ALAMEDA – The Raiders lead the NFL in penalties and penalty yards, both by a long shot.
The Raiders set an all-time record with 23 penalties in Sunday’s victory over Tampa Bay, costing 200 yards that stands as third-most in history.
Del Rio wasn’t pleased about the infractions, especially those occurring before the snap. He also chose to focus on one word in the previous par above all else.
Victory.
“What I like about our guys is that we’re resilient,” Del Rio said during his Monday press conference. “We continue to fight through whatever obstacles present themselves. Yesterday we dealt with a large number of infractions that we don’t want to see. We fought our way through it and found a way to win.”
While the Raiders earned some penalties, he certainly didn’t think all were warranted. A pair of illegal formation calls called against Vadal Alexander were bothersome, as he believed the rookie properly signaled himself as an eligible receiver.
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Del Rio wants to be better in this area, especially considering his reputation as a fundamentally sound player who demands the same as a head coach, but he won’t worry about this issue much because he knows the Raiders are a disciplined team.
“We’ve made our corrections,” Del Rio said. “We’re not going to dwell on anything negative. We’ll go forward with positive energy and focus on things we need to do.”
No Sean Smith update: Raiders cornerback Sean Smith injured his shoulder on the second play of Sunday’s win and did not return after seeming to jam his arm back into the socket.
Del Rio didn’t update his condition on Monday. He thought DJ Hayden and TJ Carrie fared well with increased action.
“We matched (David Amerson) on (top Tampa Bay wideout) Mike Evans, and he did a nice job,” Del Rio said. “We doubled him throughout the day, and those other guys were left one-on-one a lot and they did a good job covering their guys.”
Penn a fantasy option?: Raiders left tackle Donald Penn scored a receiving touchdown on Sunday against a Tampa he used to play for, and it marked his fourth career TD. According to NFL Research, he has more touchdowns that any other player over 300 pounds.
Coach Del Rio, should Penn be a fantasy football option moving forward?
“He comes along once every two years,” Del Rio said. “You’d better be patient.”
