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Jerry Rice chooses AJ Green over Julio . Also says Julio needs to stop the drops


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"I would have to say A.J. Green because the guy, he makes plays. He makes plays and he doesn’t drop the ball as much and that’s part of Jones, what he’s going to have to work on. Julio Jones, he’s going to have to work on catching the football. So, maybe right now he’s that young pup right now, but once you get to that level, that next level, teams are not going to afford to let you drop footballs.

"That was something that Bill Walsh would always preach: 'If you drop footballs you’re not going to be with the San Francisco 49ers.' So, he’s very talented, but I think that phase of the game he’s going to have to work on. But Green right now, he gets the thumbs up right here."

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Long time UGA faithful here.. I couldn't disagree more.

I've had the pleasure of watching both AJ and JJ throughout their college careers, and as much as I hate to say it.. if I had to chose between the two, I would take JJ all day long.

His physique is a much better fit for the Falcons offense. His work ethic and his blocking ability alone are leaps and bounds above AJ.

I <3 AJ to death, and loved every single minute he played for UGA. I wouldn't have been upset at all if the Falcons took him, but I'm honestly glad we ended up with JJ instead.

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Jerry is probably recalling the fact that he, himself, had issues with dropping passes when he came into the NFL. He also had a problem with dropping passes when Young took over as QB.

He knows how important it is to overcome those drops, because he dealt with it himself, first when moving from College to the Pros and then when moving from one QB to the other.

He did overcome it.

As did Roddy.

As will Julio.

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Even the great Jerry Rice had problems with dropped passes while transitioning to the NFL from college.

I had forgotten, also, that Rice suffered a string of drops while transitioning from Joe Montana to Steve Young as his full-time quarterback with the San Francisco 49ers.

Rice worked through those issues, of course, on his way to becoming arguably the greatest player in NFL history.

The perspective came in handy when running across Rice's analysis of A.J. Green and Julio Jones, the two highest-rated receivers in the 2011 NFL draft. Jones is seen more as a likely Top 10 or Top 15 prospect -- and a potential candidate for the St. Louis Rams with the 14th overall choice.

Rice, speaking recently on Sirius radio, pointed to Green's superior hands in explaining why he would favor the Georgia receiver to Jones, his Alabama counterpart. Rice's full comments, when asked which college wideout he would select first between the two:

"I would have to say A.J. Green because the guy, he makes plays. He makes plays and he doesn’t drop the ball as much and that’s part of Jones, what he’s going to have to work on. Julio Jones, he’s going to have to work on catching the football. So, maybe right now he’s that young pup right now, but once you get to that level, that next level, teams are not going to afford to let you drop footballs.

"That was something that Bill Walsh would always preach: 'If you drop footballs you’re not going to be with the San Francisco 49ers.' So, he’s very talented, but I think that phase of the game he’s going to have to work on. But Green right now, he gets the thumbs up right here."

I checked to see whether ESPN Stats & Information had logged dropped passes for college receivers this season. There were numbers for Jones because he played for a Top 25 program. There were no numbers for Green.

The chart compares Jones' numbers for targets, receptions and dropped passes against numbers for leading receivers in the NFC West this past season. The chart shows percentage of targets resulting in dropped passes, without knowing the quality of those targets. I've sorted the chart by most receptions per dropped pass.

Jones had more drops than any receiver on the list and the second-highest drop percentage, but his catch-to-drop ratio wasn't out of line.

linkage

hmmm well if rice was able to fix the problem maybe julio can too.

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AJ may be a better WR out of college but Julio is the better athlete. Julio will have more immediate success because he doesn't have to play for the Browns or Bengals.

By the way, it's hard to argues against TD a GM that has been selected GM of the year 2 out of his first 3 seasons, by his peers in the NFL over any idiot that posts on a message board. (myself included since I do post on a MB)

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I remember the year that Jerry came into the NFL....He dropped a lot of balls. I like Jerry, but he can be a bit pompus at times. Here is what he really meant to say:

"Julio Jones has outstanding potential! It's too early to tell which of the two will standout. However, Julio has to concentrate on catching the ball. I know this because my rookie campaign in the NFL....I dropped a lot of passes. I thought I'd be benched, but I came around. Julio reminds me a lot of myself in that regard."

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Guest Gritz

If it looks, smells and sounds like trolling, then........ :rolleyes:

I don't think it's trolling but it doesn't really make too much sense in the great scheme of things.....

Jerry Rice isn't a receivers coach anywhere in the NFL. His comment is Exhibit A as to why it's extremely rare for a Hall of Fame-type former player to transition to a good head or even good position coach....They simply can't understand why their players can't reproduce the same results they did on the field...

Heck, there might even be a tinge of regret or wistfulness in Rice's comment that his playing days are over and that these guys (Green, Jones) are just starting their respective NFL careers. Who knows? No one yet has provided the context or setting in which Rice made this comment.

I always take anything any former player says about a current player with a huge grain of salt. Fran Tarkenton sounds like Clint Eastwood from Gran Torino half the time.....he's so embittered and jaded.

Besides, as many other posters above me have already stated Rice had a pretty significant problem with drops when he first came into the league and it briefly resurfaced when Young took the helm as starting QB for the Niners.

I like who we have in Julio....If others want to miss the ride his career as a Falcon is going to provide then that's their loss.

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