Fair or unfair Nick Sirianni is taking on water during the Eagles’ bye week after Philadelphia entered the dead period with an uninspiring performance in what’s become its personal house of horrors, Raymond James Stadium.
By now, Sirianni’s core values as a head football coach are well-documented – connect, compete, accountability, football IQ, and fundamentals.
Over the past week alone team captain Darius Slay was connecting more with Dallas Cowboys star Micah Parsons than struggling teammate C.J. Gardner-Johnson, the Eagles' idea of competing with the Buccaneers was rolling over for a belly pet, 15-year vet Brandon Graham felt he had to remind teammates that accountability isn’t a buzz word, football IQ evidently means untimely penalties, and fundamentals equals 15 missed tackles.
In other words, it hasn’t gone well.
While early bye weeks are typically not preferred in the NFL, this is the rare instance where the quick break may help Philadelphia in multiple ways.
The most obvious is that arguably the team’s best three pure football players – receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, and right tackle Lane Johnson – are set to return from injury after the bye week just as the schedule lightens up.
The Eagles are set to play struggling Cleveland at Lincoln Financial Field post-bye before traveling up the Jersey Turnpike for a matchup with the moribund New York Giants. From there it’s off to Cincinnati for the underachieving Bengals then home for Jacksonville, which is currently winless with Doug Pederson’s seats hotter than Sirianni’s.
You run that less-than-inspiring table and the Super Bowl entitlement returns for free with the next refill of mood stabilizers.
More so, unplugging for a few days from the almost toxic expectation-fueled environment that has become standard operating procedure in Philadelphia is equivalent to mental health days in the corporate world.
The Eagles could also use a little help from Major League Baeball’s Phillies who are set to embark on their latest version of “Red October.”
A run to the World Series by the city's baseball team could give the Eagles a rare opportunity to take a back seat from being the city's all-encompassing passion for at least a few weeks as the team tries to find its footing with two new coordinators.
The Eagles didn't want the break this early but it turns out they need it.
