In a perfect world Jeremy Maclin would have caught 10 balls for 120 yards in last week’s win. It would have been a fairy-tale ending for the St. Louis native who missed most of training camp (and the entire preseason) while battling a mysterious illness.
It didn’t work out that way as Maclin made just one reception — a 20-yarder — in the second quarter. But don’t blame that on poor conditioning or lingering health issues. The third-year receiver insists he’s 100 percent.
“I feel fine, everything [physically] is fine, so I got to go off that,” Maclin said. “There’s nothing that’s stopping me or enabling me to go out there and not do anything that I would normally do.”
On Sunday night, he looks to get untracked against a team he has owned in recent years. In two career games versus Atlanta, he has 11 catches for 242 yards. And Maclin’s best game as a pro came last October, when he hauled in seven footballs for 159 yards and two touchdowns.
Obviously, he’s primed for another big day, right? Not necessarily.
“I think the offense does [expect a big game],” Maclin said. “If that’s me catching tons of balls, then that’s what it’s going to be. If it doesn’t go like that, then it doesn’t go like that. At the end of the day, the W is all that matters.”
Even though the offense admittedly missed on some big opportunities last week, Maclin is confident. He echoed previous comments from Mike Vick, saying that when the Eagles are clicking, there aren’t many defenses — if any — that can stop them.
“They [Atlanta] have good corners. We understand that,” Maclin said. “We also understand that if we go out there and take care of our business, there’s not too many people that can cover us. We’re very confident in ourselves.”
