Can someone post the KC Joyner article on Julio Jones?

[CBAreject]

Many thanks!

[coachx]

Here is one that came out yesterday by Albert Breer. I bet its better then the crap in "insider."

http://life.atlantafalcons.com/topic/3920272-no-regrets-falcons-comfortable-with-trade-up-for-jones/

Here is my favorite part of the article:

In fact, in one pre-draft meeting with Jones, offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey played some tape and asked him about his willingness to crack back on a defensive back. Jones responded: "Not only will I crack back, I'll kill this DB." That, to Mularkey and receivers coach Terry Robiskie, was all they needed to hear, not only showing Jones' competitiveness and team ethos, but also beliefs that aligned with their own.

The exhaustive work of Dimitroff's trusted personnel directors -- Les Snead, Lionel Vital and David Caldwell -- and coaches got them there, where the consideration of moving up was in play. But they needed Jones, as a person, to put them over the top. And Jones did that.

"We were comfortable with the combination of skill, big-play ability, size, and speed, but we also talked about how he'd fit in, given his stature, aggressive style, that he played in a very successful program under arguably the best coaches," Dimitroff said. "And a comment that Nick Saban made to me stuck. He said, 'This player, unlike any other player I've had, is not easily affected.'

"What that means is he will not be enthralled with coming to the NFL, or moved by the idea that he's coming in after we traded up. That was very important."

[WraithSentinel]

I am not sure if this is the article you are talking about. It was posted by someone on the Falcons board.

credit:

http://life.atlantafalcons.com/topic/3920253-atlantas-smart-deal-for-julio-jones/page__view__findpost__p__6118387

Atlanta's smart deal for Julio Jones

Mac or PC? That simple-sounding decision is one that has perplexed electronics consumers for over 30 years.

PC proponents say Apple products are overpriced and an informed customer can get more bang for their buck from a Windows-based computer. Mac enthusiasts counter by noting how the effective integration of Apple components, a more intuitive interface and a better operating system make the Mac computing experience much more enjoyable and worth the extra dollars.

A similar type of argument about cost-effectiveness was bantered about last week when the Atlanta Falcons traded five draft picks for the No. 6 slot in the 2011 NFL draft and selected Alabama wide receiver Julio Jones.

Much of the football world has weighed in against this move because they think Atlanta paid far too big a price for Jones. Even Roddy White, the Falcons No. 1 wideout and the person who might benefit most from this acquisition, seemed to land on this side of the discussion with his Twitter comments made shortly after the pick was announced.

The issue in adopting this mindset is that it uses the PC argument: Initial cost is paramount. And while that may seem sensible at first glance, a closer review of many of the 2010 metrics for both Jones and the Falcons show why this trade was more than worth the high cost.

It all boils down to correcting the one huge weakness on the Atlanta offense: short pass productivity.

The Falcons were atrocious across the board in this area last year. Matt Ryan placed tied for 27th in short pass yards per attempt (YPA) with a 5.7 mark and his 4.3 total in SYPA (a metric that combines YPA with success percentage) was tied for 25th.

Atlanta's wideouts were equally mediocre. Michael Jenkins (5.9 short pass YPA), White (5.9) and Harry Douglas (5.8) all posted numbers that ranked them in the bottom half of the league in this metric. Tony Gonzalez fared even worse, as his 5.0 short pass YPA ranked as the eighth-lowest total among tight ends.

The overall numbers are bad enough, but it is actually hard to find a single type of short pass that the Falcons fared well on.

For example, Atlanta gained only 98 yards on 24 screen passes last year, or a meager 4.1 YPA.

Their wideouts were particularly poor in this area. Check out the screen pass figures for the aforementioned three Falcons wideouts:

Jenkins: 1 for 2 for -1 yards

Douglas: 1 for 1 for 19 yards

White: 7 for 9 for 19 yards

Add them up and its 9 for 12 for 37 yards, or 3.1 YPA.

These guys didn't do any better when they were asked to make plays on the smoke pass. A smoke pass occurs most often when a cornerback is playing at least seven yards away from the wide receiver. The receiver takes one step forward at the snap, at which point the quarterback throws him the football. This is often a very effective route because the large coverage cushion gives the wideout an opportunity to use his moves in space.

That was not the case for Atlanta last year. The Falcons tried only five of these throws and completed four for a mere seven yards. This just emphasizes how much the Atlanta offense lacked someone who could turn a short pass into a solid gain.

A 10-game sample (versus Penn State, at Duke, at Arkansas, versus Florida, at South Carolina, versus Mississippi, at Tennessee, at LSU, versus Mississippi State, versus Auburn and versus Michigan State) of Jones' 2010 numbers strongly indicates he could provide immediate help for this problem.

His 15 for 16 for 160 yards performance on screen passes (including seven gains of 10 or more yards) goes far in illustrating his explosiveness, but Jones also fared well on slant routes (5 for 7 for 53 yards), short crossing routes (6 for 8 for 68 yards) and smoke routes (2 for 3 for 20 yards). Another item of note: Jones' 8.1 short pass YPA was two yards better than No. 4 overall draft pick A.J. Green.

The addition of Jones should also help reduce White's 174-target volume (the most targets in the NFL last year). Atlanta's brain trust almost certainly realizes that at 6-feet, 212 pounds, White is in bottom-half of league in height for No. 1 wideouts and smack in the middle in weight, and therefore not the best candidate for a league-leading target volume. Adding a short-pass specialist like Jones to the mix should allow the Falcons to drop 20-25 targets a season out of White's total and keep their No. 1 wideout healthier over the long term.

Improving the short passing game could also open up the vertical section of the playbook. This was definitely a problem for Atlanta last year, as no 16-game starting quarterback last season had fewer stretch vertical passes (aerials thrown 20 or more yards downfield) than Ryan (37).

Finding a player capable of filling a need role this well is a rarity, but it is doubly so for a team that is already a strong Super Bowl contender. Atlanta may have paid a premium for Jones, but if his talents transfer to the pro game as well as it looks like they could, those five draft picks may end up netting the Falcons a Vince Lombardi Trophy.

[CBAreject]

Awesome guys. Thanks so much. Joyner's article was actually very interesting. Great statistical analysis of how Jones could help the team. I was just thinking "a burner to pair with White and stretch the field". I never considered the short passing aspect. I wonder if the fact that they couldn't stretch the field allowed DB's and LB's to play closer to the line and stop short routes before any YAC. If that's the case, those same players could play up on the line and stop the running game the same way. We obviously did well in the running game regardless, but our YPC was down from Turner's first year.