The Eagles are 10-1 and host the Tennessee Titans on Sunday afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field. What should we really be concerned about with this team? There’s not much, but while Crossing Broad typically leans Posidelphia regarding the Birds, we want everyone to know that it’s not all sunshine and rainbows here.

We discussed the topic with Jamie Lynch on Crossing Broadcast:

The Bro is right. It’s all about framing things. What kind of standard do you hold this team to? We’re not talking about going from shitty to okay, we’re talking about going from great to elite. We want the Birds to be as close to perfect as possible, but we also know perfection is probably unattainable in the modern-day NFL. Even a team that goes 17-0 might rank 25th overall in kick return coverage, right? It’s an ultimately feckless type of concept.

That said, I’ve compiled our list of justifiable Eagles Negadelphia as they sit at 10-1 heading into the weekend:

  1. the kick coverage unit is second-worst in the NFL, allowing almost 28 yards per return
  2. they don’t possess any kind of special teams return threat of their own
  3. run defense continues to rank in the bottom half of the league
  4. can Jonathan Gannon make the right tweaks when necessary? his defense is very good, and his scheme is solid, but if teams exploit Eagle tendencies, will he make the philosophical shift to take big play risks in order to shore things up in the box?
  5. there still seems to be a funky usage of the running backs, with Boston Scott and Kenney Gainwell getting snaps when Miles Sanders is having a career year
  6. emotional Nick Sirianni? he was obviously bothered by the Frank Reich firing and had an up-and-down game in Indy
  7. in recent weeks, the offense has been really good or the defense has been really good, but both units haven’t clicked at the same time since the Pittsburgh win
  8. recent fumbles from A.J. Brown and Quez Watkins
  9. three straight road games following Sunday could get dicey (three of their road wins were by less than a field goal)
  10. big drop off in tight end receiving depth with Dallas Goedert out, could definitely use him back
  11. Robert Quinn hasn’t done anything, and B.G. and Fletcher Cox just aren’t the players they used to be, you gotta hope Suh and Joseph continue to contribute
  12. does Reed Blankenship and Marcus Epps inspire confidence in CJGJ’s absence?
  13. they’ve played down to the level of competition a couple of times this year (Indy, Commies, Texans)

That’s basically all we could think of. Thirteen items. If we did a Posidelphia list, I’d need 10,000 words. They have a QB playing at an MVP level, a brilliant offensive line, excellent cornerbacks, and enough dudes with playoff experience. But we’re not naive to the fact that some facets of the game could certainly improve, and if we’re framing this “narrative” as the quest for a second championship in five years, then some Negadelphia is healthy and warranted. Call it a self-audit of sorts.

Go Birds.