Offense

1) Pound the rock: In last Sunday’s contest against the Giants, the Baltimore front line was pushed around all day. This front needs to reestablish their energy against a Philadelphia front seven that is lightning-quick, but lacks the size to hold up for four quarters.

Against the Eagles, the prescription for getting better as a rushing unit will be to make a commitment to pound the middle with guts, dives and slam runs. The Ravens should turn to the their base two-back, two tight and one wide sets to hammer away at the Eagles. This should be a game in which all three backs touch the ball up to 35-to-40 times.

Also, by lining up in power sets, the Ravens would have a better chance to slow down the Philadelphia rush by forcing the ends.

2) Screens and dump-offs: Given how aggressive the Philadelphia front is with its blitz packages, the screen passing game should be a prominent feature of the Baltimore passing attack on Sunday. Philadelphia defensive coordinator Jim Johnson is not gun shy when it comes to bringing the heat. In fact, in obvious third down passing situations, Johnson may have the gumption to bring up to seven rushers to get to the quarterback.

In situations such as these, the Ravens should be prepared to use an assortment of blitz-defeating screens, not only to exploit the incoming rush, but also to gain yards to improve field position in situations when a conversion on third-and-long seems improbable.

3) Protect the tackles: Given the Ravens’ state of flux at the tackle position – starting tackles Jared Gaither and Willie Anderson could be out on Sunday – it will be imperative for offensive coordinator Cam Cameron to pack in his formations and rely on extra blockers to help contain the outside rush.

In this game, there should be one extra blocker beside quarterback Joe Flacco at all times, either to chip and then release into the flat or to stay in the pocket through the progression of the play.

Defense

1) Expect the unexpected: When a defense faces the Eagles, it can be sure to defend against a couple of gadget plays at some point in the game. Head coach Andy Reid is prone to using a receiver hand-off, or a flea flicker or some form of exotic play to break a play loose downfield.

The Baltimore defenders should be on guard in anticipation of a trick play coming their way. At some point in the game, Reid will try to exploit the Ravens’ over aggressiveness and it will be on the front seven and the back end defenders to stick to their assignments and not get fooled by the misdirection.

2) Protect against the deep ball: Even though Donovan McNabb is not quite the explosive quarterback that he used to be, he is still dangerous and capable of hitting on a few big pass plays through the course of any given game. McNabb is among the best quarterbacks in the league when it comes to placing the ball where it needs to be on deep patterns.

Moreover, he has a couple of different weapons to air it out to. Rookie receiver DeSean Jackson, wideout Kevin Curtis and wideout Jason Avant are high flyers with the speed to gain separation downfield.

The corners and the safeties will need to be on the same page to prevent against the deep strike. The safeties will need to stay back and roll over to protect the corners, and the corners will need to do a good job of manipulating the wideouts toward the sideline. The defense will not be able to afford to give up a big play in a game like this.

3) Improved tackling: Against the Giants, the defense’s tackling display was pathetic. Between the defensive line, the linebackers and the back end, everyone had a sub-par day. The defense cannot afford the same type of effort against an offense that is as explosive as the Philadelphia offense is. The group of backers will need to do a better job of wrapping up and the line will need to stop a ball-carrier before he gets to the second level. 

One-on-one Matchup to Watch: DeSean Jackson versus Samari Rolle: This is a classic youth versus elder battle. In Jackson, the Eagles have a truly explosive wideout with the ability to score every time he touches the ball. Rolle is not the corner he once was but he still has the footwork to stay with most receivers downfield. If Rolle is locked up one-on-one against Jackson, he will need to keep the rookie from getting behind him.