FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Jeremy Maclin had better get used to this. Every time he lined up during the Philadelphia Eagles' joint practice with the New England Patriots Tuesday, Darrelle Revis was right across the line of scrimmage from him.
“He was on my side the whole time,” Maclin said. “We had some pretty good battles today. It was pretty fun. It’s the National Football League. I feel like I can go against anybody.”
Maclin will have to, now that DeSean Jackson is gone. Jackson typically drew the other team’s best cornerback. That allowed Maclin to work against lesser players much of the time. Maclin didn’t play at all last season after tearing his ACL in training camp. This year, with Riley Cooper on the other side, Maclin is likely to face the top corners.
Maclin beat Revis for one long touchdown pass from quarterback Nick Foles. During an 11-on-11 drill, Maclin ran a post pattern. Foles pump faked to his left, which is perhaps what caught Revis’ attention. Maclin got free and hauled in Foles’ pass.
On at least two occasions, Revis had good coverage on Maclin but drew flags from the officiating crew that was working the practice.
“It was pretty cool,” Maclin said. “It gives us some fresh faces to go against. Kind of to see where we are -- this is obviously a great organization, they’re very good year in and year out.”
Last year, the Eagles felt as if the Patriots were much better than they were during their shared practices. The goal this year was to be better prepared and to hold their own against New England. Maclin, who had torn his ACL and missed last year’s joint practices, felt the Eagles had succeeded.
“It was a little slowed down from what we’re kind of used to,” Maclin said. “It gives us a chance to work on some things that we don’t normally practice. It was definitely competitive.”
