Sunday, June 26, 2022
  • Login
GAFollowers
  • Home
  • News
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result
GAFollowers
No Result
View All Result
Home Sports Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons Need More Than Julio Jones to Find the Playoffs

Kyle Dawson by Kyle Dawson
June 23, 2016
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
The Falcons Need More Than Julio Jones to Find the Playoffs
478
SHARES
1.1k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Pro Football Focus recently put out their list of player grades from last season and Atlanta Falcons’ wide receiver Julio Jones landed at the top of the list. Jones, who graded out at a 96 out of 100, was just a half point away from first place Antonio Brown.

The Falcons had a promising season going last year as they headed into week six with a perfect 5-0 record, and they still looked pretty promising heading into week eight with a 6-1 record. However, that’s when the wheels fell off.

Atlanta would go on to win just two more games last year even with stellar performances from Jones and running back Devonta Freeman.

Related post

Celebrate ‘National Tennis Month’ in Metro Atlanta

Alpharetta to Host Sanctioned Triathlon

Braves and Coopers’ Craft Bring ‘World Championship’ Burgers to Braves Fans

Load More

These performances have left fans wondering why the team hasn’t been to the playoffs since the 2012 season. Some blame last year’s bland record on Matt Ryan. Some blame it on the fact that 2015 was Dan Quinn’s first year as head coach. Others blame it on the magic that seems to keep Atlanta sports teams from doing well while breaking fans’ hearts.

One thing that can be linked to the losses that Atlanta suffered last year is turnovers. Atlanta was top five in the league with thirty turnovers. The Falcons had at least one turnover in seven of the eight games that they lost last year, and they only had four games all year without a turnover.

Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

They could move the ball up and down the field in most games, but drives were often thwarted by an interception or fumble.

Some of these turnovers can be attributed to Matt Ryan playing in Kyle Shanahan’s offensive system for the first time. Interceptions happen when the quarterback makes a bad decision because his target isn’t where he thought it was going to be.

On the other side of the ball, the Falcons created a seventeenth best 23 turnovers including 16 interceptions, but they ranked last in sacks. They didn’t get much pressure on the quarterback, which made it hard to create turnovers.

What people tend to forget about last year is that five of Atlanta’s eight losses were by four points or less, and only one loss was by ten or more points. They played in a lot of close games during Quinn’s first year.

The Falcons hope that the team learned a lot of lessons in 2015 and that another offseason and training camp will help propel them into the playoffs.

So far during this off season, Atlanta has added to a somewhat struggling offensive line, with the acquisition of Alex Mack from the Cleveland Browns. Mack will fit right in at center where the Falcons hope he will make his other offensive lineman better around him, while giving Matt Ryan more time to make better decisions.

Atlanta also added to their defense by taking defensive players in the first, second and fourth including first round pick Keanu Neal, a hard hitting strong safety who will probably also play some at outside linebacker because he can cover tight ends. Quinn hopes Neal will fit into a similar role to Cam Chancellor who Quinn coached in Seattle.

As for Jones, the Falcons hope he will be a top five receiver next year like in 2015, but football is the ultimate team sport, and if Atlanta hopes to get back to the playoffs they must get more pressure on the quarterback, have diversity in play selection and improve their turnover ratio.

Jones will be wonderful, but it takes all eleven to be successful.

 

Tags: atlanta falconsdan quinnGA sportsjulio jonesMatt Ryannfl
Share191Tweet120
Next Post
Music Midtown Lineup Announced

Music Midtown Lineup Announced

Looking to Travel, Try Spots!

Looking to Travel, Try Spots!

Tim Tebow Steps Up on Flight Leaving From Atlanta

Tim Tebow Steps Up on Flight Leaving From Atlanta

WINE AND DINE COMEDY NIGHT

BROWSE BY CATEGORIES

  • Albums/Mixtapes
  • Animals
  • Art
  • Atlanta Braves
  • Atlanta Dream
  • Atlanta Falcons
  • Atlanta Hawks
  • Atlanta United
  • Beer
  • Braves News
  • Business
  • Cars
  • Casting
  • Club/Party
  • College
  • College
  • College
  • Comedy
  • Community
  • Concert
  • Crazy
  • Crime
  • Culture
  • Dance
  • Entertainment
  • Events
  • Fashion
  • Festivals
  • Fights
  • Fitness
  • Food News
  • Funny Videos
  • Georgia Eats
  • Georgia Southern
  • Georgia Swarm
  • Georgia Travels
  • Georgia's Greatest
  • Gossip
  • GT
  • High School Sports
  • Holiday
  • International
  • Interviews
  • Jobs
  • Kennesaw
  • Lifestyle
  • List
  • Local
  • Meet & Greets
  • Money
  • Movies
  • Music
  • Music Interview
  • Music News
  • Music Videos
  • Must Read
  • National
  • New Developments
  • News
  • Outdoors
  • Peaches Of The Week
  • Performances
  • Philanthropy
  • Photos
  • Politics
  • Reviews
  • Singles
  • Sneakers
  • Social Media
  • Sports
  • Stories
  • Swimming
  • Technology
  • Things To Do
  • Travel
  • TV
  • UGA
  • Uncategorized
  • Video Games
  • Videos
  • Waffle House News
  • weather

BROWSE BY TOPICS

2 Chainz Alpharetta art AT&T athens atlanta Atlanta Braves atlanta falcons atlanta hawks Atlanta Motor Speedway Atlantic Station Basketball BB&T Atlanta Open big boi Braves buckhead casting call Christmas Drake falcons feature Food football future georgia georgia southern georgia state georgia tech Golf Gucci Mane hawks hooters Isaiah Smart marvel Music NASCAR news savannah Sports Super Bowl tennis ti travel uga young jeezy
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Contact

© 2021 GAFollowers - Everything Georgia

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Politics
  • News
  • Business
  • Culture
  • National
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Opinion

© 2021 GAFollowers - Everything Georgia

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
 

Loading Comments...