Oakland Raiders vs. New England Patriots: Breaking Down Oakland's Game Plan

After only two weeks, the Oakland Raiders are already scrambling to keep the 2014 season from getting away from them. They have begun 0-2, and there's been little evidence to indicate that things are going to get better anytime soon.

But while Oakland has looked uninspired in both losses, there have been glimmers of potential.

Derek Carr's play has been encouraging. The running game has been non-existent so far, and this has forced the rookie quarterback to take on an increased workload on offense. He's thrown a combined 74 passes through two games, more than he was expected to as a rookie. But despite the increased responsibility, he's completed 63 percent of his passes.

The performance of the linebackers has also been a positive. Sio Moore continues to be extremely active and productive, and Khalil Mack has slowly but surely begun to have more of an impact on games. This has happened without defensive leader Nick Roach on the field. When he returns from his concussion, both young linebackers will see a jump in production.

While these have been two good developments, the team overall has looked severely overmatched in both games. The running attack has yet to make any kind of impact, and the pass rush has been completely absent. Both of these need to be addressed in a major way against the New England Patriots.

Here's a breakdown of what Oakland's game plan should look like when the Raiders visit Gillette Stadium this Sunday.

Focus on ball security and eliminate momentum-killing mistakes

The most frustrating part of Oakland's Week 1 loss to the New York Jets was the overly conservative play-calling on offense. Even with the game within reach, the offense didn't take enough chances downfield. Derek Carr threw 32 passes but averaged only 4.7 yards per attempt.

This changed in Week 2, and Carr showed he was up to the task. Despite Carr seeing an increase in attempts, his average yards per attempt actually rose. On 42 passes against the Houston Texans, he averaged 6.3 yards per pass.

Beck Diefenbach/Associated Press

Carr has already established himself as a quarterback who doesn't need to be protected as much as was expected. But while the increase in passes was an encouraging sign that the coaches are willing to trust him with more responsibility, 42 attempts are more than you want to see from a rookie. This increases the opportunities for turnovers, which we saw against Houston, as Carr threw the first two interceptions of his career.

The responsibility is also on the receivers and tight ends, who combined for three fumbles and two turnovers in Week 2. Carr had success getting them the ball, but the turnovers made the Raiders their own worst enemy, as the giveaways stopped more promising drives than the Houston defense did.

The four turnovers were especially big because the Raiders were actually finding success in moving the ball. In fact, they actually outgained the Texans 364 to 327 in total yards. But the turnovers consistently gave Houston excellent field position while also stopping several dangerous offensive possessions for Oakland.

The Oakland offense can be effective, but the team isn't good enough to overcome so many mistakes. Against New England, ball security has to be at a premium. It's going to be hard enough for the underwhelming Oakland defense to stop Tom Brady. Giving him great field position will make it nearly impossible.

Commit to the running game

The Raiders found themselves down early against Houston, so it made sense that the offense went with more passes. But even in this situation, the running backs didn't get nearly enough opportunities.

For the second week in a row, the Oakland running backs combined for exactly 13 rushing attempts. There's no way that any running back can be successful with so few touches.

After missing the last game due to a hand injury, Maurice Jones-Drew is back in practice this week, per CSNBayArea.com's Scott Bair. However, it's still to be determined whether he'll be able to play against New England. Bair notes the primary issue: "The team hopes to have Jones-Drew available on Sunday against New England, but the major concern is whether his hand can handle the rigors of his position, which includes blocking, receiving and ball security."

Even if he's unable to play, Darren McFadden showed that he's still capable of carrying the load for Oakland. While his stats for the last game don't look impressive, they fail to indicate how effective he actually was. He ran hard and violent, and he began to have more success as the game progressed. Unfortunately, he only rushed the ball 12 times.

Defenses haven't had anything to fear from Oakland on the ground so far this season. This has allowed them to sit back and protect even more against the pass. Establishing a running attack will open up the secondary for Carr while making the offense as a whole much more balanced and dangerous.

Oakland has the running backs to be effective. It's now on the coaches to get them more touches—at least 20-25 rushes per game—and give them an opportunity to impose their will on the defense. Through the first two weeks, the Raiders have allowed the opposing defenses to dictate their offensive play-calling. Against New England, they have to commit to their own strengths, including the running game.

Linebackers and slot corners need to be effective

When trying to stop the Patriots offense, it all starts and ends with Tom Brady. Given Brady's production so far this season, stopping him begins and ends with Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski.

Through two games, Edelman and Gronkowski have provided the bulk of New England's production through the air. They've combined for 20 catches, 248 yards and two touchdowns. Since they are the slot corner and the tight end, respectively, the primary responsibility for stopping them will fall on the slot corners and the linebackers.

When it comes to Edelman, it remains to be seen who will be his primary matchup. T.J. Carrie was the primary slot corner in Week 1, but Chimdi Chekwa's return in Week 2 led to a reshuffling of the cornerback depth chart. Carrie will also likely get a shot at Edelman. But although he's shown potential, it's unlikely that the Oakland coaches will be eager to send out a rookie against Brady's top target.

Chekwa played outside corner against Houston, which makes it likely that Carlos Rogers will stay inside at slot corner, the spot he was actually brought in to play. This means it will fall on him to try to stop, or at the very least limit, Edelman.

Jeff Chiu/Associated Press/Associated Press

Gronkowski will see several defenders, but it will frequently be Khalil Mack or Sio Moore. Both outside linebackers have the size and speed to be physical and keep up with Gronkowski, one of the NFL's top receiving tight ends.

The task could be more challenging depending on the availability of Moore, who's yet to practice after exiting the game against the Texans early with an ankle injury. ESPN.com's Bill Williamson tweeted on Thursday that it's starting to look like Moore won't be available Sunday.

If he's unable to go, his replacement—most likely Miles Burris—will have to rise to the challenge.

As with Rogers, the linebackers don't necessarily have to stop Gronkowski. But limiting his production will limit the success of Brady and the Patriots offense overall.

Sell out on the pass rush

As bad as the Raiders have looked through the first two weeks of the season, there's no question that the single most disappointing unit on the team has been the defensive line. Starters Justin Tuck, LaMarr Woodley, Antonio Smith and Pat Sims have only 20 tackles combined through two games, and they've yet to get a single sack.

To put that into perspective, safety Tyvon Branch has 19 tackles through two games, including 12 this past Sunday alone, and he already has one sack on the season. In other words, Branch has single-handedly outperformed the entire Raiders starting defensive line.

While the defensive line has underperformed in general, the biggest issue has been the unit's complete inability to get to the quarterback. Geno Smith and Ryan Fitzpatrick, both average quarterbacks, looked like Pro Bowlers against Oakland, mainly because they frequently had all day to throw. If the same happens against Brady, he will embarrass the defense.

Beck Diefenbach/Associated Press

After two games, the defensive line has shown that it can't generate quarterback pressure on its own. The linemen have been unable to beat their blockers, something defensive coordinator Jason Tarver is aware of. He summarized his concerns in an interview posted on the official Raiders website by simply stating, "We need to win our one-on-one matchups." 

That's true, but hoping it happens won't make it so. For now, Tarver is going to have to commit more players to the pass rush. Whether it's linebackers, cornerbacks or safeties, extra players need to be regularly included in blitz packages throughout the game.

This isn't an ideal situation as it means that the defense will have to sacrifice some coverage. But after two games, it's become painfully obvious that the current approach isn't working. Even with extra men in coverage, the quarterbacks have had so much time to throw that they've been able to find open receivers anyway.

Until the defensive line shows some signs of life, the unit can't be depended on. Committing extra pass-rushers will cost the defense in coverage, but it provides the opportunity to stop the problem at the source. It's also a proactive approach.

If the New England offense has success, so be it. But the Oakland defense should at least go down fighting, not simply sitting back and waiting to get picked apart.

Unless otherwise noted, stats provided by ESPN.com.

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