The Falcons’ new parlor game: Gushing over Julio Jones
It's not a catch. No, wait! It's an "unbelievable" catch! (AP photo)
This ran in the morning paper as — insider journalist term — a sidebar. I present it to you as a bonus. For no charge!
Indianapolis – The second touchdown of Julio Jones’ NFL career was pretty. The first was pretty incredible. Or words to that effect.
“Unbelievable” was the adjective of choice for both quarterback Matt Ryan and center Todd McClure. Tight end Tony Gonzalez settled, a bit more simply, for “great.” And with that, the parlor game of who could gush more over the Falcons’ rookie receiver was in full swing.
Said Thomas Dimitroff, the general manager who traded up 21 spots to draft Jones: “Julio does in fact make us a better football team.”
Said Mike Smith, the head coach: “We know the skill-set he has … He’s going to be and is an integral part of our offense.”
About here, someone thought to ask Julio Jones if he was amazed by Julio Jones’ performance here Sunday. “I don’t amaze myself,” he said. “I kind of expect that.”
He’d missed the past two games with a tender hamstring. He made up for lost time with two first-half catches, each breathtaking. The first involved Jones shouldering his way through two Colts defenders to make a diving catch of a Ryan rainbow in the end zone, a play so outrageous the on-field officials didn’t believe it could possibly be a catch. But Jones knew all along.
“I had my hands underneath the ball,” he said, and replay seconded the emotion. When the ruling was announced, the Falcons’ receivers did a little dance. This prompted their coach to tell them to save such choreography for the sideline.
Said Smith: “You can’t have a group celebration on the field.”
Said Jones: “He kind of got onto us a little bit.”
Soon Jones was in the end zone again, this time arriving on his feet. He took a 10-yard slant from Ryan and turned it into an 80-yard pull-away-from-everyone touchdown that had Smith yakking afterward about “YAC yards” — meaning yards after a catch.
Of the first touchdown, Jones said: “Matt put it up and let me be an athlete.” Of the second: “We knew we could hit those guys — they play a lot of Cover 2.”
Said Gonzalez: “You can just throw the ball up in the air and he’ll go make a play. If you throw it to him short … you’re not going to catch him from behind. I’ve said from the beginning he is the most talented rookie I’ve ever seen. The future is so bright for him. I think he can be one of the best receivers if not the best receiver in the league once he puts it all together.”
By Mark Bradley
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70 comments Add your comment
walt
November 7th, 2011
8:33 am
don’t count chickens b/c of beating Indy…
walt
November 7th, 2011
8:33 am
FIRST????
War Eagle
November 7th, 2011
8:34 am
First!
I-185
November 7th, 2011
8:35 am
Could of used you Saturday night – Julio!
War Eagle
November 7th, 2011
8:35 am
Dangit!! Well go Falcons!!! Maybe we can find a sleeper at running back in the draft in 2010…
War Eagle
November 7th, 2011
8:36 am
Oops. I meant 2012
bpjim
November 7th, 2011
8:37 am
That was a great catch
jim
November 7th, 2011
8:41 am
Julio Jones is going to be a major talent in the NFL before too long. Great to see him and the Falcons do well yesterday. They did exactly what they are supposed to do – beat the team they play on the day they play them. Good job Falcons. Do not listen to the “local experts” who want to deminish yesterday’s victory. You beat who you play or you don’t. Simple as that.
jim
November 7th, 2011
8:41 am
make that diminish
Truth
November 7th, 2011
8:48 am
Julio is a beast – before the injury, he had back to back 100+ yard games. He’s the real deal – not just against the Colts and it’s time to recognize that with him in the line up, we can score on any play – something we couldn’t do last year. Great move DT.
GivetheDawgabone
November 7th, 2011
8:48 am
Julio is the real deal. With a top tier quarterback like Brees or Rodgers his talents would be even more obvious.
Dr. Warren
November 7th, 2011
8:49 am
How can an 2010 All-Pro wide receiver become a #2 the very next season? I think we’ve now seen how.
Truth
November 7th, 2011
8:49 am
*DT
Herschel Talker
November 7th, 2011
8:51 am
MB:
Julio is the man! But he still aint no AJ Green!
FIRE MARK RICHT!!!
HT
Delbert D.
November 7th, 2011
8:54 am
I really liked what I saw. The guy is a great worker and playmaker. Who does the opposition’s top cover guy get now?
Mark Bradley
November 7th, 2011
8:56 am
Kudos, War Eagle.
SawThat1nce
November 7th, 2011
8:57 am
JJ is DYNOMITE!!
SawThat1nce
November 7th, 2011
8:57 am
He is superfast.
truth
November 7th, 2011
8:59 am
Ryan stares down WRs (especially Roddy White) .. on 3rd down he goes to Roddy 8 out of 10 times.. Colts almost picked him off 3 times.. Ryan needs to trust his other WRs on 3rd down
SawThat1nce
November 7th, 2011
9:06 am
I assumed that TD traded up in the draft, in an effort to get AJ Green, and then picked JJ as a second option, after Green was gone.
Was TD actually going after JJ when he made the move to trade up?
Joe Tess Fish House
November 7th, 2011
9:10 am
First!
Mark Bradley
November 7th, 2011
9:10 am
Dimitroff wanted one or the other. But he knew when he made the move he would probably end up with Julio Jones.
Joe Tess Fish House
November 7th, 2011
9:12 am
Man….I posted my fist along time a go and it just now shows.
U no, the Flacons gave up 2 much for Juliet Jones. He may of had a good game but what hapens next year when he has his softmore slump and the Falcons have no draft pix?
D man
November 7th, 2011
9:18 am
JUUUUUUUlLLLLLIiIIIOOOOOOOOO,!!! He sure looked like he was worth the pick yesterday didn’t he?
Now for next week vs the Saints. Falcons must win to win the division. If they lose next week, they will have a tough time catching the Saints. Ibelieve the Falcons are playing a lot better than they were 5 weeks ago. Defense looked good yesterday after they finally started blitzing. They are going to have to blitz next week and cover tight to force Brees to make bad throws. When you pressure him, he makes bad throws and interceptions. Time to take the Division lead. GO FALCONS!!!
timboy6
November 7th, 2011
9:20 am
Roddy White should start getting more one on one coverage. Look out for him in coming weeks.
sam
November 7th, 2011
9:26 am
How about Will Svitek? He did a great job of stopping Freeney. Sam Baker should keep riding the bench. I think Hawley did a better job at RG than Reynolds.
bigcrimson75
November 7th, 2011
9:29 am
Love ya Julio — could have used you Saturday night!!!
ATL Fan
November 7th, 2011
9:29 am
It was good to see Michael Turner play well and keep his carries to a minimum by getting Quiz some playing time.
Dink
November 7th, 2011
9:29 am
Julio has some wheels for a big man, wow.
Ben
November 7th, 2011
9:30 am
He’s gonna be great. Not Megatron great, but still pretty awesome.
Moorman
November 7th, 2011
9:31 am
Imagine how dangerous he would be in a offense with a quarterback who has a strong arm.
wreckbuzz
November 7th, 2011
9:31 am
I saw the catches. It ain’t gushing if it’s true. And it’s true.
If people think Matt Ryan’s arm strength is an issue, then a player like Julio Jones can make up for that in two ways. If the deep pass is not perfect, he can go up and get the ball away from defenders. He can take a short pass and take it the distance. He did both on Sunday.
The Falcons have not had a threat like that (Steve Smith, Desean Jackson) who can take a short throw all the way. Roddy White is a very good receiver for gaining first downs in the intermediate passing game on the edge. Tony Gonzalez is the same, but over the middle. Jones can provide those explosive plays that can shorten the field for the Falcons and keep Michael Turner fresh.
ATL Fan
November 7th, 2011
9:33 am
Julio – Playmaker making plays.
War Eagle
November 7th, 2011
9:33 am
I felt even in college JJ was a better receiver than AJ Green. AJ is a good receiver, I think he just go more press and exposure than JJ did. The Falcons have a good one at receiver. It took Roddy White about 5 years to finally blossom (but to his defense he had a younger, quicker to run Mike Vick at QB). I hated playing with him on Madden back then, he dropped the ball all the time! lol…JJ is a beast out the gates!
Andy
November 7th, 2011
9:34 am
The first TD was a great catch but the second TD was a “wow” moment. He took that ball and smoked everyone on the field. That was impressive.
ATL Fan
November 7th, 2011
9:35 am
Don’t overlook the end-around / reverse either. Great player.
Mr. Swamp People
November 7th, 2011
9:43 am
FAILCONS STILL SUCK
Mr. Swamp People
November 7th, 2011
9:45 am
FAILCONS STILL SUCK!! DEREVY HENDERSON>JULIET JONES WHODAT!! GAEUX SAINTS!!
john
November 7th, 2011
10:00 am
That first touchdown catch was beautiful. Three colts players around him with no idea where the ball is and Julio falling on his back holding onto the football. Congrats to Julio and glad he plays for ATL. That second TD was scary..no one even came close to catching him.
yeahsure
November 7th, 2011
10:08 am
We saw Gonzo get hot once they started concentrating on Turner and Julio. Quizz is the wildcard we need to start incorporating more. Get in out in open space.
JDawg1785
November 7th, 2011
10:12 am
I think yesterday’s game silenced the doubters as to why the Falcons traded up to get Julio Jones. That kid is going to be a star!
ron
November 7th, 2011
10:12 am
Mr. Swamp People……man go to your “who dat” blog, what you doin here. Learn how to spell 2 letter words like “go” let alone 3 and 4 letter words. The aints are coming to the dome w/o Tracy Porter….good luck man, don’t bring that St. Louis Rams game.
MeToo
November 7th, 2011
10:19 am
Julio Jones and the trade is a done deal. GET OVER IT!!!!!
MeToo
November 7th, 2011
10:20 am
And for the Turner followers:
Three Julio Jones passes are the equivalent of about 25 Michael Turner runs and take a minute amount of the time.
Mr. Swamp People
November 7th, 2011
10:22 am
ron– CAN U FIND ME A “WHO DAT” BLOG!! GAEUX SAINTS!
Mo
November 7th, 2011
10:40 am
Mr. Swamp Clown
It’s so sad that Saints fans have to constantly come to a Falcons blog site to vent. Reminds me of a time several years ago when Saints fans had to constantly come to Atl to live. I have NEVER even considered looking for a Saints blog site to post to…simply put it’s just an idiotic waste of time. I get that you are a Saints fan and that’s great for football but you sound like a true idiot wasting your time posting “Falcons suck” on a Falcons blog site.
In tribute to you Mr. Swamp Clown I’m going to continue to employ the many “refugees” my great city incurred those years ago in the hopes that with a decent standard of living some of you may finally be able to educate yourselves enough to one day build your own Saints blog site.
MikeDevereaux
November 7th, 2011
10:44 am
Julio was COOOOLIO in the game against the Colts. I was watching the reaction on the NFL Network to the gameday highlights and it seems like the guys who host that show werent that impressed with Julio. The truth about Julio is that right now after just one game, JULIO MIGHT BE ONE OF THE TOP 3 DANGEROUS WIDEOUTS IN THE GAME right now. I know that seems crazy, but lets review what Julio did on his 80-yard play from Ryan. Ryan passed a simple 10-yard pass to Julio that Julio transformed into an 80-yard play. 70 yards of that play was “explosiveness” and “speed” generated by Julio himself. The Lions wideout did the same thing against the Falcons a couple of weeks ago when we played the Lions in Detroit. Calvin Johnson turned a simple 18-yard play into a long touchdown to the house with his explosiveness. JULIO WILL QUICKLY BECOME A PREMIER PLAYMAKER IN THE NFL, if he isnt one already. Impressive showing on sunday against the Colts.
Mo
November 7th, 2011
10:46 am
For if you build it Mr. Swamp Clown……they will gaeux! Rise Up!!!!
DawgDad
November 7th, 2011
10:49 am
“Three Julio Jones passes are the equivalent of about 25 Michael Turner runs and take a minute amount of the time.”
Try selling that line to the defense. You need both, actually, points and control of the clock.
SEC Commissioner
November 7th, 2011
10:58 am
Players like JJ are rare. Size, speed, power, and very very humble while putting winning first.
Nice to see a guy not worried about his stats.