FOXBORO -- When in doubt, use your wiggles.

It’s odd-sounding advice, but it’s worked for the Patriots’ wide receivers over the years when it comes to picking up yards after the catch. New England has traditionally been one of the best in the league when it comes to piling up the YAC, but they say it takes a certain field awareness from a receiver to be able to turn upfield after you make the catch and get more yardage.

“Just knowing where your guy is. Who’s guarding you?” said wide receiver Julian Edelman when he was asked about the secrets behind getting more YAC. “You have to know the coverage. Who’s around you? Those are pretty much the keys, and then, using your short area quickness or using your strength. If you’re a bigger guy, use your strength. If you’re a smaller guy or quicker guy, use your quickness.

“If you got some wiggles, use your wiggles.”

On Sunday when New England travels to Oakland to meet the Raiders, the Patriots could get their wiggle on. According to Pro Football Focus, 210 of the 369 yards New York quarterback Mark Sanchez threw for last week against the Raiders came as YAC. Meanwhile, the Patriots have piled up impressive YAC totals through the first three weeks of the season. According to STATS, wide receiver Wes Welker is first in the AFC (and third in the league) with 234 yards, while tight end Rob Gronkowski is 15th overall (ninth in the AFC) with 125 yards, while wide receiver Deion Branch is tied for 11th in the AFC with 104 yards after the catch.

Big YAC numbers are nothing new from Welker. According to Pro Football Focus, he led the league in that department in 2008 and 2009 by more than 100 yards on his nearest competitor. Last season, he was fourth in YAC behind Santana Moss, Percy Harvin and Miles Austin.

When it comes to getting those extra yards, however, there’s a secret. Not that Gronkowski  -- who is also tied for the league lead in catches of 25 yards of more with four -- is all that excited about sharing it with the outside world.

“The secrets? Why would I want to give them out?” Gronkowski said with a laugh. “Nah, basically, it’s just hard work in practice. When you catch the ball in practice and try and make a guy miss, (you) just bring that into the game. The quarterback is going to put the ball where you can make a play, where you can make the catch and get up the field and get some more yards.”

Edelman said it helps that the Patriots have a quarterback in Tom Brady who knows how to maximize a receivers’ chances when it comes to picking up those yards.

“He usually does put the ball where he wants you to run. That’s how accurate he is,” Edelman said. “If a guy is on your inside shoulder, he’ll throw it to your outside shoulder. It’s kind if like a little indicator -- go that way. Or vice-versa. That’s a huge part of it.”

One of the reasons the Jets might have been able to pile up those YAC totals Sunday against the Raiders was because Oakland were working with a depleted secondary, and were forced to move from man to man-to-zone. Raiders coach Hue Jackson said that when it comes to defending against YAC, you need to have some help, and they’ll need some this week against a quarterback like Brady and receiver like Welker.

“It’s like anything else -- you have to have some things go your way,” Jackson said. “Whether it’s a tipped ball, a guy slipping down or whatever that is, it’s tough because the quarterback and receivers they have there are very, very skilled and very good at what they do. And so we have to be on our Ps and Qs and cross all Ts and dot our Is in order to get this offense slowed down.”

Of course, when it comes to No. 83, his YAC totals are only a small portion of his resume this season. Through three games, he currently has a league-leading 31 catches for 458 yards. As Michael David Smith notes over on Pro Football Talk, he’s on pace to catch 165 passes for 2,443 yards this season, which would break both the record for catches in a season (143, by Marvin Harrison in 2002) and receiving yards in a season (1,848, by Jerry Rice in 1995).

While it’s debatable he’ll be able to keep up his record pace, there’s no question who the most dependable receiver has been for the Patriots this season. Brady has targeted Welker 43 times through the first three games (almost twice as many as any other receiver) and has caught 72 percent of the passes thrown in his direction.

“He’s just a great player,” Brady said of Welker. “And he’s been that way since the day he got here. He had a great game last week, an individual effort that made some incredible plays. He always seems to do that. In Miami he did the same thing. He’s done that in practice every day. Every day in training camp he never misses a day. He’s just a tough, hard-nosed, football player.

“You can never underestimate someone that has had to work the way he’s had to work, ‘cause he hasn’t had all the opportunities that maybe a lot of other guys had early in his career. He still works as hard today as he’s ever worked. I love being out there with him. He’s a great teammate, and incredible player, receiver, leader on this team and teams are trying to find ways to try to take Wes away.”