INDIANAPOLIS -- The second touchdown of Julio Jones' NFL career was pretty. The first was pretty incredible. Or words to that effect.
"Unbelievable" was the adjective of choice for both quarterback Matt Ryan and center Todd McClure. Tight end Tony Gonzalez settled, a bit more simply, for "great." And with that, the parlor game of who could gush more over the Falcons' rookie receiver was in full swing.
Said Thomas Dimitroff, the general manager who traded up 21 spots to draft Jones: "Julio does, in fact, make us a better football team."
Said Mike Smith, the head coach: "We know the skill-set he has ... He's going to be and is an integral part of our offense."
About here, someone thought to ask Julio Jones if he was amazed by Julio Jones' performance here Sunday. "I don't amaze myself," he said. "I kind of expect that."
He'd missed the past two games with a tender hamstring. He made up for lost time with two first-half catches, each breathtaking. The first involved Jones shouldering his way through two Colts defenders to make a diving catch of a 50-yard Ryan rainbow in the end zone, a play so outrageous the on-field officials didn't believe it could possibly be a catch. But Jones knew all along.
"I had my hands underneath the ball," he said, and replay seconded the emotion. When the ruling was announced, the Falcons' receivers did a little dance. This prompted their coach to tell them to save such choreography for the sideline.
Said Smith: "You can't have a group celebration on the field."
Said Jones: "He kind of got onto us a little bit."
Soon Jones was in the end zone again, this time arriving on his feet. He took a 10-yard slant from Ryan and turned it into an 80-yard pull-away-from-everyone touchdown that had Smith yakking afterward about "YAC yards" -- meaning yards after a catch.
Of the first touchdown, Jones said: "Matt put it up and let me be an athlete." Of the second: "We knew we could hit those guys -- they play a lot of Cover 2."
Said Gonzalez: "You can just throw the ball up in the air and he'll go make a play. If you throw it to him short ... you're not going to catch him from behind. I've said from the beginning he is the most talented rookie I've ever seen. The future is so bright for him. I think he can be one of the best receivers if not the best receiver in the league once he puts it all together."
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