Before the Oakland Raiders took to the practice field Thursday to continue preparation for their Week 10 showdown with the Minnesota Vikings at O.co Coliseum, defensive coordinator Ken Norton, Jr., held his weekly press conference at the team's Alameda, Calif., facility.
Here are the highlights from his media session.
Norton shared his thoughts about Vikings running back Adrian Peterson.
"Anytime you go against a player like they have in their No. 28 [Adrian Peterson], you have to go back to your fundamentals. You have to really be shore in your gap control and you have to be a really good tackler. He's as good as he's even been."
He also spoke about the importance of limiting the Vikings deep threats.
"We have to stay on top. We really pride ourselves on our defense stopping the run and staying on top, and they really attacked the things that we thought we did well. So we have to really get back to our fundamentals, really get back to the things that we do best and we spend that time this week to really come back to who we are."
Safety Nate Allen's return is good news for the Raiders defense.
"Having Nate Allen back really strengthens our secondary, makes us better in every way and we welcome him with open arms."
Norton also shared his thoughts about Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.
"He's good. He has great vision, good mobility, understands his personnel around him and he finds the open man. I'm really impressed with his ability to find the right guy to throw it to."
A successful pass rush is a combined effort.
"We're just working for consistency and I think all four guys up front, everyone who's rushing whether it's a lineman or linebacker or safety, everyone has to work together, the coverage and the rush. It's just being consistent. Sometimes we look really good and sometimes we don't look really good. It's something we continue to try to improve."
