Number 18 Jeremy Maclin looks like Mr. Smooth for the way he glides in and out of his cuts on his routes.
He’s got to do a better job of getting in and out of his breaks quicker. He wasn't getting a lot of seperation this weekend. He’s doing too much thinking.
The kid never ran routes like this at Missouri in the spread offense. They didn’t ask for the precision they require in this offense.
If Andy and Marty ask for a fifteen yard out, they want a fifteen yard out, not a 15 ½ yard route or a 14 ½ yard route. The west coast offense is built on precision and timing.
"They say I glide," Maclin said. "So I'm going to try and stop gliding. . . . I'm going to go full speed everywhere I go from now on."
He catches everything that touches his hands. His size and athletic ability give him the chance to be a factor in the red zone.
Right now the Birds could get the ball to him on quick screens and short delay routes, which allow him to go inside or outside to get open.
Of course he can get deep, as was seen when he got deep against veteran Ellis Hobbs on the first day of workouts. He’s got a long stride which will allow him to sneak up on corners as he goes by them on go routes.
Maclin’s got plenty to work on but he seems to have the right attitude about it.
"I'm definitely tired," Maclin said after one of the workouts. "But I feel pretty confident. I'm going to take coaching, because I'm a coachable guy. And I'm going to use it to get better."
Reid and the offensive coaches road him all camp long about running his routes faster and giving them a burst in and out of his breaks. You can see that they want to get this kid on the field.
"I'm starting to pick up on it," Maclin said. "Everything they say is fast, fast, fast. They want speed, speed, speed. Once you eliminate the thinking, you can go that much faster."
Once he gets this offense down, look out. He’ll be on one side and DeSean Jackson will be on the other. By the way, Jackson has taken his game to another level.
I think DJax has got his eyes on the Pro Bowl. Rookie running LeSean McCoy said after practice, "DeSean is the best receiver I ever played with. Do you see how quick and fast he is? He closes the gap on those corners with the quickness".
