Maclin: No Bad Blood With DeSean
Photo Credit: Jeff Fusco
Jeremy Maclin stood at the podium after practice Tuesday afternoon and wanted to set the record straight on a couple different topics.
One was his relationship with DeSean Jackson. The two never seemed especially close when they played together, but Jackson told the Inquirer over the weekend that he’s happy for Maclin and the success he’s had.
“We’ve spoken a few times this year,” Maclin said. “I don’t know how people perceive that relationship between him and I. We’re cool. No hard feelings either way. At the end of the day, he’s in Washington now and we’re here.”
Asked to describe the nature of their relationship, Maclin said: “We were teammates. We were cool. I don’t really know what people think, that there was ever any type of bad blood or anything. We’re both competitive guys and both guys who are very capable of being talented guys in this league. When you have two guys of that caliber on one team, I think people look for things to try to pick at and try to pull you guys apart, but it’s not always like that.”
In reference to offseason speculation that Maclin wouldn’t have re-signed had Jackson still been here, he said: “Was I quoted in that report? [No]. OK then.”
Overall, Maclin has had a monster season with 78 catches for 1,207 yards and 10 touchdowns. He’s one of two wide receivers to post 70+ catches, average at least 15.0 YPR and post 10+ touchdowns (Jordy Nelson is the other). This weekend, he’ll have a fan on the other sideline.
“He’s a consistent pro,” Washington head coach Jay Gruden told reporters. “I love the way he plays, his approach to the football game. He’s tough. It seems like whenever Philly needs a big play on offense, third down and long or they’re trailing, Maclin seems to always show up. Those are the types of guys you want. You want accountable guys that when the game’s on the line, they have no problem making the play. And Jeremy’s done that.”
As for the rest of the Eagles wide receivers, Jordan Matthews has played well as a rookie, manning the slot. Riley Cooper has not been productive (48 catches, 487 yards, one TD), but Maclin took issue with the notion that the group has underperformed this season, posting the following message on Instagram:
“I put something up on Instagram the other day because I know that especially you guys really like to get after some guys on our receiving corps,” Maclin said. “I think we’ve done a great job in that room. We’ve had to play with two different quarterbacks – both guys who are very capable. Obviously in the NFL, you’ve always gotta be ready, but when you switch quarterbacks, it does kind of take some time to get used to. I think the younger guys in that room have done a great job, and Coop, although the big plays haven’t been there, he’s had as many catches as he’s ever had in his career. So I think they’ve done a good job in that room.”
GRUDEN ON DESEAN
While Gruden was very complimentary of Maclin, he didn’t exactly provide a ringing endorsement of Jackson.
“He’s been fine so far,” Gruden said. “Obviously everybody’s frustrated now being 3-11, where we’re at right now. But for the most part, with the exception of his injury, he’s played pretty hard. Last week against the New York Giants, I don’t think he was quite 100 percent. So didn’t see quite the juice that we normally see from him. Hopefully we’ll see it this week with the added incentive of playing Philadelphia. Hopefully we get him back at 100 percent. But other than that, he’s been no issue whatsoever. He’s been fine.”
Gruden doesn’t seem to like much about his team at all right now:
Gruden says it’s important to get a lead so griffin doesn’t have to do a lot of dropback passing and defense reading. — Mike Jones (@MikeJonesWaPo) December 16, 2014
MCCOY’S DESEAN IMPRESSION
LeSean McCoy posted a pretty funny Instagram video, imitating his friend Jackson: