Ryan and Jones: The Falcons’ $175 million passing connection

As air connections go, this one is pricey: $175 million. But it is a fare the Falcons are willing to pay in hopes of transporting the franchise back to NFL respectability.

The Falcons hitched their aspirations to quarterback Matt Ryan, who signed a $103.75 million deal in July 2013, and wide receiver Julio Jones, who signed a $71.25 million deal last month, for the foreseeable future.

The passing combination has the potential to be one of the most lethal duos in the NFL.

“It was pretty lethal a couple of years ago,” ESPN analyst Jon Gruden said. “They proved that.”

With Ryan passing to Jones for 1,198 yards and 10 touchdowns, the 2012 Falcons were on the verge of a Super Bowl berth. Things just haven’t been the same since the defense’s second-half collapse in that NFC Championship game loss to San Francisco.

In 2013, Jones was injured while the Falcons went 4-12.

Last season, Jones caught 104 passes for 1,593 yards and six touchdowns, but the Falcons went nowhere with the worst defense in the league.

“Julio Jones is one of the top three or four receivers in the game,” Gruden said. But the past two seasons have made it clear that Ryan and Jones need some help.

Gruden closely watched the Falcons during the exhibition season and he didn’t see a commitment to the rushing attack. He also found the offensive line play abhorrent.

“Their offensive line right now has a lot to prove,” Gruden said. “It will be interesting to see. … If they can pass block, run block and run the ball, Matt Ryan and these receivers can rip you. They are very talented.”

Offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, who had a strong quarterback-wide receiver tandem in Houston in 2006-09 with Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson, will move Jones around so that it will be more difficult for defenses to find him.

“He’s obviously very creative,” Gruden said. “He’s got great football genes. He’s had a lot of different kinds of experiences.”

After stops in Washington and Cleveland, Shanahan is trying to make the Atlanta duo as potent as former offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter did.

“I’m sure he’s excited to showcase what he can do with Matt Ryan,” Gruden said. “A veteran quarterback who can really handle the pocket.”

Jones and Ryan put on a mini-clinic in the first exhibition game, Jones catching four passes for 61 yards and a touchdown in the lone first-team possession. Jones then essentially had the rest of the exhibition season off. They both started in the finale, but came off the field after one play.

Jones was not too worried over the offense’s poor showing against Miami in the third exhibition game, a flat 13-9 loss.

“I mean, it’s football. Things might go wrong,” Jones said. “We’ll see how we’re going to react to it and what kind of ballclub we have here.”

Jones, who has already risen to 10th in the franchise’s touchdown passes list (26) in just 48 starts, believes that he and Ryan can get better in the red zone.

“We’ve just got to lean on our running game early on,” Jones said. “Our offensive line and our running game is a lot better. We just have to take our chances, too. When they cheat (against the run), we are going to take advantage of it.”

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And the new big contract? Jones doesn’t plan to play any differently.

“I don’t wrap my head around that,” Jones said. “I don’t use that to get me going and put a pep in my step, to say, ‘Oh, yeah, they want me to be a Falcon for the rest of my career, so let me do something else.’ Obviously, I would be cheating myself. So every day I challenge myself to get better.”

He still believes he has room to grow.

“My thing is this is a new offense and (I’m) just being comfortable with everything,” Jones said. “Knowing the timing of the plays and what I can and cannot do on the route to get separation. Some routes, I can double guys up and sometimes, I need straight-up speed to beat them and get where I need to be. It’s all in the timing of the play. Those are little things I need to work on.”

Jones is also looking forward to moving around the formations.

“Kyle challenges us as well and he is very precise with the depth and the alignment,” Jones said. “That comes with film study and just getting in your playbook.”

Ryan posted five straight winning seasons right out of Boston College and had the Falcons on the verge of a Super Bowl trip. But since signing his big contract, the Falcons have gone 10-22 over the past two seasons.

Ryan knows that he and Jones are being counted on to turn things around.

“I think we’re on the right track,” Ryan said.

New coach Dan Quinn did not need much time to be impressed with Ryan.

“Man, is this guy a tough competitor,” Quinn said. “He just won’t back down and he likes a challenge.

“He likes to keep pressing and finding new ways to (compete.) That’s probably the thing that I didn’t know the most about him, that I probably respect the most. But I didn’t know that coming in.”