Gruden urges ‘more’ from rookies
Last week, Jon Gruden pulled the Raiders’ rookie players into a meeting and, in the words of defensive end Arden Key, urged “more” from them over the final eight games of the season.
“That was part of the message,” Gruden said Wednesday.
“Obviously, the big part of the message is what a big part of this organization they’ll become — they are. And they must handle that responsibility and take advantage of it.”
The Raiders (1-7) have rookies starting at both offensivetackle spots in Kolton Miller and Brandon Parker, and three first-year defensive linemen playing significant snaps in Maurice Hurst, Key and P.J. Hall.
All three specialists — punter Johnny Townsend, kicker Daniel Carlson and long-snapper Trent Sieg — are rookies. Two others, linebacker Jason Cabinda and cornerback Nick Nelson, debuted in Week 8 and will play “critical snaps” the rest of the season, Gruden said this week.
For those players, the demands of an NFL season, and likely their current record, are new. Last Friday’s meeting, Gruden said, served to make sure all are “on the same page” midway through a trying season.
“I want them to be a united group that’s learning from the 1-7 start how hard this business is and how painful it is on all of us,” Gruden said. “And I want them to be part of the solution and the big picture — not only this week, but for years and years to come.”
Key, a third-round pick in April, termed the meeting a “wake-up call.”
“He has a lot of confidence in us,” Key said. “And he wants us to do better than what we’re doing. I feel like as a rookie class, we’re playing good. But he doesn’t want us to think of ourselves as rookies. He wants us to play like vets — play like we’ve been in the league five-plus years. That’s just a challenge to us, and we’ve got to step up to that challenge.”
Hurst, the fifth-round pick who has played the most defensive snaps (61 percent) of any Oakland defensive lineman this season, said Gruden charged the rookies to “lead the league in effort.”
“For me, it’s just trying to be the foundation,” Hurst said. “Trying to be that first layer of foundation that Gruden’s trying to lay, and just to be a leader and be one of these young guys that can get the other guys going. Try to lead by example and just overall try to make this team as great as it can be.”
Hurst is one of several rookies who have taken on major roles. Key was expected to play his rookie year mainly as a third-down pass rusher, complementing edge rushers Khalil Mack and Bruce Irvin. After Mack was traded and Irvin’s role decreased, Key was asked to play more on first and second downs. He has played the second-most snaps on the defensive line (57.6 percent) behind Hurst.
Hall, the defensive tackle and second-round pick, missed three games with an ankle injury but has played increased snaps the past five games and had “one of his better games” against the 49ers on Nov. 1, according to Gruden, who said, “I think he’s starting to catch on to the position.”
Defensive tackle Frostee Rucker said the rookie defensive linemen have had “a lot on their plate” but are getting “valuable reps, win or loss.”
“That’s the key to this,” Rucker said. “They’re learning and building their own foundation of how to work, how to be accountable, how to be on time. They’ll get stronger in the weight room, they’ll learn how to be more physical at the point of attack and those things. And that’s the course of this year.”
On offense, Miller has started every game at left tackle despite a knee injury sustained in Week 4. Miller exited the game against the 49ers after aggravating the knee and has practiced this week with his knee and right elbow wrapped.
Parker, a third-round pick, was not expected to play right away but has started the past four games at right tackle, replacing the injured Donald Penn. Parker briefly was benched against the 49ers after committing three penalties on the Raiders’ first two series — a move offensive coordinator Greg Olson said was to let Parker “relax and calm down a little bit.”
“He’s giving us his all right now,” Olson said of Parker, “but we have a real high expectation of him and we’ll expect him to get better in the future.”
The Raiders’ direction, it seems, is counting on that being a common theme among their rookie class.
Matt Kawahara is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mkawahara@ sfchronicle.com Twitter: @matthewkawahara