's refining his technique and finding different ways to get to the quarterback. He has speed. He has power. He's smart. He's able to combine all that and then he has the ability to help develop the guys around him."
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers presents a unique challenge for the Raiders defense.
"He's smart. He has a really good arm. He has a really good, fast release. It really helps when people are around him that are pretty good. He has really good receivers, and then he has the ability to extend plays. Once he's in the pocket, he's just not going to sit there. He's going to move around, extend plays, and then the receivers have the ability to get open as he moves, and he's really quick in getting rid of the ball and very, very accurate."
The Raiders have big plans for rookie defensive tackle Leon Orr.
"Big. He's long. He loves playing ball. He's a guy that we kind of tell ourselves we're a developmental squad, a developmental coaching staff. He's a guy that we really see down the road is going to be a long, strong, major impact player in our defense."
