Del Rio: Raiders are ‘disciplined’ despite NFL penalty record
Raiders are ‘disciplined’ despite NFL penalty record
They’re 6-2 going into Sunday’s game against Denver for first place in the AFC West.
[...] they have possibly the hottest quarterback in the NFL in Derek Carr.
[...] that’s what head coach Jack Del Rio insisted Monday in the wake of their league-record 23 penalties for 200 yards in Sunday’s 30-24 win over Tampa Bay.
“We’re a disciplined team,” he said.
Because I know that and because I know we coach it and stress it and I know our guys buy into it, I’m not going to overreact to circumstances that are occurring that might indicate otherwise, because I know the truth.
When you know you’re working on the right things and doing the right things and guys believe the message and are working toward it, there’s no reason to waste energy thinking otherwise.
When Del Rio was head coach of the Jaguars from 2003 through ’11, they were the second-least-penalized team in the NFL during that stretch.
In his final season in Jacksonville, they had just 77 penalties.
[...] the Raiders have a long tradition of leading the league in penalties.
Midway through the season, they have drawn 86 accepted penalties, 20 more than the second-most-penalized team, Washington.
After going through the game video, Del Rio said, “I thought we earned some, and I thought some were questionable.”
In the first half, he felt his offensive players were growing frustrated by the flags.
[...] the offense had nine more penalties after intermission, and the defense and special teams drew others.
The team broke the record of 22 penalties shared by the 0-10 Brooklyn Tigers of 1944, the 6-3-1 Chicago Bears of the same year and the 12-4 49ers of 1998.
Like the Raiders, the ’44 Bears won the game despite the penalties.
Strangely, the Raiders were twice guilty of having 12 defenders on the field before the snap in a span of five plays because of mix-ups in substitutions.
The penalty total could have been worse.
On one play, cornerback David Amerson was called for holding and linebacker Malcolm Smith for offside, but the Bucs declined both penalties because they completed a pass for 14 yards.
In the fourth quarter, safety Karl Joseph could have been flagged for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Mike Evans.
Offensive tackle Donald Penn caught the fourth touchdown pass of his career, a 1-yarder in the third quarter.
Asked whether fantasy players should jump on the Penn bandwagon, Del Rio said a Penn TD “comes along once every two years or so, so you’d better be patient.”
Cornerback Sean Smith injured his left shoulder on the second scrimmage play and didn’t return.
TJ Carrie played well in his place, Del Rio said.
Tom FitzGerald is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.
Email: tfitzgerald@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @tomgfitzgerald
Flag day for Raiders
The Raiders were assessed an NFL-record 23 penalties for 200 yards in their 30-24 win over the Buccaneers on Sunday.
Here’s the rundown:
Penalty
Offender
Unsportsmanlike conduct
12 yards
5 yards
10 yards, erased 14-yard run by Richard
Illegal grounding
14 yards, loss of down
DJ Hayden
10 yards
Delay of game
5 yards
Offensive pass interference
10 yards, erased 9-yard TD catch
Unnecessary roughness
15 yards
Illegal use of hands
Illegal formation
5 yards
Unnecessary roughness
7 yards (half the distance to goal line), erased 6-yard pass to Cooper
Illegal hands to the face
8 yards (half the distance to goal line)
Ineligible man downfield on punt
5 yards
Unnecessary roughness — illegal contact to the head of a defenseless player
15 yards
5 yards
Pass interference
DJ Hayden
19 yards
5 yards
False start
5 yards
Unnecessary roughness — blow to the head
15 yards
False start
5 yards
DJ Hayden
Illegal block above the waist