Much like when he’s running pass routes, Falcons All-Pro wide receiver Julio Jones is meticulous about developing his golf swing.
Over the past year, since he’s been going to a popular driving range and entertainment complex, he’s been receiving tips on how to hit the ball.
His swing is still a work in progress, but he can strike it pretty good.
On a recent summer evening, Jones and Mohamed Sanu arrived at a local practice facility together. Eight of the Falcons receivers from Jones down to Jordan Leslie gathered for an evening golf, food and fun. It would be one of Leslie’s last functions with the team — he was subsequently waived — and for Jones, Sanu, Justin Hardy, Aldrick Robinson and Eric Weems, the night provided one last chance to relax before the regular season starts.
“It definitely builds camaraderie and brings us closer,” Jones said. “It’s just a fun night outside of football. We’re happy to be together.”
Falcons assistant head coach/wide receivers Raheem Morris likes such the gatherings.
“We’re talking dinners, golf, going out together, they’ve been bowling and they watched the whole NBA Finals together,” Morris said. “You can’t say enough about the brotherhood that these guys are forming.”
With long-time staple Roddy White no longer with the team, Jones has ascended to the top leadership post and while he’s not a rah-rah type, he developing his own style.
“I try to do things like this, even for away games, if it’s just taking the guys out to eat,” Jones said. “The more time you spend around each other, the more respect that you’re going to have for each other and the harder you are going to play for each other.”
Jones is coming off a monster season when he tied for the NFL lead with 136 catches with Pittsburgh’s Antonio Brown. He led the league in yards receiving with 1,871 yards and eight touchdowns.
He was listed on several top 10 lists as one of the best players in the league. After last season, reaching 2,000 yards receiving seems attainable. But through all the talk about being perhaps the league’s top player, Jones has remained humble.
“I appreciate everything and the people speaking highly about me. But at the end of the day, I have to still go out there and put that work in,” Jones said. “You can’t get complacent. That comes with it. When you are doing something great, people are going to let you know that you’re doing something great.”
Jones attributes his work ethic and humbleness to his mother, Queen Marvin.
“That’s straight from my mom,” Jones said. “It’s just being as humble as I am. But it’s just me. It’s not like I’m putting on airs or doing this or doing that. This is really me.
“This is what I do. … I don’t care for the stats, but there were some greats before me and there are going to be greats after me. Just having your named mentioned in the same sentence as those guys, it’s a blessing in itself.”
It is that work ethic and humbleness that drive him to strive for perfection. Like with his golf swing, Jones believes there is always work to be done on the football field.
“I just continue to try to get better and never settle,” Jones said. “Every year, I just try to outdo myself and be the best teammate that I can possibly be. Not only just for me, but for the guys I’m playing golf with.
“I want to show these guys I work hard and (have) the success I have. But at the same time, I can be detached. You can always have fun. You never can make it too serious and get away from having fun.”
Sanu and Leslie are at home in the hitting bay. While Hardy is working on his swing, golf appears to be a new concept for Weems. Robinson and undrafted rookie J.D. McKissic, who nearly made the team, have decent swings, too.
“You have to have fun, the whole kid thing and having success is having fun,” Jones said. “You must have that time where you detach.”
When Jones likes to “detach,” he’ll go fishing on Lake Lanier.
While Jones helped the Falcons reach the playoffs in 2011 and 2012, he played only five games in 2013 before having foot surgery. Even with team was going through 6-10 and 8-8 seasons, Jones has continued to develop the last two seasons.
“It’s been tough, but it comes with it,” Jones said of the losing. “That defines who you are. You have to go through the tough parts. You can give up or you can keep battling.”
Jones, an All-American at Alabama, has enjoyed success at all levels of football. But last season was a new challenge as a promising 5-0 start turned into a 8-8 flame-out.
“I just feel like the communications wasn’t there,” Jones said. “We are doing a way, way better job with the communications. It was our first time with the offense. It was Dan Quinn’s first time as a head coach. It was a lot of things that we were putting in place.”
Jones believes the Falcons are ready for a breakthrough in 2016.
“I feel like we have the talent, we have the coaching staff there to get something done, get back to doing what we do and that’s winning ball games,” Jones said. “All of the games, we were always in them, but we just couldn’t finish.”
The Falcons, 1-5 against the NFC South last season, know any resurgence must start with better divisional play. They face three divisional games in the first quarter of the season.
“There are ups and downs to every organization,” Jones said. “Unfortunately, the last couple of years, we’ve been on the wrong side of it, especially in the division. We have to own our division.”
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