Julio Jones to Play in Multiple Spots vs. Cowboys

Julio Jones has mastered the route trees of OC Kyle Shanahan’s offense and will play in multiple spots on Sunday versus the Dallas Cowboys in Week 3.

Julio Jones’ improved versatility as a pass catcher has made him one of the best in the NFL entering 2015. When he first came into the league, Jones was primarily used in Dirk Koetter’s offense as a vertical threat. He used his blinding speed to create separation from the defensive back to connect on deep strikes with QB Matt Ryan.

Now in his 5th season with the Atlanta Falcons, Julio Jones has become one of the most well-rounded receivers in the NFL through his student mentality, work ethic, and strive for continuous improvement. Jones is now a major factor possession receiving and in the screen game to go along with his bread and butter of stretching opposing defenses vertically.

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When asked on Wednesday about OC Kyle Shanahan moving him around in multiple spots, Jones replied, “I love it. It gives defenses fits because they don’t know where I’m going, inside or out. Sometimes I’m going to need that double team and it’s going to allow my other teammates to get open and have one on ones. I have all the confidence in the world that they’re going to go out there and beat their guy in man-to-man.”

Atlanta was able to use this offensive tactic to exploit the Philadelphia’s secondary in Week 1 and tire out the New York Giants defense in Week 2. Julio Jones will have to catch passes everywhere on the gridiron on Sunday as Dallas has one of the best defensive units through the first two weeks. Dallas is number one against the run, number eight against the pass, and number three overall.

With Dallas being without most of their explosive weapons on offense, expect DC Rod Marinelli’s defense to do the heavy lifting for the Cowboys in Tony Romo and Dez Bryant‘s absence. To best predict how Dallas will play the Falcons defensively in Week 3, perhaps the Cowboys’ Week 1 matchup against New York is the best indicator. The Giants have an explosive wideout in Odell Beckham, Jr., a veteran quarterback in Eli Manning, and a running game that uses multiple backs. Dallas topped New York by a point in that game, 27-26.

However, by using Julio Jones in multiple spots against Dallas presents more problems than the Cowboys had to account for against New York. Beckham is immensely talented, but is only in his second season in the league. The versatility is coming but it’s not on par with Jones just yet. Sure, New York may have the slightly more established rushing attack than the Atlanta Falcons, but Matt Ryan has been a significantly more accurate passer than Eli Manning in the last four seasons.

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The threat of disguising route trees on offense for the Atlanta Falcons combined with a usually accurate passer in Matt Ryan gives the Dallas Cowboys their toughest assignment as a defense in 2015. The more comfortable other receivers get in Kyle Shanahan’s offensive system, the more dangerous the passing game will become for the Atlanta Falcons. The unit is still learning a new system, but sooner than later the aerial attack will look as fluid as it did in the latter years of Dirk Koetter’s scheme.

Even with as talented of a defense as Dallas has, still expect Julio Jones to lead the Atlanta Falcons with yards and receptions on Sunday. I see Matt Ryan and Julio Jones finding some seams in the secondary to exploit so that Jones will have his third 100 yard receiving game in 2015. Hopefully that’s enough to lead the Atlanta Falcons to a 3-0 start on the year. Rise Up!

Next: Brooks Reed Returns to Falcons Practice

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