Philadelphia offense vs. Carolina defense

	EAGLES OFFENSE
	Ranking in the NFL:
	Run	21
	Pass	30
	Tot. Yds.	30
	Scoring	27
	Int's allowed	9
	Sacks allowed	30
	PANTHERS DEFENSE
	Ranking in the NFL:
	vs. Run	29
	vs. Pass	18
	Total yds. allowed	25
	# of Ints.	2
	# of Sacks	18
	Turnover differential	-12

The Philadelphia offense continues to struggle, although during the first half of last week's overtime loss to the Giants, the unit showed some signs. It has been during the second half of games this season that the unit seems to struggle.

RB Duce Staley's fumble inside of his own 5-yard line with less than three minutes remaining was the break the Giants needed to stay in, and ultimately win, last week's game. Staley's play during the first half was spectacular, as he had gained 83 yards on 15 carries and scored a touchdown. His 14 yards on 11 carries during the second half was one of the primary reasons the Eagles were unable to hold on to a 17-3 halftime lead. Not that Staley can be blamed for his lack of production in the second half -- the play of the offensive line was abominable.

This week, the Eagles face a Carolina team that is soft against the run and ranked 25th overall in the NFL in total defense. Running behind the left side of the line, LOT Tra Thomas and LOG Doug Brezinski, Staley should be able to have one of his better games of the year. This should allow either QB, Doug Pederson or Donovan McNabb, to look down the field for the team's lone downfield receiving threat, TE Luther Broughton.

Carolina, week in and week out, has been one of the worst defensive teams in the NFL. Leading the list of disappointments is DT Sean Gilbert, whose effort week to week is not what most would expect from a guy earning in excess of $7m per season.

LDE Jason Peter, who has been one of the few bright spots along the defensive line, is sidelined for at least three more weeks with a neck injury. Peter is one of the few linemen who has demonstrated the ability to get off blockers and make plays against the run -- something the defensive line and linebackers will surely have to do this week against the Eagles. Peter's fill-in Mike Rucker has played respectably, but is a liability against the run. It will be interesting to see how he plays against the Philadelphia RDT platoon system of Jermane Mayberry and Lonnie Paleilei. Both have suspect footwork and could fall victim to Rucker's quick upfield moves.

The team's secondary has a single interception and has been burned repeatedly on deep balls. They should find some relief this week against Philadelphia, a team without an outside receiver with deep speed. LOLB Michael Barrow will draw the duty of guarding TE Luther Broughton, the Eagles' lone deep threat.

Another key for the Panthers will be the health of RB Tim Biakabutuka, who did not play last week due to an ankle sprain. Philadelphia has an aggressive defense that puts a lot of players on the line of scrimmage and comes after opposing QBs.

Philadelphia's defense has shown a lot of promise this season, and the only weak link in this unit is an undersized defensive line that tends to wear down late in games. Both of Philadelphia's starting defensive ends are undersized and tend to get pushed around by opposing offensive tackles at the point of attack -- something the Panthers will try to capitalize upon this week.

Eagles' ROLB William Thomas and LOLB James Darling will be asked to come up and support the run to compensate for the team's lack of size up front. Darling must be careful when he does this, however, because Carolina TE Wesley Walls is Beuerlein's favorite target, particularly in the red zone. Darling was actually pulled from the game in the second half because the Eagle coaching staff felt he wasn't making the tackles that he should have made, and replacement Mike Caldwell was solid in relief -- so solid that he could see limited action again this week.

The bread and butter of the Philly defense is the secondary - both corners are solid cover guys, and FS Brian Dawkins may go to his first Pro Bowl. The secondary has made all the big plays for the Eagles this season, and in several games this season has scored more points than the offense. Philly will try to use the front seven to take away the Panthers' running game, and pressure Beuerlein with blitz packages, forcing him to deliver the ball on the run.