How Interim Coach Tony Sparano Can Help Raiders' Maurice Jones-Drew Reemerge

During free agency this past offseason, the Oakland Raiders made it a point of emphasis to bolster the roster with seasoned veteran talent. 

Journeymen like Tarell Brown, Justin tuck and LaMarr Woodley would help the young Raiders defense grow. Wide receiver James Jones and running back Maurice Jones-Drew would give veteran newly acquired quarterback Matt Schaub some offensive firepower. 

In theory, these additions would allow Oakland to make a quick transition from 4-12 disappointment to AFC West contender.

That plan was quickly tossed out of the window.

Rookie quarterback Derek Carr supplanted Schaub before the season began and head coach Dennis Allen was fired after the first month resulted in a 0-4 record. The team has been outscored 103-51 over the first four weeks.

As a whole, the Raiders have underachieved and have struggled to play like a cohesive unit. Poor play-calling and questionable decision-making haven't helped.

Coming off a bye week and facing the rival San Diego Chargers in Week 6, the Raiders have an opportunity to make a statement and show that they can compete. However, interim head coach Tony Sparano will have to make some serious changes if Oakland is to defeat the 4-1 Chargers and become a relevant force for the remainder of the 2014 season.

One way that Sparano can make the Raiders a more competitive team is to better utilize the veteran personnel he has been handed. Not every veteran has struggled, of course, but at least one of Oakland's offseason additions has been a disappointment.

Though injuries have limited him to just two games this season, Jones-Drew has been virtually nonexistent. He has been given just 11 carries and has gained a paltry 12 yards on the year. While age and injuries may have slowed Jones-Drew, his low production is a clear reflection of the way the Raiders have mishandled him (just two carries against Miami in Week 4, for example).

Jones-Drew was signed to a modest three-year $7.5 million deal, but he was brought in to be a significant piece of the Raiders offense. If Oakland was simply looking for an insurance policy behind Darren McFadden, the team could have looked to the draft or free-agent rookie pool for a much younger and cheaper option.

To be fair, the Raiders running game as a whole has struggled, as Oakland is averaging a league-worst 61.5 yards per game. Sparano is a run-oriented coach—his Miami Dolphins averaged between 27.8 and 31.8 rushes per game from 2008-2011—so this is a trend that should immediately change. Putting Jones-Drew in a position to succeed should be a big part of that change.

"It's always about playing to the players' strengths,'' Cornerback Tarrel Brown said of Sparano's philosophy, via Jerry McDonald of the San Jose Mercury News. "It's not always about X's and O's, it's always about playing to what the players like and what the players are comfortable doing."

One area in which Jones-Drew should be comfortable is the passing game. Though his overall statistics were down in 2013, Jones-Drew still managed to rack up 314 yards on 43 receptions a season ago. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), he ranked 18th among all running backs with an average of 1.17 yards per route run. 

Getting the ball into Jones-Drew's hands via the passing game should be a goal for Sparano. The veteran back can provide a safety valve for Carr as a receiver and can utilize short and intermediate routes to supplement a shaky ground game.

Using Jones-Drew more as a pass-catcher also helps play to the strengths of the Raiders offensive line, which is ranked 25th in run blocking by Pro Football Focus. The unit is currently ranked 14th in pass-blocking.

You can bet, however, that Sparano is still going to make the ground game a primary focus, even if it hasn't been strong to this point. He unleashed the Wildcat formation upon the NFL during his head coaching stint in Miami. The formation could, and probably should, appear this season in order to maximize the backfield of McFadden and Jones-Drew.

Implemented in 2008 by then-Dolphins offensive coordinator Dan Henning, the Wildcat helped veteran back Ricky Williams reemerge that year. Williams produced 659 yards rushing and 219 yards receiving that season because the gimmick formation frequently put him in position to make plays.

Running the Wildcat as consistently as he did in Miami isn't a realistic option for Sparano. However, mixing in a few plays each game will keep defenses guessing and would ensure that Jones-Drew will become a bigger part of the offense.

Should he find some early success, it will probably lead to an even bigger role for Jones-Drew as the season wears on.

	Age	Career Carries	Total yards	TDss
Ricky Williams 2008	31	1,763	878	5
Maurice Jones-Drew 2013	29	1,815	???	???

“I’d like Maurice to take a little bit greater role, maybe get some snaps off of Darren,” Sparano said, via Bill Williamson of ESPN.com. “If we could, keep them both fresh that way, but we also have got to be running the football and doing some things that way too.”

Sparano admitted that using the Wildcat could be a tool in order to maximize the value of those fresh backs.

“We’ve been efficient every time we’ve lined up in it. It’s been good to us, but we’ve only run three snaps, and for different reasons, Maurice maybe not being out there at times,” Sparano said. “We could see anything right now.” 

If all goes well, what Sparano will be seeing is a revived Jones-Drew, a more potent offense and hopefully, a few marks in the win column.