As far as Julio Jones is concerned, Bucs coach Dirk Koetter can call in the National Guard.
Koetter can put 10 players on Jones, as he jokingly suggested earlier in the week.
He can bring John Lynch out of retirement from his office as San Francisco’s general manager.
But that’s not going to stop Jones, who caught 12 passes for 253 yards and two touchdowns in the Falcons’ 34-20 win over the Bucs on Nov. 26 in Atlanta.
“Ten, whew,” Jones said Friday. “All man, Dirk. He’s a great head coach. He was a great offensive coordinator here. But I doubt, I highly doubt that he’s going to put 10 guys on me.”
The Falcons (8-5) are set to face the Bucs (4-9) at 8:30 p.m. Monday at Raymond James Stadium.
Mohamed Sanu would like to see 10 players on Jones.
“If they have 10 on Julio, that means they have one to cover the other 10,” Sanu said. “That might leave me open.”
Sanu knows that Jones normally draws a crowd.
“When Julio is out there, you just go and do your part,” said Sanu, who has 54 catches for 578 yards and a team-leading five touchdowns.
On the season, Jones has 73 catches for 1,161 yards and three touchdowns.
Jones doesn’t expect to be left in single coverage for most of the game, as in the previous outing. Mike Smith, a former Falcons head coach, is Tampa Bay’s defensive coordinator.
“I don’t know what Smitty is going to do as far as the defensive coordinator,” Jones said. “I don’t know if they are going to play a lot of two-man or two-Tampa. We’ll just see when we get to game time.”
Tampa Bay could try to match cornerback Brent Grimes on Jones. Also, safety T.J. Ward was cleared from the NFL concussion protocol and he could help over the top of Jones.
“You have to change,” Jones said. “We just took advantage of some looks they gave us the last time that we played them. It worked out in our favor. We don’t know what they are going to do this time, but I’m looking forward to battling.”
The Falcons must make in-game adjustments to counter Smith’s new plan for Jones.
“We have been doing it for a while now,” Jones said. “(Offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian), everybody, we’ve got everything for everything. Man to man, two-man, Tampa-2 or whatever. We just can’t get tricked. That’s the thing.”
Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan has to be on point. He had three interceptions against the Saints and two were on passes he forced to Jones.
“We are not going to force balls or anything,” Jones said. “If they are going to try to take me away, we have a lot of guys on the team that can make plays.”
Falcons tight end Levine Toilolo is ready to do his part if the Bucs leave him open.
“Obviously, Julio is a great player,” Toilolo said. “A lot of teams try different ways to try and slow him down and that leaves opportunities for the rest of the playmakers on this team to do something. We have plenty of those, our running backs, our wide receivers and tight ends.”
Toilolo has 12 catches for 122 yards and one touchdown. He won’t be a high priority for Tampa Bay, but can cause damage if left alone.
“Sometimes, the tight ends get lost in the vision and all of the commotion and come out open,” Toilolo said. “Anytime that you get an opportunity, you want to be ready. That’s the whole point of working so hard throughout the week. You want to be ready when your number is called.”
Falcons coach Dan Quinn knows the Bucs are plotting for Jones.
“That’s part of the unique part of having Julio here,” Quinn said. “There are some games when certain coverages go certain ways and other games, it’s real normal and regular.
“We are always mindful of that in terms of how people want to try and defend him. When that happens we have to be ready to attack in other ways as well.”
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