Linebacker Brian Rolle unveiled the game plan for the defense this Sunday when the New England Patriots come to Lincoln Financial Field.
"We're going to line up man-to-man every play and stop them," Rolle said.
He was joking, of course. Well ...
"If you watched the Steelers game, if you play physical then you kind of take those guys out of the game," Rolle said. "Press up on the receivers, give them different looks and confuse them that way."
The Patriots are unique in that their most deadly offensive weapons exploit the middle of the field. Linebacker Jamar Chaney called the Patriots tight end duo of Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez the best in the NFL. Gronkowski leads all tight ends and is second in the NFL overall with 10 receiving touchdowns. He also has 56 catches for 805 yards. Hernandez is no slouch with 41 catches for 418 yards and five scores of his own. He would probably have more if he didn't miss two games earlier this season with a knee injury.
And, by the way, there's also the NFL's leader in receptions and yards in Wes Welker. While he has been moved around more this season than in previous years, the savvy slot receiver has 74 catches and 1,028 yards to go along with two touchdowns.
These three talented pass-catchers offer a variety of ways to beat a defense. Gronkowski boxes out defenders with his size.
"Gronkowski uses his body well because he's tougher, so it's tough to get a jam on him at the line," free safety Nate Allen said. "He's a physical guy. He's 6-6, 260, so he's a little bit bigger."
Chaney knows Hernandez well since his Mississippi State teams played against Hernandez at Florida. Hernandez's athleticism essentially makes him a hybrid wide receiver/tight end.
"He's got running back moves when he catches the ball," Chaney said.
Joselio Hanson is one of the few Eagles who played against New England the last time these two teams battled in a regular season game back in 2007. He expects to see a lot of the 5-9, 185-pound Welker in the slot as Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is likely out with a knee injury. In that 2007 meeting, Welker had a season-high 13 catches for 149 yards as the undefeated Patriots held off an upset bid from the Eagles.
"He was really good at finding little holes inside the zones," Hanson said.
Hanson echoed Rolle's sentiment that the Steelers, who beat the Patriots in Week 8 of this season, did a good job of disrupting the timing of the Patriots offense at the line of scrimmage.
"I felt like Pittsburgh had it that way, getting in their face and disrupting their receivers. We're going to do a little bit of that, but we'll switch it up a little bit," Hanson said. "We'll try to do it all and try to make (quarterback Tom Brady) hold the ball and let our D-line get there."
According to Football Outsiders, the Eagles defense ranks first in the league against tight ends. That position will be challenged more than ever this weekend by the inside weapons of the Patriots this Sunday afternoon.
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