Jackson backs off from penalty promises

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ALAMEDA -- Throughout the course of his first season as a head coach, Hue Jackson has promised time and again to "fix" the Raiders' inherent penalty problems.Even if it took to Week 17, he'd say.Heading into the 2011 season finale, the Raiders are picking up more penalties than ever before. In fact, they only need four penalties and 11 penalty yards to set dubious new standards in each category for a single season.The 1998 Kansas City Chiefs had 158 penalties for 1,304 yards and went 7-9 and finished fourth in the then-five-team AFC West under coach Marty Schottenheimer.

These Raiders, though, even with 155 penalties for a new franchise-record 1,294 yards, still have the opportunity to win the division by beating San Diego and having Denver lose at home to Kansas City.Still, setting new standards in penalties is not something to be proud of, Jackson insisted."It's disappointing," Jackson said. "I don't have the answer, obviously. I talk to the team about it all the time. I don't just talk. I yell, I scream, I threaten. I've done everything. I get a bunch of letters from people telling me other things I should try, too. And please, don't send any new ones because those things don't work. But we're going to continue to work at it."I get frustrated. I'm very frustrated by it because that's something I don't believe in. "Sounds like Jackson has given up on his earlier promises, right? Kinda."I don't believe that you can be a champion and continue to get those kind of penalties," he said. "At the same time, I do get frustrated because there's things that happen to us that are self-inflicted, that I know we can do better. We have to stay after it. At some point in time it's going to go the right way for us. And just like anything else, I think if you continue to work at it, you make it an area of emphasis and you continue to do so, something good's going to come out of it. When it's going to happen, I can't tell you."Against Kansas City on Saturday, the Raiders were flagged 15 times for 92 yardsbut did not have a single penalty in the last 11-plus minutes."It gives you a chance to win the game," he said. "I think there's a correlation. I think our players understand that in order to play good you need to play penalty-free football. But that's not who we are right now. That's my fault. I take responsibility for it. I've got to get it fixed, and I haven't yet. So I don't run from it."More often than not, the yellow flags find the Raiders.

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