Before the Oakland Raiders hit the practice field Thursday afternoon to continue preparation for their regular season finale against the Kansas City Chiefs, defensive coordinator Ken Norton, Jr., held his weekly press conference.
Here are the highlights from his time behind the podium at the team's Alameda, Calif., facility.
Norton shared his thoughts about the Chiefs' offense.
"They have a system. They run it well. The quarterback is very accurate and efficient, really good skill players. They run the ball well. They catch the ball, and they get yards after they catch it, and they have a lot of good football players. They have a good system that they are making work for them, very, very impressed with how they play."
The Chiefs are effective on offense because they understand their identity.
"They understand who they are. They do it really well. Like I said, they run the ball, the quarterback, he throws very accurately and he runs the ball extremely well. The guys catch. They don't give the ball away and they play good, sound, really good defense. That all adds up to wins."
He also spoke about the development of the Raiders young defense.
"The young guys are growing up. They're understanding what their responsibilities are. They're learning from their mistakes early in the season, and I think that the team is really, defensively coming together well. The young guys are understanding how to win ballgames. They've learned how to lose, and they've learned how to win."
Norton addressed the continued improvement of the team's pass rush.
"They've really been working hard at it. We've been doing a good job on first and second down, getting them in longer passing situations. The coverage has really [done] very well as far as understanding the leverage, covering them a lot better, and the coverage and the pass rush really work together."
It would be quite the accomplishment for Khalil Mack to set the franchise's single-season sack record.
"It would be huge. Where he came from, as far as this point in his career, his improvement. I think the way that the guys are getting better around him is certainly making him better. As the team gets better, then our individual players are getting better. I think they're all working together."
