Raiders defensive players fining selves for penalties

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ALAMEDA -- There's a jar stuffed with 100 bills sitting atop the desk of Raiders defensive coordinator Chuck Bresnahan.It's the brainchild of the defensive players themselves, each one dropping a "Benjamin" into the pot for each penalty they commit. The players are essentially fining themselves."Charity," Bresnahan said Thursday, "will love us at the end of the year."Even if the Raiders' record-setting penchant for picking up penalties will drive fans crazy.
By one count, the defensive players have committed 78 of the Raiders' league-leading 155 penalties and thus, 7,800 should be in that jar that represents so much to so many."We have overcome (penalties) in certain instances but thenin certain drives, like the Detroit game, we have those (penalties) that keep drives alive that make a difference in the game," Bresnahan said. "So, we've got to eliminate it. Our guys are taking a real concern to it out here in practice."The ones that really get you are the no-brainers. The offsides, the pre-snap penalties on both sides of the ball and all phases of the game. But some of it's going to be judgment, and you've got to kind of sit back and wait."Coach Hue Jackson has hired officials to work every practice this season. Alas"The thing that's disappointing is we get an average of three or four (penalties) at practice," Jackson said. "In the game, we're averaging 10, whatever it is. Just an unbelievable number. We've got to continue to deal with it, and we will."Lest the pot on Bresnahan's desk require a Brink's truck to back into the Raiders' compound to deliver the goods.

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