If you’re old enough to remember, you know that “Tom and Jerry” made for great TV back in the day, and Julio Jones and Richard Sherman will give you a chance to see some of that again Saturday in the Georgia Dome, or on TV.
There figures to be quite a cat-and-mouse game as Jones, the Falcons’ All-Pro wide receiver, and Sherman, Seattle’s three-time first-team, All-Pro cornerback go at it, and the Seahawks try to figure out how to cover Jones.
It’ll be no cartoon; we’re talking about one of the very best wideouts in the NFL — maybe No. 1 — going against one of the best cornerbacks.
Jones acts like it’s not a big deal.
“He’s very competitive. He’s a long, rangy corner … ” he said of the 6-foot-3, 205-pound Sherman. “It’s going to be fun, just the matchup going up against each other. … I don’t have any grudges against Sherman or nothing like that.”
What makes this more interesting is the fact that Sherman typically stays on the left side of Seattle’s defense, but Saturday he’ll frequently shadow Jones out of Seattle’s respect.
Seattle did it that way often Oct. 16. That’s the day when Sherman was not called for an obvious pass interference late while defending Jones on a pass that would’ve put the Falcons in game-winning field-goal position — had a flag been thrown in a game that the Seahawks won 26-24.
Jones had a big day in the Pacific Northwest, catching seven passes for 139 yards, and a touchdown. Most of that, though, came when Sherman wasn’t covering him, and against zone coverages.
So does Seattle defensive coordinator Kris Richard deploy Sherman even more on Jones, or, perhaps for sake of not discombobulating the Seahawks’ overall, will he mix up his calls more than usual?
Matt Ryan doesn’t care.
“We’ve got confidence in (Jones), man-to-man coverage or zone coverage,” the Falcons quarterback said. “I mean, he’s going to make plays. That’s not something I worry too much about.”
Sherman covered Jones on 30 of 46 plays where the two were on the field at the same time when the teams played in October.
Ryan targeted Jones on five occasions against Sherman, and Jones caught three passes for 40 yards. He caught all four of his other targets for 99 yards, mostly against zones.
Jones claims he’s not worried about anything,
“It’s another game for me,” he said. “It’s not I want revenge or anything like that.”
Jones’ first catch with Sherman defending him came in the second quarter, an 11-yard curl, after beginning the play wide left (Seattle’s right). On the next play, he beat Sherman for a 14-yard reception on a slant over the middle from the left side.
Early in the third quarter, Sherman lined up in the slot across from Jones on the Falcons’ left side, but let him go into zone coverage, and Julio caught a 15-yard pass. Moments later, the Falcons beat the zone again, thanks to Jones.
Here’s a recap from Seattle Times Seahawks beat writer Bob Condotta:
“(Falcons) tight end Austin Hooper came in motion from the right of Atlanta’s formation to the left, and lined up outside of Jones,” Condotta wrote. “Sherman moved over to take Hooper, leaving Jones in the slot, initially covered by Kelcie McCray.
“Jones ran a few steps diagonally toward the sidelines and behind McCray, who appeared to think he had zone help behind him from (free safety) Earl Thomas. But Jones broke wide and Ryan drilled a throw there with Thomas barely getting there in time to tap Jones as he got into the end zone (for a 36-yard touchdown).”
Sherman threw a fit after that.
So, can the Falcons prompt the Seahawks into more zone defenses to get Jones the ball?
“You can do as much as you want, but when it’s all said and done it’s going to be some type of three-deep, four-under (coverage),” offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan said. “They can mix up those four underneath guys any way they want, whether they bring a safety into the hooks, or put a linebacker in the hooks.
“If not, it’s going to be zone, but there’s always going to be a player in the middle of the field.”
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