Passing struggles continue against the Raiders

The Patriots battled their way to a tight 9-16 victory over the Raiders on Sunday, but they continue to do it the hard way. The defense once again looked like a convincing unit capable of getting stops (even if they only forced one turnover this week), but the offensive struggles were still on clear display. Brady acknowledged the failure to pick up a touchdown from the 1 yard line heading into the half as "something that you can't do". However this was just one of several glaring signs that the offense is not yet firing on all cylinders.

Much of the rhetoric this week has surrounded Brady's ability to spread the ball to all of his receivers rather than solely his favourite targets, Edelman and Gronkowski. In fact, some of those that have been neglected to this point were asked on how they felt about their targets this week. While they claimed were not concerned by their lack of production, LaFell definitely had more reason to be happy this week. He was second only to Minitron (Julian Edelman) in receptions (4), targets (8) and overall yards (56), and is perhaps seeing signs of greater integration into the developing Patriots offense. Gronkowski still ranked among the top 3 in the above categories, which means that the reports of Brady's trust issues cannot be entirely be dispelled, but it is a step in the right direction.

The real problem came in converting opportunities. The red-zone efficiency was the telltale statistic, as the Patriots conversion rate stood at 25% (1 of 4) even with Gronkowski and Vereen available. One such empty trip was a fumbled snap by Brady leading into the half which could have put the Patriots up 10, but resulted in a chip-shot field goal. The problem last week against the Vikings seemed to be in finishing drives, with many of the team's efforts resulting in Gostkowski FGs. This difficulty continued into the home opener, with a 6-yard Gronkowski touchdown connection being the only TD on the day. While mental mistakes and penalties resulting in long-yardage situations contributed to some of the struggles, the Patriots just seem to be incapable of producing on early downs to gain some momentum, and if the run-up-the-gut cannot pickup the yardage, it seems that Josh McDaniels is perfectly happy to leave the offense to struggle out of third and long all too often. While we may give stick to Brady and his supporting cast, McDaniels play-calls and game strategy have been terribly uninventive at times, and are putting the offense in difficult situations.

The run game was relatively strong again this week, as Ridley was able to grind out a tough 54 yards to go along with 20 from Vereen. However, against a poor run defense such as this Raiders unit, the expectations are certainly higher and Ridley in particular will have to prove that he is up to the challenge. That being said, if this offense is going to become a productive unit at any point this season, they go as far as Brady will take them, which means it is time to start converting in the red-zone, and making up the first-downs earlier in each series.

Photo by AP Photo/Elise Amendola

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