Atlanta Falcons: How good can White-Jones duo be?
Matt Ryan (from left) talks to wide receivers Roddy White and Julio Jones during a recent training camp practice at Flowery Branch. CURTIS COMPTON / CCOMPTON@AJC.COM
Vivlamore reporting on Falcons.
The Falcons are off today but tomorrow I will talk to receivers Roddy White and Julio Jones for a story to run Thursday online/Friday print.
I’m wondering if White and Jones have the potential to be among the greatest wide receiver duos in NFL history and need your help. Below is a list of some of the greatest tandems that I have put together. Let me know what you think. Did I leave a duo out? Have a pair ranked too high or too low?
May they one day be up there with John Stallworth and Lynn Swann, Steelers greats from 1974-82? We posed that question to Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan earlier in training camp.
“We have to win some Super Bowls before we can get compared to those two guys,” Ryan said. “But I think we can be really good. Really, very good. The two of them together are extremely unselfish. They just want to win and want to make plays. They push each other to get better. I think it’s a unique relationship that they have. I think they can be as good as anybody in the league.”
Here is my preliminary list:
1. John Stallworth/Lynn Swann, Steelers
2. Jerry Rice/John Taylor, 49ers
3. Mark Duper/Mark Clayton, Dolphins
4. Isaac Bruce/Torry Holt, Rams
5. Marvin Harrison/Reggie Wayne, Colts
6. Cliff Branch/Fred Biletnikoff, Raiders
7. Drew Pearson/Tony Hill, Cowboys
8. Art Monk/Gary Clark, Redskins
9. Cris Carter/Randy Moss, Vikings
10. Larry Fitzgerald/Anquan Boldin, Cardinals
Honorable mentions: Andre Reed/James Lofton, Bills; Jimmy Smith/Keenan McCardell, Jaguars; Eric Metcalf/Terance Mathis, Falcons
Jeff Schultz has already weighed in. He says Duper/Clayton are too high and Branch/Bilitnekoff are too low.
Let me know what you think and we will “refine.”
- Chris Vivlamore
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142 comments Add your comment
KJ
August 1st, 2012
2:19 pm
what about Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne
yo mama
August 1st, 2012
2:30 pm
cmon dled terry holt? it’s torry holt(spelling). i swear you never check your copy before you air it.
Mr. Hankey
August 1st, 2012
2:35 pm
How about Alfred Jenkins and Billy Rickman? Come on, man, you gotta have another white guy in there. He did more with less than any other Falcon ever. Small, slow, white. I’m just saying….Alvin Harper? Really? Wasn’t he a big time bust after he left the Cowgirls? All the pairs you named wore the Falcons out at one time or another and I had the pleasure to witness several of those debacles in person. Ouch. I STILL HATE JERRY RICE.
coscro
August 1st, 2012
2:45 pm
Randy Moss/Chris Carter
Statick
August 1st, 2012
2:47 pm
Like Matt said, they’ll have to win some Superbowls first. Heck, they’ll both have to show some consistency before that. Let’s not jump the gun here, Vivlamore.
Chris Vivlamore
August 1st, 2012
3:02 pm
Thanks for the check on the typo on spelling of Tory Holt. Will fix. Although, yo mama before you are so critical you might want the check the three places it says Vivlamore wrote the piece and not Ledbetter. But thanks for the catch.
Again folks, not putting White and Jones in this category. It’s just a companion list for discussion purposes.
Chris Vivlamore
August 1st, 2012
3:03 pm
KJ: Harrison and Wayne are No. 5.
Big Chuck
August 1st, 2012
3:04 pm
Herman Moore and Brett Perriman
Mikey
August 1st, 2012
3:06 pm
Another vote for Jimmy Smith and Kenan McCardel. They made that franchise while they were there. If they had played for Dallas or the Steelers, we would still be hearing about them every day from the sports analysts. I sincerely hope White and Jones get into that rarified air… there is certainly a possibility but they have to do it for more than one game.
RTR22
August 1st, 2012
3:06 pm
Throw JULIO the ballll…….. Roll Tide
to real
August 1st, 2012
3:07 pm
Lets just make sure our o-line can block and keep matt ryan up right b4 we start dis duo debate tha answer is yes for about tha next 2 or 3 seasons they can be as good as any on this list but we all know it starts up front!!!!!!
Ted Striker
August 1st, 2012
3:07 pm
Excellent topic, fine and objective analysis. I might flip #1 & #2 however that is splitting hairs.
Super Duper and Clayton are perfectly fine at #3.
You tell Schultz that TED STRIKER said your #3 choice is a FINE FINE pick.
(Also that used copies of his book on the 49′ers sell for 2 cents on Amazon and that I wasted $4.99 on shipping. Plus 2 cents for something to line my parakeet cage, And he owes Striker a beer and an iPad in Athens this fall if my liver holds up till then)
This is a good column and thank you for writing it.
Also a potential topic would be the best WR/TE tandems in history. Or…the best players who were drafted at one position and then made an impact elsewhere.
Always looking out for fine journalists,
Striker
Striker
Striker
(fine: SMACK)
Chris Vivlamore
August 1st, 2012
3:07 pm
I am reminded by one Redskins fans that the seven tandems ahead of Monk and Clark had a Hall of Fame quarterback throwing to them and not Mark Rypien.
Michael M.
August 1st, 2012
3:14 pm
There’s no comparison……………
Chris Vivlamore
August 1st, 2012
3:15 pm
So I take it from the silence of Seen This B4 on the specific subject that there are not any Saints tandems to consider.
Nowwehaveasecondary!
August 1st, 2012
3:15 pm
I think Andre Rison and the often overlooked Michael Haynes were a great receiving tandem. They had four or five good years together. I remember some one put together a list of the 50 greatest Falcons ever, and Michael Haynes was left off the list. He should have been on it. Just as Michael Jenkins caught the first touchdown pass from Matt Ryan on his first throw, Michael Haynes caught the first touchdown pass from Chris Miller on the first pass thrown in the Georgia Dome – it was I think a 72 yard play.
Chris Vivlamore
August 1st, 2012
3:17 pm
Ted Striker: Thanks and I will pass on your comments to Schultz – especially about the book!
Larry
August 1st, 2012
3:32 pm
Nowwehaveasecondary!,
In Chris Millers first game lost the Falcons lost to the San Francisco 49ers, 35-7, with Miller throwing 4 interceptions and getting sacked 3 times.
AlanFalcon
August 1st, 2012
3:34 pm
All that matters here is that they are our receivers, Atlanta falcons receivers and what they will do for this team over the next years will be phenominal !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AlanFalcon
August 1st, 2012
3:37 pm
RTR22—this ain’t the Tide, this is the Falcons !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Paddy
August 1st, 2012
3:39 pm
Abercrombie & Fitch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hiramsaint
August 1st, 2012
3:42 pm
if the failclowns use a weak armed qb , say like matty meltdown , then they won’t be to good but with an nfl caliber qb , say like brees , they could be ok !
Esquire
August 1st, 2012
3:50 pm
Chris Vivlamore
August 1st, 2012
12:20 pm
Seen This B4: Any Saints duo that should be on the list?
__________________________________________________________
This makes me want to spit. Why would you want to legitimize a saints troll on a Falcons blog? What the F is wrong with you people? DLed, Chris just drove the damn thing over a cliff.
Chris Vivlamore
August 1st, 2012
3:54 pm
Esquire: My apologies. I was just trying to needle him back a little bit.
Tastes Like Chicken
August 1st, 2012
4:00 pm
How about Welker/ Moss?
Big Ray
August 1st, 2012
4:06 pm
Nawh, you just need to forget about publishing that storyline, unless of course, you WANT to publish fictional sports accounts.
Naw, he doesn’t want to work in New Orleans.
Big Ray
August 1st, 2012
4:07 pm
So I take it from the silence of Seen This B4 on the specific subject that there are not any Saints tandems to consider.
You would be correct, sir. Inconvenient things, those darn facts…
Big Crimson 75
August 1st, 2012
4:08 pm
Julio will snag 90+balls this year, 1400+ yards & 15 TDs this year!!!
I look for Roddy to snag around 90 again with 1000 yards and 8 TDs.
Only Megatron will put up better numbers than Julio this year!!
ernisTbass
August 1st, 2012
4:10 pm
Wes Chandler & Charlie Joiner
Kevrock
August 1st, 2012
4:12 pm
Andre Reed and James Lofton need to be in the top ten. They did more for the Bills than Fitzgerald and Boldin has done for the Cardinals although they are great receivers!!
ernisTbass
August 1st, 2012
4:14 pm
Mark Duper & Clayton
ernisTbass
August 1st, 2012
4:18 pm
Art Monk & Gary Clark
backatcha
August 1st, 2012
4:20 pm
Saints are a great team, not necessarily great individuals. Marques Colston, Meachem, Moore, & the fast guy from LSU stepped up big when it counted! Also, I’m surprised we didn’t go after Tracy Porter when he hit the market, he did amazing things against us. New Orleans & Green Bay are alike. Two great quarterbacks w/ great supporting casts.
Michael M.
August 1st, 2012
4:22 pm
laughin……………..the Saints have a receiver tandem duo ………….Abbott & Costello ? ?
Big Crimson 75
August 1st, 2012
4:25 pm
Alanfalcon — Rtr22 is 100% correct.
I don’t care if it’s the 85 Bears, throw Julio the ball!!
Good things will happen.
SeenThis B4
August 1st, 2012
4:32 pm
Chris Vivlamore
August 1st, 2012
3:15 pm
So I take it from the silence of Seen This B4 on the specific subject that there are not any Saints tandems to consider.
________________________________________________________________
When you have the most prolifiic passing team in the NFL for several years now, you would think there would be a tandem, BUT there isn’t. Cause it’s not a tandem, it’s a quartet. Last year it was Colston, Henderson, Moore and Meachem. This year, it will be Colston, Moore, Henderson and one of the following: Arrington, Toon, or Joe Morgan.
St Simons
August 1st, 2012
4:52 pm
it won’t matter how good they are if we don’t get a LT and a Center
abby normal
August 1st, 2012
5:15 pm
Not really in the same league with the big list, but how about one for the old school…Boyd Dowler and Max McGee.
dean
August 1st, 2012
5:33 pm
I cannot speak the name of the dallas receiver with the initials D.P. It wasn’t his fault that our “secondary” in 1980 couldn’t cover a 3-legged cow, but HE caught the dagger then shoved it in our hearts that cold-assed day/evening.
Just Sayin.....
August 1st, 2012
5:37 pm
Receivers can cover up qb flaws only so much.
Just Sayin.....
August 1st, 2012
5:39 pm
I believe Desean Jackson/Jeremy Maclin better crack that list. They are far more dynamic than Julio/White and they are under 24 years old.
Old Fan
August 1st, 2012
5:39 pm
I would had Tony Martin/Terance Mathis not Eric Metcalf/Terance Mathis. Go check there stats for the 98 season. you will be impressed.
Just Sayin.....
August 1st, 2012
5:47 pm
One other thing: Each of those listed had either/or a hall of fame qb or superbowl qb.
stevie zero
August 1st, 2012
5:48 pm
lofton and reed
jgsbirds
August 1st, 2012
5:51 pm
i always like rison and haynes from the ‘91 falcons. may not have been together long but were very tough to handle!
Clay
August 1st, 2012
6:42 pm
The Falcons offensive line will have to give Ryan time to throw in order for Roddy/Jones to see their potential.
hiramsaint
August 1st, 2012
6:48 pm
the failclowns tandem is 0-1
Michael M.
August 1st, 2012
6:53 pm
” Ryan said. “But I think we can be really good. Really, very good. The two of them together are extremely unselfish. They just want to win and want to make plays. They push each other to get better. I think it’s a unique relationship that they have. I think they can be as good as anybody in the league.”
They already are as good as anyone else in the NFL and the soon coming Season will show it in the numbers they will put up on the scoreboard and the stat column……………for those they keep claiming Ryan can’t put the ball deep and on the money, they did now watch the whole games from last year. I watched some highlights of some of the games they played last year and Ryan really is a good Quarterback and no Team in the NFL would pass up an opportunity to get Ryan on their Team. The Guy CAN throw the deep ball and get it to those receivers and I know the O-line was bad last year and may not be much better this year as well but last year was more learning experience for this group as a whole and if I was these other Teams in the NFL, I would be very worried when it come my time to play this group of guys.
The Schedule is tougher this year but the Falcons D will be much improved and up to the challenge for those top-tier Teams they will face. This Atlanta Team of 2012 to me is about the best football team Atlanta has ever had in talented players. Whether they winning or losing a game this year, it will be a fun year for Falcon Fans because we know what we have here and its onwards and upwards every single year !
hiramsaint
August 1st, 2012
6:56 pm
wow mikey – is that a re-post from before last years season? it’s hard to tell ’cause we hear the same garbage every year with the same results !
Michael M.
August 1st, 2012
7:13 pm
You know what is really funny hirmyaint………………It takes all your offensive unit to come up with a duo to even come close to matching Julio and Roddy and talk the garbage talk ? After the Junk coming out of the closet on your love in New Orleans, you should be hiding in the closet somewhere, not ” coming out of the closet ” , but I know you wearing that stupid paper sack on your head think you are unseen and can hide but it really does not matter to us cause the Falcons should be ready to get after your Bountygater Bunch when it comes time to play them and I am truly looking forward to it…………..Fume on that for a tad ………….Falcons fly high and aints just crawl !