Matt Ryan, John Parker Wilson share ‘The Julio Plan’
Kevin Winston, the Falcons' senior director of player development, welcomes Julio Jones to the team's facilities in Flowery Branch in April. (D. Orlando Ledbetter/Dledbetter@ajc.com)
BIRDLAND — The lockout is a real bummer for the players.
But quarterback Matt Ryan is taking the bull by the horn (unlike the Hawks) and is providing the team some leadership during these turbulent times.
Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan before leading about 30 players through an unofficial minicamp practice on Tuesday. (D. Orlando Ledbetter/Dledbetter@AJC.com)
One of his missions is to get rookie Julio Jones up to speed. Jones, whom the Falcons traded up 21 spots to select in the NFL draft, has already been meeting with Ryan and the wide receivers.
It certainly helps that John Parker Wilson, one of Ryan’s backups, has been helping. Parker won 12 games as a senior at Alabama when Jones was a freshman.
He noted that Jones came in and learned the offense pretty fast. He said that Jones won’t have a problem learning the Falcons’ playbook, but noted that the verbiage of the play calls will be challenging.
At Alabama in 2008, Jones caught 58 passes for 924 yards and four touchdowns with Parker running the show.
“He’s gotten a lot bigger and it looks like he’s gotten a lot stronger,” Wilson said. “He was catching balls the other day, and his reach is still so amazing. It’s pretty sweet. He couldn’t run. He’s still working on his foot from when he messed that up, but he looks good. He looks really good.”
Wilson can help Ryan by telling him what routes Jones likes and what routes he runs best.
Falcons quarterbacks John Parker Wilson, Matt Ryan and Chris Redman.
“I remember watching film when I was getting ready for the combine and everything and I probably targeted him 75 percent of the time,” Wilson said. “No lie. He’s a true professional. I think he’s the real deal.”
The Falcons paid a steep price for Jones. They gave up five picks, including next year’s first and fourth round picks. When a team gives up so much for one player, there will be some additional pressure on him. Wilson believes that Jones will handle that extra pressure well.
“I think he’ll fit in really good with our team,” Wilson said. “He’s a good, hard worker, a lot like the other personalities we have on our team. I think it’s going to work well.”
It’s no secret that Jones was added to add some explosiveness to the offense.
Will that be in the form of more deep routes and throws? Or will it be in the form of the bubble and slip screens he ran at Alabama? With his 4.3 speed, we might see him on some reverses, too.
Ryan was not exactly sure how offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey plans to integrate Jones into the offense.
John Parker Wilson spinning the ball back in his Alabama days. He has special insight into Julio Jones. (Associated Press)
“It will be interesting to see,” Ryan said. “He’s a big physical guy. I think he can do a lot of things for us. I think he’ll play a big part. . . I think he can bring some unique things.”
After a stress fracture was discovered, Jones had surgery on his left foot after the combine. He was expected to have a two month recovery period and should be close to running again soon.
Ryan can’t wait for Jones to start running so that they can start working on their timing.
“I’ll be interested to finally get to work with him and seeing the skills sets he has in terms of route running,” Ryan said. “Once we kind of find out about that I think we’ll know more about how we are going to use him.”
Julio, go deep!
–D. Orlando Ledbetter, The Atlanta Falcons beat blog
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115 comments Add your comment
eM
May 13th, 2011
11:47 am
When did the Falcons draft Steve Irkel? DANG JULIO!!!!!! What were you thinking? LOL!
Billy bob
May 13th, 2011
12:02 pm
He is not ever going to be a roddy
Mike
May 13th, 2011
12:14 pm
@ Glenn the only thing about waiting for CJ to be a free agent is that his contract isn’t up until 2013. Roddy will be 33 at that point. Julio isn’t just here to be the Robin to Roddy’s Batman, TD got Julio to eventually be Matt Ryan’s go to guy. He’s banking on Julio being a #1 like CJ is now in 2013. However, for all the talk about Julio/Quizz, the season will hinge on whether Jerry, Moore, and Spoon stay healthy and make plays on defense.
BirdDirty
May 13th, 2011
12:47 pm
@DOL
That response to Marcus sounds like more like the Falcons than the Hawks, LOL!!!
DJ Sniper
May 13th, 2011
1:27 pm
I was about to respond to the post about Matt Ryan supposedly having a noodle arm, but then I saw it was from hiramsaint, so I decided to save the keystrokes.
mistaprime
May 13th, 2011
2:19 pm
Well even though Matty Ice has a better QB rating than Brees, Brees do have the ring. I am a Falcons fan, but it is what it is. My prediction ATLANTA FALCONS 2012 SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS!!!!!!!!
Chucktown38
May 13th, 2011
2:24 pm
Lets not put the cart before the horse, can Ryan throw the ball deep. I like Ryan but I have never seen a pass thrown further than 42 yards in the air. Can anyone tell me different? How far can matt throw it?
TTide
May 13th, 2011
2:39 pm
As a Tide fan, Julio was a pleasure to watch. He is a leader and his work ethic is second to none. For the Falcons worrying whether they gave too much to get Julio will soon find out they got a deal. You build programs with players like this guy.
falCants4ever
May 13th, 2011
2:44 pm
i watched the video…the ball Matty Melt threw was only 25yrds in the air….50yrd YAC….real strong arm…falcants…
eM
May 13th, 2011
2:49 pm
falCants4ever
May 13th, 2011
2:44 pm
i watched the video…the ball Matty Melt threw was only 25yrds in the air….50yrd YAC….real strong arm…falcants…
Correct……..same goes for Brees and most long Td passes in the NFL. Weak argument.
Charlene
May 13th, 2011
2:59 pm
The falcons will go deep and deep every game with Jones and other players. This offense will be difficult too stop this season. We will be looking at Manning when he was younger. Matty Ice will be throwing for 39 TDs this season with nine INTs. He will have a great season when it starts that is for sure
Bravos Fan
May 13th, 2011
3:02 pm
Devildog that picture was taken whilke the lockout was lifted and players could have contact with the front office personel and coachs. It was lifted the first day of the draft and then reinstated the next day, so it wasn’t a violation of the rules.
eM
May 13th, 2011
3:02 pm
Ok…..so it takes 90+ yards with no yak to be an elite QB. Got it. My bad. I guess we can sratch Joe Montana off that list and many others. Man you aints fans are awsome!!!
Steve-O
May 13th, 2011
3:03 pm
Jeff George, Ryan Leaf, JaMarcus Russell. Anyone care to guess how strong their arms are/were?
SECfan
May 13th, 2011
4:54 pm
99th Just do it Julio!
D. Orlando Ledbetter
May 13th, 2011
4:59 pm
Yeah, the picture was taken on April 29. The lockout was not in place.
PlanB
May 13th, 2011
5:19 pm
Don’t know if we keep Jenkins and I do like him but we will be strong in the pass game either way. Roddy, Gonzo, Julio, Quizz, Kerry Meier and H. Douglas 2nd year off his injury. Not bad. I do remember many run then run then 3rd and long last year. We must have better play calling for these guys. Mularky has to get better unless he is being held back by a conservative Mike Smith. Hope not.
air ball
May 13th, 2011
5:24 pm
Sorry guys but I really can’t throw it that far. I sure wish we would have drafted a t.e. who runs routes in my range. Don’t worry though, we’ll have another winning season and then be able to enjoy the playoffs and Superbowl from the comfort of our own homes.
cwltank
May 13th, 2011
5:36 pm
Mularky is gone…. he was predictable, thats my guess why he was not retained. Judgeing by what they did i n the draft we will pass 1st & run less. GO FALCONS!!!!!!!!
SeenThisB4
May 13th, 2011
6:08 pm
Just like his coat jacket in the picture above, Julio Jones is about to be a BUST!
hiramsaint
May 13th, 2011
6:19 pm
whats up stb4- me thinks roddy will be gettin’ a little jealous with all the julio love don’t you?
SeenThisB4
May 13th, 2011
6:29 pm
hiram: Probably, he is pretty self centered. What’s your take on this Jones pick? Seems to me all the falcan’ts did was add another speedy receiver, who’s prone to injury. They think they just turbo-boosted their offense, but I don’t see it. Sure, defenses may not be able to double up on White, but, that still remains to be seen. If Julio is on the injured list, there’s no other speedy receiver to take his place, unlike the Saints who are loaded at both WR, RB, not to mention TE. And, they pretty much mortgaged their draft picks for next year, which I think will probably be around actual pick number 8 to 10.
hiramsaint
May 13th, 2011
6:38 pm
all i can say is if my D was in the lower half of the pack , like the saints , i would have drafted with an emphasis on D , like the saints , instead of making a ricky williams type deal for a wr that my qb couldn’t reach on a consistent basis. if i had to have a ball catcher , it would have been a t.e. who runs routes in matty melts throwing range . i guess the failcans were hoping on fa to bolster their aging and slow D. hows that working out for them. hmmmmmm!
SeenThisB4
May 13th, 2011
6:54 pm
Yeah, can’t disagree with that, their selection of a WR is without a doubt, a knee jerk reaction to the pulverizing disembowelment they got at the hands of Green Bay. They think they need to bolster their offense to keep pace with Green Bay’s and New Orleans’s offensive arsenals. But, sure, perhaps their offense got faster, but can it put up more points? It’s glaring apparent that their defense is woefully equipped to stop high powered offenses. I think they made a huge mistake, but it only helps their rivals, so I’m all for it.
See ya later Hiram: I’m going down by The Fly and see the river rising for myself. See ya.
hiramsaint
May 13th, 2011
7:02 pm
adios and good luck with it my friend
Delbert D.
May 13th, 2011
7:47 pm
The Panthers now have both of the Rivals #1 QBs from 2007.
doggoneit
May 13th, 2011
7:48 pm
Julio, go deep!
Najeh Davenpoop
May 13th, 2011
8:15 pm
Funny that the Falcons beat writer takes a shot at the Hawks, who unlike the Falcons actually managed to not get embarrassed in the playoffs this year.
hiramsaint
May 13th, 2011
8:21 pm
man that was cold…true but cold!
Wayne
May 13th, 2011
8:33 pm
@Joey………………..I watched both of them from the time they were coming out of high school and yes he is far behind Julio as a complete player. Aj won’t block, he will just stand there, he can’t return punts and kickoffs because he couldn’t handle the hits. Julio proved he was a better athlete at the combine and that’s the end of that discussion. As far as production, AJ was the best player on a HORRIBLE team and he had 2 great QB’s throwing him the ball. He got 80 % of the passes because there was no one else that’s why he stood out so much. Julio was arguably the best player on the best team in the nation period. Those are facts that can’t be disputed and you are sadly mistaken with your comment because half of the teams had AJ at #1 and the other had JJ #1 and they admitted as much in interviews so you should py attention.
As far as all these so called “fans” why are you guys bashing them for improving the team significantly? Julio has never missed a game due to injury but yet you keep saying things about it. Do your research before bashing the guy, he will give this team everything he has and then some and is a winner so you guys should be glad you didn’t get some cry baby that wont play if he stubbs his toe
Seen (Sean Payton) This (Take Painkillers) B4
May 13th, 2011
9:20 pm
Well, glad to see that HiramSaint/SeenThisB4/Falcan’ts has left the building for the night. Nothing like seeing a blogger converse with himself using multiple identities.
Also curious about a whole bunch of comments that seem to have been deleted…didn’t think correcting a Saints fan about comma use or exactly what being the “2012 Champions” means would require censorship by the AJC.
hiramsaint
May 13th, 2011
9:42 pm
talk about multiple identities-who are you usually???. i , too , noticed some deletions but what do you expect? so anyway , hows that professor of english diction thing going for you ?
Seen (Sean Payton) This (Get the heck out of New Orleans) B4
May 13th, 2011
9:43 pm
ha ha ha…it’s going okay thanks. I really don’t know what was so offensive in that exchange to warrant AJC to delete posts…it’s never happened to me before. Oh well. Also, the only reason I come on these blogs is to see what you Saints fans have to say–you keep it funny and interesting.
Mark (another one)
May 13th, 2011
10:13 pm
I agree with DOL. When a team drafts a player, they give up a pick for them. The Falcons traded four other picks so they could swap firsts. That’s using five picks to get one player. Julio cost the Falcons five picks.
Is he worth it? Questionable and some will never be satisfied. I’m a Dawg fan and I think it was. Julio will become the number one receiver in a couple of years but in the mean time he and White will drive defensive coordinators crazy.
TheManMike
May 13th, 2011
10:14 pm
DLED – You just reworded what I said….We didn’t lose a 1st round pick this year, we simply changed position – so we only lost 4 picks in the deal. What’s so hard to understand here?>
I guess the horse wasn’t quite dead yet…
TheManMike
May 13th, 2011
10:16 pm
@Mark (another one) – When worded that way, you make a valid point. Well done.
hiramsaint
May 13th, 2011
10:31 pm
every once in awhile we are censored. just prepping for the future i suppose. you are 1 of the few who know why we’re here- just to have some fun with our rivals but some take it way to seiously. oh well , such is life!
SeenThisB4
May 13th, 2011
10:41 pm
hiram: The reason they censored a few posts was cause the falcan’t posters were being out-classed on their home blog. Right eM?! LOL!
Saw the river man. Yeah it’s high, but what’s really impressive, is how fast that water is moving.
Seen (Sean Payton) This (toss his painkillers into the rising river) B4
May 13th, 2011
10:54 pm
Wow, okay, so Hiram & SeenThisB4 are actually two people? I figured it was the same Saints fan just stirring things up more by using two names. But Hiram clearly knows proper comma placement so they must be different posters. I stand corrected.
Seen (Sean Payton) This (toss his painkillers into the rising river) B4
May 13th, 2011
11:01 pm
You’d think they’d censor Joe Tess Fish House…oh well…so Hiram and SeenThisB4 are not one and the same. I stand corrected.
Long suffering fan
May 13th, 2011
11:14 pm
So we gave up 4 picks, more than any team has ever give for a WR, to get a guy who has trouble holding onto the ball and injury problems. I would say that this will go down as the greatest trade in NFL history-for the Browns.
Falcons Chic
May 13th, 2011
11:53 pm
I know they were in shock. The 2007 season & this? The ONLY good things since they have returned to the league. Perhaps, Colt, PHillis, Cribbs are also positives.
@ Big Man, he’s not signed. My understanding is can come by to pick up his playbook, which a lot of players during the 2 or 3 day injunction.
slobberknocker
May 13th, 2011
11:59 pm
I’m glad we have 4.3. And I still want to see Noel Devine in here.
OTP Saint
May 14th, 2011
9:20 am
I think going for Julio was a big stretch. It made me a happy Saint. Adding Julio, Ray Edwards, etc… won’t help the Falcons beat the Saints. Saints exposed the Falcons in the GA dome and helped show Green Bay the way. Falcons miss the playoffs this year…..(if there is a season).
cwltank
May 14th, 2011
10:00 am
We split with GB & the Saints any given Sunday a team can lose or win. The Falcons will be and improved team, stop hateing. GB ran the tables, but we will meet them again this year & we will make history……
Robert08
May 14th, 2011
10:37 am
Saints fans sure do talk a lot of trash about last year’s playoffs considering they got destroyed by a team with a losing record. At least the Falcons lost to the Super Bowl champs.
Jake
May 14th, 2011
12:47 pm
Can’t wait to see ingram and julio play against each other. Good times for falcons fans ahead.
2011-2012 NFC South standings (my predictions)
Falcons- 12-4
Saints- 10-6
Bucs- 9-7
Panthers- 4-12
nolla
May 14th, 2011
1:48 pm
here we go again.
Seattle Falcons Fan
May 14th, 2011
4:04 pm
Thank You WAYNE @ 8:33 – Exactly! Yes the first round pick next year stings a little because of our need for a TE next seaon, but what did everyone want the Falcons to do, wait to #27 and pick up a middle of the pack DE project? No TD went out and basically drafted one of the best player in the draft. The Julio trade up is equal to signing a big time free agent. Just everybody calm down and watch who we sign for our D once Free Agency begins. It seems like everyone wanted the Falcons to just sit on there hands and sign another P. Jerry. That is not what we needed. TD was determined to draft Pro Bowl talent not a rotational player. Don’t forget not only will Julio make some great catches, but he will give Turner the blocking for more yards and Roddy’s numbers will soar too because teams can’t focus their secondary on him.
Amen to a player that played through his injuries. People act like he didn’t play or his performance dropped because of them. I think his numbers and performance looked pretty dang good.
I think too that a lot of people don’t realize the signifigance of the Dent draft pick and the Punter draft pick. Dent was brought in so we can let Nicholas walk to save money to sign a big time free agent. Same with the punter. He doesn’t have to be a pro bowler, he just has to be a good backup.
Also I think we don’t realize what Quizz will bring to the team. I have being saying all off season that we should try and sign either R. Bush or D. Sproles. Now we don’t need to. We got a cheaper version of what I wanted the Falcons to do. Now only one thing left……Sign either Johnson or Edwards at DE and sign an above average CB. Maybe a decent Linebacker too.
D LED- Any word on what O lineman the Falcons plan to bring back? I hope all of them. I hope The Nicholas money will help with that also.
hiramsaint
May 14th, 2011
5:37 pm
@ robert108- you mayhave forgotten but it was the saints who lost and it was the failcans who got destroyed. i’m sure it was just a small slip on your part but as the fed gov. says-we all need a little re-education!