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Patterson solid in 1st career start

In his first career start, Dimitri Patterson held his own at cornerback, going up against Peyton Manning and Reggie Wayne.

Dimitri Patterson had a group of reporters around him in one corner of the Eagles' locker room.

Asante Samuel and Quintin Mikell.

"Di-mi-tri, Di-mi-tri," they chanted in between laughs, teasing their teammate about the attention he was receiving (and the shades he was wearing).

Patterson was targeted often by the Colts, most often when lined up opposite Wayne on the defense's right side. Manning targeted Wayne 16 times, connecting on 11 of those attempts for 83 yards.

But the Colts' wide receiver averaged just 7.5 yards per catch, his lowest number this season, and he did not have a grab of more than 18 yards. Wayne had been averaging 13.1 yards per catch on the season, entering today's game.

"There's no doubt about it. I was in their gameplan," Patterson said, when I asked about the Colts targeting him. "They gave me three double-moves. They went deep on me twice. That's over five plays, but they went 0-for-5."

Patterson, not short on confidence, took it a step further when I asked him if his gameplan was to not let the Colts beat him for a deep ball.

"Part of my gameplan was to show not only Peyton, but that offensive coordinator, that every time you came over there, you were going to come up empty-handed," he said. "That was my mindset all four quarters. I was trying to make a statement."

It's unclear when Ellis Hobbs will be back on the field. And while it was only one game, Patterson showed signs today that he's capable of competing for the starting right cornerback job.

Several posts from earlier:

Video of the Austin Collie hit
Post-game thoughts on the way the 'D' responded
Michael Vick on his future with the Eagles

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