Offense

1. Downfield shots: With quarterback Joe Flacco, the offense has been more conservative, but last Sunday against the Dolphins, the former Delaware signal-caller was given the reins to fire the ball around the field. Flacco was efficient, converting nearly 74% of his passes from a variety of formations, including the empty set.

However, Flacco was unable to hit on any of his shots downfield, and has yet to show the same level of accuracy on his deep throws as he has on the short ones. He may have his best chance to convert on a couple of those vertical attempts against an Oakland secondary that has played well, but is aggressive.

Corners Nnamdi Asomugha and DeAngelo Hall are fluid athletes with the ability to survive on an island. But both corners – especially Hall – are gamblers and are prone to bite to in an attempt to pick off an underneath pass.

Well timed double move patterns and play action pass patterns should be dialed up on first down to spring a receiver loose over-the-top.

2. The Big Show: In the last two contests against Indianapolis and Miami, Le’Ron McClain’s presence has not been felt as emphatically as it had been in the first four games of the season. Given the speed of the last two fronts that the Ravens faced, offensive coordinator Cam Cameron opted to use backs Willis McGahee and Ray Rice more.

Although McGahee finally put together a solid performance, and seems to have his legs under him, this could be a McClain game.

Oakland’s front is active and quick, but it can be pushed around, especially if tackle Gerard Warren is turned on angle blocks. If the Ravens have a lead heading into the latter stages of the game, the closer’s name should be called to bully the Raiders in to submission.

3. Screens and dump-offs: Against Miami, the Ravens finally executed on a couple of screen passes to their backs and the plays netted huge gains. In fact, the nearly perfect screen play to McGahee was a third-and-long bailout call that was run to establish better field position for the offense. Had McGahee not fumbled the ball at the end of his jaunt, the gain would have set the Ravens up for a first and goal.

Flacco does a nice job of selling this play and the pullers are adept at coordinating on their blocks in the open field. Look for this play to be run a few more times against a fast yet undisciplined Raiders front seven, especially in third down conversion situations.

Defense

1. Stuff the run: Last week, the defense stifled the Wildcat look. This week, it will need to bottle up a three-headed monster.

Led by rookie runner Darren McFadden (who is not healthy), this trio of backs packs a wallop. Running back Michael Bush is a bruiser, while tailback Justin Fargas is patient and has good vision. He will almost always gain positive yardage.

Even though Oakland knows that running the ball against the Ravens is a tall task, it will still try to pound the rock to protect its young quarterback. The defensive front seven should anticipate a steady diet of runs from all angles, including possible misdirection plays.

2. Zone looks: Against a first year starter like JaMarcus Russell, one would think that a defense should blitz continuously until he wilts. However, this may prove to be a risky proposition for the Ravens given Russell’s ability to deliver the long ball, and the lack of depth at corner.

The better strategy would be to force Russell to hold the ball, read his progressions and deliver the ball accurately through tight windows. Russell’s weakness is his accuracy. Thus far, the former No.1 pick has completed just 51.2% of his attempts. His pitches have especially been erratic in the intermediate area.

The pass coverage will need to be tight and disciplined on Sunday afternoon. It will be imperative that the backers stay in their underneath landmarks to squeeze the passing lanes and to stop the pass-catchers from gaining yards after contact.

Ultimately, if the zone holds up well enough, Russell could make a mistake by forcing a throw or two into tight coverage.

3. Five-man rush: If Baltimore does employ more zone coverage, it will need to get after Russell with fewer rushers. One of the ways that the defense can create pressure without bringing six on a blitz is to use more five-man lines.

The five-man look is simply a 4-3 front with an extra edger rusher situated on either the left or right side of the line.

From a 5-2-4 formation, either Suggs or Johnson would have his hand down, while an extra rusher such as Marques Douglas or Antwan Barnes should rotate inside as an extra lineman, leaving two linebackers to cover the flats.

Depending on who is in the field, the defense could bring all five rushers at once or drop three into the flats, leaving just two linemen to rush the passer. If Baltimore uses this alignment, especially on third down, it will have more speed and flexibility on the field to attack the line-of-scrimmage.