Countdown Confidentialby Sal Paolantonio, Rachel Nichols and Bob Holtzman

Running game hindering Colts: The Colts may have a perfect 7-0 record but they are far from perfect. And they know it.

After last Sunday's 18-14 win over San Francisco, Colts quarterback Peyton Manning said the offense "never found much rhythm" and called the game a "grinder." The performance raised two red flags for the league's fourth-ranked offense: (1) an overreliance on the passing game because of (2) a lack of production from the running game.

The Colts are calling pass plays almost 62 percent of the time. That's the second-highest rate in the league. Last Sunday, trailing in the second half and with the offense in need of a spark, Manning dropped back to throw 16 straight times.

It wasn't by design. It was out of necessity.

The problem is running back Joseph Addai is averaging 3.3 yards per rush this season. During his four NFL seasons, Addai's average has fallen from 4.8 to 4.1 to 3.5 to 3.3. Last Sunday against the 49ers, 15 of Addai's 20 carries went for 3 yards or less. His most productive play wasn't a run but a pass. It went for the Colts' only touchdown.

Indianapolis now heads into what Manning calls "the teeth of the schedule" with an offense that's more one-dimensional than the Colts would like. In the next six weeks they play Denver (6-1), New England (5-2), Baltimore (4-3) and Houston (5-3) twice.

-- Bob Holtzman

Slowing Ware critical for Eagles: Without Brian Westbrook last Sunday against the Giants, the Eagles -- led by fullback Leonard Weaver and rookie running back LeSean McCoy -- ran the ball for 180 yards, their second-highest team rushing total for the season.

So, why rush to get Westbrook back for the Sunday night matchup against Dallas? Two words: DeMarcus Ware. The Cowboys pass-rusher has five sacks in his last three games. Dallas has 17 sacks in its last 18 quarters of football.

McCoy's pass-blocking has improved dramatically since training camp, but Westbrook's knowledge of the Eagles' protection schemes and his intuitive blitz pickup skills are impossible to duplicate, especially against a Cowboys defense that is complicated and playing at a high level right now. Finding Ware is the key.

"He flops sides," said head coach Andy Reid. "They're playing a 3-4 personnel defense and they move him around. He's big, fast and quick, he has a great feel for the game. He has great leverage."

What's more, the Eagles' left offensive tackle, Jason Peters, the team's big offseason free-agent signing, has struggled lately. Against the Giants, he gave up two sacks and was called for holding inside New York's 10-yard line. And, at right tackle, the Eagles are loath to leave Winston Justice on his own. So, Westbrook will be there to chip and double-team and keep quarterback Donovan McNabb clean.

But Westbrook, who is expected to play Sunday if there is no setback in his concussion symptoms, says he can't be everywhere at once.

"It's important for everybody to understand the protection," Westbrook said. "[The Cowboys] have some guys that can come off the edge, DeMarcus Ware in particular, that do a great job coming off of the edge, attacking the quarterback. Keith Brooking has done a great job of rushing up the middle too. For us, we have to understand the protection, understand that they want to pressure the quarterback and allow those guys outside to play man-to-man and we have to go out there and try to make plays. That's the biggest thing for us, that we don't allow the pressure to get to us."

-- Sal Paolantonio

No surprises when Bengals, Ravens meet: At halftime of last week's win over the Broncos, Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis pulled young corner Lardarius Webb aside and said he believed Webb was going to return a ball for a touchdown -- on the very next kickoff. Minutes later, Webb did just that, changing the complexion of a game that had been a defensive struggle.

So when strategizing for the Bengals this week, coach John Harbaugh joked he needed to go no further than Lewis' locker.

"When I heard the story, I was curious to know if Ray was seeing anything else, like maybe the play before the opponent runs it or whatever. That could be a big advantage for us," Harbaugh said, laughing. "Ray's just a visionary leader."

Actually, the Ravens won't need anyone with special powers to predict what they'll see against the Bengals; the teams are more than familiar with each other after playing less than a month ago. Cincinnati edged Baltimore 17-14 in that game, scoring a touchdown with just 22 seconds on the clock, and getting a strong performance from Cedric Benson, who became the first player in 40 games to eclipse 100 yards against the Ravens.

Accordingly, the Ravens expect to see even more of Benson on Sunday -- and they don't need Lewis to tell them so.

"It'll be like double vision all over again," linebacker Terrell Suggs said, "but hopefully with a different result."

-- Rachel Nichols