"I don't know about that," center Jamaal Jackson said. "We have a game plan intact where we're going to try to establish the run early."
Ah, but if last Sunday is any guide, should those early attempts to run not work, Reid and Mornhinweg might forget their plan very quickly.
"Each week, we try to go in with a balanced game plan. I don't think the coaches plan on throwing so many times a game," left guard Todd Herremans said.
Herremans had a little fun with the no-run premise.
"Is it possible? No," he said. "Is it probable? [Pause, smile]. Nah, it's not probable, either."
Mornhinweg agreed with a questioner that five runs for 5 yards in the first half, as the Birds had in Cincinnati, is "not enough" to conclude that the run isn't going to work.
"But it sure does help," Mornhinweg quipped.
All joking aside, running and stopping the run sure look to be important Sunday in Baltimore. The Ravens will really tee off on Donovan McNabb if they don't have to worry about a running game. And McNabb will never have the ball - much like 2 weeks ago, at home against the Giants - if the Eagles can't stop the league's third-ranked rushing offense.
Audubon, N.J.'s Joe Flacco is an outstanding rookie quarterback; Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson said yesterday he'd never seen anyone with a better arm. But Flacco is a rookie, and the Ravens don't usually ask him to win the game with his arm - they rank 29th in NFL passing.
