In recent years, the conversation about the top receiver in the NFL has settled on a couple of names: Antonio Brown and Julio Jones – with apologies to Odell Beckham – both of whom the Panthers will face at times this year, starting with facing Jones’ Falcons this Sunday in Atlanta. While much of the responsibility for covering Jones will likely fall on the Panthers’ #1 corner James Bradberry, stopping an elite receiver of this caliber is always going to be something of a team effort. With that in mind, what can the Panthers learn about handling Jones from how the Eagles attempted to keep him in check during their season-opening win?
The Underneath Stuff
Julio Jones is an unbelievable physical specimen, but short-area quickness isn’t the strength of his game and this is clear from how the Falcons use him; prioritizing deep route with a limited focus on short chain-movers. That being said, the Falcons do occasionally look to target Jones in the flat on quick-hitting throws, largely against man coverage:
Plays like this are hardly going to keep defensive coordinators up at night, as while you never want to give an opposing team yardage, if the biggest impact Jones makes on Sunday is a few short out routes, the Panthers’ secondary will likely see that as a sizable win. However, there is a teaching point here, as while the above play isn’t a significant concern the potential for yards after the catch is always going to be a concern for the Panthers, especially after what he did to them in 2016. The Falcons also know that they have a YAC weapon in Jones, and try to get him the ball in space where possible.
The following plays are nothing hugely complex offensively; the key for the Panthers is to stick to their assignments and make the tackles that are presented to them. On the following play, the Falcons try to run a screen to Jones on the near side, and while the Eagles are able to knock the ball down at the line, the way their corners deal with the screen is important to note:
Both of the outside corners look to get outside leverage on their respective blockers, forcing Jones back inside to the tackler and defensive pursuit. However, the Eagles do a far worse job of dealing with the following reverse:
Firstly, the edge defender who is meant to be responsible for outside contain gets drawn in by the run fake and then, once Jones has beaten him to the edge, the pursuit safety take a poor angle to the ball and, rather than forcing Jones back into the help defense, Jones is able to bounce the ball outside for a first down. For the Panthers on Sunday, sticking to their gap responsibilities is going to be important as always, but Jones’s ability in the open field will mean that that applies to screens as much as the running game. Where Jones is really dangerous, however, is further down the field.
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