Raiders DC Ken Norton Jr. calls recent defensive struggles 'a gift'

The Oakland Raiders have the NFL's 30th-ranked defense, but defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. believes recent struggles have heightened the team's focus heading into a tough matchup with Calvin Johnson and the Detroit Lions.

"I think a lot of times when things like that happen, it becomes a gift, because sometimes you get a little complacent," Norton said according to Vic Tafur of SFGate.com. "You can think that you're already good at something. That makes you continue to work on the things you do well."

The three-time Super Bowl champion is treating the humbling as a learning experience for his team, hoping renewed focus will lead Oakland to the kind of defensive performance it managed early in the season. The last time the Raiders held an opponent under 20 points was in Week 5 against the Denver Broncos.

"One thing we hang our hat on is no one runs the ball, no one throws the ball deep on us," Norton said. After giving up 38 and 30 points respectively in the past two games, Norton believes the Raiders' opponents "attacked us at our foundation of what we do best.

"So, that really set us back a little bit."

The Lions have struggled to move the ball this season, ranking 28th in the league in total offense. But the presence of weapons like Johnson, Golden Tate, and Ameer Abdullah could give the rising Raiders a tough test.