Raiders Try to Halt Inconsistency Today : Pro football: Los Angeles travels to New England to meet a Patriot team that has won its last three games.

Thanks to a bye week, the Raiders have had two weeks to reflect on their 1-3 start.

Enough time to think about how they went from a Super Bowl contender to a last-place team in only a month.

“Having the week off, I think helped us in that we were able to take a look at what we’re doing,” Coach Art Shell said. “To see what we have to do in order to get this thing turned in the right direction, where it has to go in order for us to be successful.”

Today at Foxboro, Mass., the Raiders will try to stop their fall when they play the upstart New England Patriots, who have a three-game winning streak and are tied for second in the AFC East with Buffalo at 3-2.

Another defeat would keep the Raiders at least three games out of first in the AFC West, and they would have lost to three AFC opponents, which would definitely hurt them in a playoff tiebreaker.

“I’m a little surprised,” New England Coach Bill Parcells said of the Raiders. “They look to me to be a formidable opponent. The game that probably surprised me the most was (the Raiders’ 38-9 loss to Seattle). I don’t know what happened in that game.”

If the Raiders’ inconsistency is a surprise to Parcells, you can imagine how the Raiders feel.

To start, the Raiders made two changes in their defense, elevating cornerback Albert Lewis and rookie linebacker Rob Fredrickson to starting roles.

Lewis, who signed with the Raiders as a free agent after making four Pro Bowls with Kansas City, will start at right cornerback in place of Lionel Washington. Washington, an eight-year starter with the Raiders, will switch to nickel back.

Fredrickson, the Raiders’ first-round draft choice from Michigan State, will move into the lineup at left outside linebacker. He will replace Aaron Wallace, who will be used as a pass-rush specialist at defensive end.

“Lewis just needs to be on the field more than he has been,” said Shell, who added that Washington will still play a key role in the secondary. “And Fredrickson has made great strides this season to get in the lineup.”

Aside from these lineup changes, the Raiders also stressed an attitude change.

“I really feel that the only way to play this game is to play it hard, to be as mean and nasty as you can,” linebacker Winston Moss said. “If anything, I think that’s something that’s missing. There hasn’t been a real urgency to line up and try to beat the (heck) out of everybody who we were playing in the first four games.”

Shell noticed the change when the team returned to practice last Monday.

“The attitude was real good Monday and has been there all week,” Shell said. “They seem ready to go to work, and that’s what it takes.”

Lineup and attitude adjustments will have to work for the Raiders to have a chance against the NFL’s top-rated offense, led by quarterback Drew Bledsoe.

In only his second season, Bledsoe has emerged as one of the league’s top passers with 1,751 yards and 11 touchdowns in completing 60.3% of his passes.

“He has a lot of poise,” Shell said. “The more film you watch of this guy, the more impressed you become. There are people hanging on him and he’s still making throws, big-time throws. Not just for five yards. I’m talking 30 yards down the field. Making them and scoring touchdowns.”

Bledsoe’s top target is tight end Ben Coates, a 6-foot-5, 240-pound, fourth-year veteran from Livingstone (N.C.) College. Coates has 35 catches for 529 yards and five touchdowns. Wide receiver Michael Timpson has 27 catches for 350 yards and three scores.

Running back Marion Butts, whom New England acquired from San Diego during the summer, leads the team with 243 yards rushing, with fullback Kevin Turner being used mainly as a blocker and a receiver out of the backfield.

Raider Notes

Fullback Jarrod Bunch, who signed as a free agent last month, is expected to be activated for the first time this season. He will back up starter Tom Rathman. . . . The Raiders have played the Patriots 27 times and have a 13-13-1 record, with the Raiders winning their last meeting, 24-21, on a field goal by Jeff Jaeger in 1989.