The good news is that Deion Jones was not damaged on re-entry.
He wasn’t certain how he would feel after his high-leaping end-zone interception Dec. 7, the one that nailed down the Falcons important victory over New Orleans and was punctuated by Jones taking a long, hard fall on his back.
Jones won the game, but did not stick the landing, a victim of his own propulsion.
He feared a lingering soreness, but was happily surprised at the beginning of a new work week when he could report, “Not bad at all. I thought it would be worse than this.” Being 23 is a wonderful thing.
That play against the Saints – it seems Jones always commits something outrageous against his old hometown team (like a 90-yard pick-six a season ago) – encapsulated all the abilities that have made him vital in the middle of the Falcons’ defense. The instinct. The speed and agility to handle man-to-man coverage (in this case Justin Hill of the Saints). The ups to beat a 6-foot-5 tight end to the ball. The instincts to know that he was a marked man on that play and to react accordingly.
It was one of those plays that leaves even those who occupy the same athletic penthouse as he in a state of wonderment.
“A top-five catch,” a smiling Falcons running back Devonta Freeman said. “In a clutch moment against Drew Brees, definitely top-five.”
“It was amazing,” safety Ricardo Allen said. “It’s a play he makes all the time, but it takes a certain type of athlete to be able to make that play.”
Jones’ folks borrowed his first name from another rather dynamic defender with service time in Atlanta, Deion Sanders.
His nickname – Debo – is a splicing of two of his favorite athletic icons, Sanders and Bo Jackson. So, he doesn’t much believe in attaching himself to laggards.
Which explained the undershirt he was wearing around the Falcons’ locker room Monday that was a riff of an old Bo Jackson ad campaign reading, “Debo Knows.”
Prompting the follow-up: What exactly does Debo know?
“I’m trying to figure that out,” he said, light-heartedly.
Figuring out stuff was pretty much a job description last season, when after Jones was taken in the 2016 draft’s second round, he was tossed directly into the dust devil that is Dan Quinn’s defense. That Jones fits the template of the kind of hot-pursuit defender that Quinn covets was obvious. Jones has fierce speed. Directing that while occupying the heart of the Falcons’ defense was the challenge. As befitting a man of his position, Jones tied for the team lead in tackles his rookie season and led the Falcons with interceptions (three, two of them for touchdowns). And he is defending both team titles thus far in 2017.
If he’s going to be out there for 96.3 percent of the defensive snaps – his number thus far this season – best that Jones is able to perform multiple tasks, as dictated by down and distance. Not that Jones is one of those jealous sorts who has to be dragged off the field. Time to demonstrate that he’ll carry the Falcons brotherhood banner as high as anyone. Just listen: “There are a lot of guys who earned their opportunities to get some plays on game day. When I get a little breather, I appreciate it. I trust the guy who’s coming in behind me. I know he’s going to get it right.”
If Jones carried off this versatility thing away from football like he does on the field, we’d be talking now about a guy who could sing lead in Barber of Seville while simultaneously knitting a cardigan and mixing the perfect dirty martini.
As it is, he figures he can cook a little (a New Orleans birthright).
Can fish like an osprey. And bowl way better than average if he ever had the time to really work on the craft. The first-time father of a 6-month-old daughter claims to be the Muhammad Ali of diaper-changing.
“I’ve been changing diapers for a long time. I have a little cousin. My little sister is 13 years younger. I’ve been there. It’s easy,” he said with supreme confidence.
Nothing too exotic or hip, befitting Jones’ general outlook. “I’m an old soul. I get that a good bit,” he said.
Back to the field of play, Jones has been further diversifying. Shown to require work on bringing down his quarry – at 6-1, 227 or so, Jones is not the burliest to play this position – his tackling efficiency number against the run has improved nearly threefold from a year ago. That for all you fans of tackling efficiency numbers.
A lot of the other things come somewhat naturally. While in high school, Jones – who stunningly was but a three-star recruit at Jesuit High in New Orleans – would see time on offense, split wide. “When we needed a big play,” said Jesuit coach Mark Songy, the radio guy for selected games when Jones played there, “we’d toss it up to him and let his athletic ability do the rest.”
Falcons defensive coordinator Marquand Manuel is the current beneficiary of an athletic menu that rivals TGI Fridays in breadth.
“(Jones) gives you the ability to pressure or play man-to-man. He can cover a wide receiver down the middle of the field. He can do multiple things. The thing that a lot of people don’t give him credit for is his intensity on how he plays down-in and down-out. He gives you a lot of flexibility, man.”
Allen regularly hears the confidence that Jones has in his coverage skills as the defense sizes up a formation and teammates begin barking out observations before a play.
“We’re saying, ‘We got speed at 3’, meaning a speed wide receiver at the 3 spot,” Allen said, referring to a player Jones may be called to cover.
“And he always says, ‘I got speed at Mike.’” As in middle linebacker. As in himself.
“He’s not scared to run with any of those dudes. He knows he’s fast enough, big enough, strong enough to get on anything,” Allen said.
Thus, it came as no surprise to Allen that Jones closed out the Falcons’ previous game with the kind of interception that will be a personal highlight for as long as he wears this breed of bird on his helmet.
“We try that play against him all the time (in practice), but it never works,” Allen said. “People have thrown that route on him all the time, and it never works.”
Might want to whisper that fact here in mid-December. Why discourage those wanting to further test Jones? There are some more important games to play, including an encore with New Orleans following Monday night’s trip to Tampa Bay.
About the Author
