Film Room: How a healthy Jeremy Maclin is taking his game to the next level

The practice facility was dim. In the far end zone, Jeremy Maclin stood dressed in a gray sweatshirt and gray sweatpants. He walked a couple of steps. Then, out of nowhere, he took off.

He ran with his chest and knees high. His arms swung. A belt attached to his waist carried a parachute; part of a rehabilitation drill designed to strengthen his surgically repaired right knee and give back his explosiveness and, more importantly, his speed. 

The parachute rose with every yard Maclin ran. It blossomed around midfield and fell off as he picked up speed. The facility brightened, eventually opening up to the light of the day in the opposite end zone. Maclin's destination.

When Maclin was in Philadelphia Eagles training camp in 2013, his knee buckled in a non-contact drill. He ran untouched off the line of scrimmage, and when it buckled, he fell on the grass and lay still.

It was his second career torn ACL. Most players who suffer two are never the same. They lose their explosiveness and look like a shell of themselves.

Maclin was 25 years old, in a contract year, and a key cog in the Eagles’ passing game. He was consistent. Between 2010 and 2012, he caught at least 63 passes for more than 850 yards each year. He ran the full route tree, working underneath and vertically, and could take a hit and keep running. He played wide receiver, relying on his quickness and vertical speed to separate. He ran a 4.45 40-yard dash, which he still had in him up until the injury. Now it was back to little steps en route to recovery.

With his season lost, Maclin worked all year to prepare for 2014. His training made him faster and more explosive. As important as that was, how he handled a real Saturday or evening game mattered more. Could he cut when facing bump-and-run? How fast would he be? What about dealing with nicks?

Maclin answered these questions early in the 2014 season, in Week 2 against the Indianapolis Colts.

Maclin lined up in a plus-split on the back-side of a Trips Right formation in the second quarter. An Indianapolis Colts cornerback rolled up to the line in press-man coverage.

Maclin took one step outside at the snap, which forced the corner to take a false step and lean back on his heels as he tried to press him, and then cut inside to run up the numbers. The cornerback hustled to get even with Maclin, who stopped hard 12 yards downfield near the 50 and put pressure onto his right leg as it folded at the back of his knee.

He leaned his right shoulder out to widen the cornerback further and made a sharp cut inside off of his right leg. He caught the ball inside the far hash for 15 yards.

It was his longest catch of the game. A week earlier, in the season opener, he had a 68-yard touchdown. Now he was wide open after a single-high safety blew coverage. All Maclin had to do was run downfield and catch the ball.

Three weeks into the season the Eagles played at home against the Washington Redskins. Maclin stood in between the numbers and the sideline. He was the No. 1 receiver from the sideline-in on the Trips Right set. A cornerback stood in off-coverage, 10 yards downfield in Cover-3. He had deep third responsibilities with instructions to not be beaten vertically.

Maclin stemmed his route straight downfield and closed the cornerback’s cushion. Eighteen yards later, he took three short steps and turned back to the quarterback. The quarterback threw off of his back foot toward the sideline. It appeared that he threw for a comeback route, not a curl. Maclin was forced to turn outside.

The ball came in high and fast. Maclin snatched it out of the air and turned to his right side (where his repaired knee was), touching both feet down as he landed softly out of bounds.

Maclin caught eight passes for 154 yards and a touchdown. However, this wouldn't be Maclin’s biggest game of the season. Maclin's greatest moment came five weeks later away at the Arizona Cardinals, when he caught 12 passes for 187 yards, two touchdowns, including a 54-yard bomb.

Maclin was lined up on the back-side of Trips, just outside the 45. He faced press-man.

At the snap he immediately released inside, stemmed his route and straightened his shoulders. The cornerback tried to hand-fight downfield, but Maclin swatted his hands away and sped past the 40. He blew by the safety, broke to a post route and stayed in front of the cornerback. The cornerback worked over to his inside shoulder as the two neared the end zone.

The ball parachuted down past the cornerback’s outstretched right arm. It fell over Maclin’s inside shoulder, in front of his chest and into his open palms. Maclin fell over when he caught it, crushed his leg in half and landed on his side. He then rolled over onto his back, before standing up and walking over to stare down the Cardinals fans.

Through nine weeks, Maclin has 45 receptions for 790 yards and eight touchdowns. He’s on pace to shatter his previous career highs, as he blows by defenses vertically for an average of 17.6 yards per catch. Most important of all, he hasn’t missed a game this season.