PRO FOOTBALL / DAILY REPORT : RAIDERS : Penalties Still a Problem

Cutting down the number of penalties was a priority for Coach Art Shell in Saturday’s game at Pittsburgh. So how did the Raiders do in their 29-17 loss to the Steelers? Not good, as they were penalized 10 times for 81 yards.

“Having 10 penalties is still too much,” said Shell, whose team came close to setting a team record with 113 penalties for 832 yards last season. “We have to cut down on our mistakes and our personal fouls.”

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Shell also was displeased with the running game, which struggled to gain only 50 yards in 16 carries, with tailbacks Tyrone Montgomery and Harvey Williams combining for 42 yards in 11 carries.

“We have to do a much better job running the ball,” Shell said Sunday at the team’s Oxnard training camp. “We have to attack better. We had opportunities to get things going but our backs missed a couple of reads.”

Despite rumors of a lineup change in the backfield, with Tom Rathman and Williams replacing starters Napoleon McCallum and Montgomery before the Raiders play the Rams at Anaheim on Saturday, Shell said no changes have been made.

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After spending the first month of training camp at right cornerback, Albert Lewis on Saturday played on the left side, the position he played for most of his 11 years with the Kansas City Chiefs.

“We had two quality cornerbacks (Terry McDaniel and Lionel Washington) when we signed Albert and all we told him is that he’ll get a chance to compete,” Shell said. “We want versatility and that’s the reason why we had him playing on the right side up until now.”