Here’s what Falcons All-Pro wide receiver Julio Jones had to say after catching 12 passes for 300 yards and a touchdown in the 48-33 victory over Carolina on Sunday:
On the success in the passing game today:
“It feels great. We are hitting on all cylinders as far as the passing game because we had a great week last week in the run game. Carolina figured they were going to come out here and stop the run game and they tried to do that. They left me one on one out there and we made some explosive plays down the field.”
On whether being wide open surprised him:
“It did. Especially against a divisional opponent to play one on one on me. We took advantage of it today and we had some explosive plays.”
On whether 300 yards was part of envisioning a perfect game:
“It’s not about the 300 yards. The offensive line did a great job for us today. Matt [Ryan] delivered some great balls today. What my team needed of me today was beat man-to-man coverage and I did that.”
On being a part one of the few wide receivers to go for 300 yards:
“It feels great to be mentioned with some of the best to accomplish 300 yards, but it was just what my team needed of me today. I couldn’t have the success today if it wasn’t for them doing their job on the same play.”
On the confidence generated from the offense’s production vs. Carolina:
“Week in and week out, whether it’s in the run game or the pass game today was my day. Next game it might be [Mohamed] Sanu making plays, [Justin] Hardy, or [Taylor] Gabriel. Who knows. We all have to be ready, step up to the challenge and beat one on one.”
On scoring at will offensively:
“We just took advantage of the man to man to make explosive plays. We got down there in the red zone and capitalized. You can flip the field so much with one explosive play and they were giving them up to us today because they were playing a lot of one on one.”
On assessing the team’s play one quarter through the season:
“We did pretty good the first quarter. Still a lot of improvement we have to do, but it comes with practice. Repetition is the key. We’ve got to keep practicing, getting better and playing for each other.”
On when he knew he was in-sync with Matt Ryan:
“We are always in-sync. People can’t see it, but we always are in-sync. When people are putting two or three guys on me, I’m doing my job by pulling people away from other guys to get single coverage. Those guys are stepping up and making plays for us and also in the run game. That’s just a part of brotherhood. People can’t see that. I don’t have to get the ball to go out there and be successful and win. My key is to win and that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to go out there and win games.”
On what this win says about the team:
“It doesn’t matter what the score is. We’re going to go out there and play for each other. It doesn’t matter if they are up 20 points, if we’re down or whatever it is. We’re still going to take it one play at a time and play for four quarters. That’s what we’re going to do here. We’re going to finish and play for each other.”
On whether this year feels better than last year:
“We were on the verge last year of getting to this point. It’s a lot tighter now. We play for each other and love one another. It’s tighter as a football team and players to coaches and whatnot.”
On whether they wanted to exploit the Panthers’ secondary:
“They put the young corner on me man-to-man. If they would’ve put two men on me or cheated a safety over Matt would’ve made great reads and hit the other guys that were open. They singled me out today and Matt made some great decisions today.”
On whether it’s the last time he’ll see man-to-man coverage:
“We’ll see. You never know what defensive coordinators have in store. It’s game plan and in-game adjustments so you never know what you’re going to get. You’ve got to be ready for any and everything. That’s why I prepare and we prepare a certain way. If I don’t get the ball in the game, it doesn’t matter as long as we’re winning and having success. That’s the fun thing about it.”
On if he’d be fine with one-on-one coverage:
“I love it.”
On being recognized during the game for his milestone:
“None of that could be possible without those guys. I was just trying to let it be known. My offensive line did a great job for us today creating clean pockets. Matt threw some great balls down the field for us.”
On how he feels in the spotlight:
“I’m not uncomfortable, but you’ve just got to let it be known. You can’t do this by yourself. You can play really well by yourself, but you can’t win and have success by yourself. It’s a team game and team effort. The way we practice and the way we love each other showed today.”
On Matt Ryan showcasing his arm today:
“Matt had a great day as well today. Hats off to Matt. I feel like all of us played really well today. We definitely can have some improvement and we’ve got to keep working.
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