A rough start in Philly for Maxwell

Byron Maxwell has reviewed Sunday's loss to Dallas, paying particular attention to the late touchdown pass that put the game out of reach, and has decided he wasn't tired after all.

"I like to think if they're out there rolling, then I'm out there rolling," Maxwell said after practice Tuesday. "Playing 82 snaps just means I am in great shape."

After the game, without the benefit of the chance to think it over, the cornerback sounded as if he thought otherwise. Maxwell was alone in coverage on Terrance Williams when backup quarterback Brandon Weeden hit him on a simple slant route that went 42 yards and expanded the Dallas lead to 17 points with less than five minutes to play.

That play came on the 80th snap of the game for Maxwell - the final two would be ceremonial kneel-downs by Weeden – and it wasn't his best of the afternoon. He was way off Williams, didn't react well when the route veered to the inside, and didn't appear to put himself out trying to recover after that.

In his defense, the Eagles were blitzing and he had no safety help in the area. Also, it was third and 11 and he had positioned himself near the first-down stick, which was a reasonable thing to do, although it did give Williams space to operate. All of those things combined into a play that was bad enough, but looked even worse.

The problem is that a guy who rolls into town with a $63 million contract and the role of savior isn't supposed to be the guy getting beat and looking soft in the process. It doesn't go over well, and if you don't believe it, ask Nnamdi Asomugha.

"I haven't experienced it before, but in my mind, I was getting ready for [hearing about] a guy with a big contract coming in as a free agent and giving up touchdowns. They're going to be on you," Maxwell said. "You've got to take it and you've got to realize, 'That's not my teammates. That's not the guys who really matter.' I've got to do my job, obviously, but I can't get hung up and focused on that. It would drive you crazy if you do."

Maxwell has plenty to occupy his mind at the moment, and some of it involves not criticizing – even inadvertently – the fact that the Chip Kelly methods meant to tire out a defense can sometimes work on the wrong one. Against Dallas, when the Eagles had 12 drives, seven of them were stopped quickly by inertia and three by turnovers. That led to a workload disparity in which the defense was on the field for 40 minutes, 30 seconds. Even by Kelly's standards, that's a bunch.

"You're a human being. You get tired as the game goes on," Maxwell said after the loss. "[Williams] just got inside of me. We were on the field all day. He got inside of me, I couldn't really explode."

Probably true and not just an excuse, but sometime between Sunday and Tuesday, Maxwell was advised that the truth can be overrated when it comes to complaining about being tired on this football team. And, in another if-you-don't-believe-it, ask Cary Williams.

"As long as you're going, I'm going. Mentally, that's how we think," Maxwell said Tuesday, as he pointed out that technique, not fatigue, had been his undoing. Defensive coordinator Bill Davis seconded that.

"On that one, he got a little wide in his alignment, and the technique and the alignment, right from the get-go, put him in harm's way and then the slant ball got him and outran him," Davis said. "He came after it, but it just outran him. He drifted a little bit outside and in that all-out blitz, you can't."

It isn't the sort of mistake you want your premier free-agent signing to make, but opponents haven't really been treating Maxwell as if he is one. That's something else to occupy his thoughts. Why, according to advanced stats from Pro Football Focus, has he been targeted 19 times by the Falcons and Cowboys while Nolan Carroll, at the other outside cornerback position, has been targeted only nine times? Fair question, and 15 of those targets were completed, which is 31 percent of the opponents' total. If Byron Maxwell is really the shutdown corner the Eagles believed him to be, someone forgot to tell the NFL's offensive coordinators.

The job isn't easy, particularly against guys like Julio Jones, who got Maxwell for a touchdown in the opener, or in a situation like Sunday's, when the Eagles sent six men on a blitz and Maxwell was on his own in an open field.

"Zero coverage, no safety help, no middle field, anything. That's what an island really is," Maxwell said.

The fans don't want to hear that the job is hard and, frankly, neither do the coaches. Sure, the island is small sometimes, but give up a few more touchdowns and even that foothold will start to erode. And, please, if the water gets too high, don't say you're too tired to swim.

bford@phillynews.com

@bobfordsports

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