Positional Flexibility And Julio Jones

[DoYouSeeWhatHappensLarry]

So rotoworld just published this little nugget:

http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nfl/6475/julio-jones

Julio Jones is practicing all over the formation at Falcons camp.

Whereas old Falcons OC Dirk Koetter aligned Julio almost strictly on the left side of the formation at X receiver, the X receiver position in new OC Kyle Shanahan typically moves around a ton in an effort to create favorable matchups. It's a position manned by Andre Johnson and Pierre Garcon on Shanahan's past teams. Without question, Julio will be a target vacuum this year. Aug 5 - 1:14 PM

Source: Vaughn McClure on Twitter

I think this is interesting because it dovetails very nicely with this article I read about the Packers the other day:

http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/173209/inside-slant-the-packers-secret-and-simple-formula-in-the-aaron-rodgers-era

It's a great read but I've highlighted a few interesting thigns here:

Interviews with Rodgers, his receivers and coach Mike McCarthy revealed an approach that values football intelligence and requires wideouts to learn all four positions (outside and slot on both sides). It throws added complexity to the defense while maintaining an intuitive sensibility for the receivers.

McCarthy teaches the Packers' passing offense based on concepts -- how a play is designed and why it is supposed to work -- rather than individual routes. Receivers are naturally exposed to every route assigned in a given play, and McCarthy wants them not just to understand each concept but to be prepared to execute any part of it in a game.

"If a receiver can't play all four positions, I struggle with that," McCarthy said. "It's such a prominent position today compared to 10-15 years ago, because you're playing every play with three and sometimes four on the field. You might have one great receiver, but if he can't line up in all four spots, he's easier to take away."

Nelson, for example, is built like a classic outside receiver at 6-foot-3 and 217 pounds. You might be surprised to know he has appeared in the slot on 622 plays over the past two seasons, about a third of his total snaps. Cobb, presumed to be an ideal slot receiver at 5-10 and with elite quickness, played about 20 percent of his snaps on the outside in 2014. Adams saw 43 snaps in the slot during the regular season, enough to be trusted there for that third-down catch against the Cowboys.

"You learn the concept as one, so we can interchange the formation," Cobb said. "We can move guys around the formation and run the same play but it looks different because maybe I'm lined up outside, and Jordy is maybe at [slot] and we have a tight end in between us, but it's still the same play."

[papachaz]

I'm out of likes for the day, so plus 1, thanks for posting that's interesting reading right there

[DoYouSeeWhatHappensLarry]

I think Dirk Koetter was a decent OC, but I could never shake the feeling of "slow and steady" with our offense. We knew what we liked to do and we did it reasonably well. So we did it over and over and over, stringing together long, 13+ play drives to score TDs.

In contrast, the Packers seemingly have an offensive system with a ton of flexibility and multi-level threats on every snap. I don't think theres any doubt that said system has yielded insane efficiency and has even made Matt Flynn and Scott Tolzien viable NFL QBs in a pinch.

My hope is that Kyle Shanahan does more of this. Move guys around. Find a matchup. Stop relying solely on talent. Stop making your WRs make difficult catches in big spots. Set them up for success.

[Sun Tzu 7]

That's all good and well but this should have been done the day Julio put on a Falcons uniform. Just another sign of how incompetent Mike Smith and company were.

They did do that but it was with Roddy because he could run every route in the book.

I can't blame them because it worked very well in 2012. Of course that was 2 seasons ago and Julio is a much better WR now.

[DoYouSeeWhatHappensLarry]

They did do that but it was with Roddy because he could run every route in the book.

I can't blame them because it worked very well in 2012. Of course that was 2 seasons ago and Julio is a much better WR now.

It just seems strange that we had three WRs with experience outside yet we didn't do nearly enough matchup making. I thought I read last year that Matt Ryan took like two snaps in 2013 with presnap motion. I mean WTF....mix it up a little.

[Sun Tzu 7]

It just seems strange that we had three WRs with experience outside yet we didn't do nearly enough matchup making. I thought I read last year that Matt Ryan took like two snaps in 2013 with presnap motion. I mean WTF....mix it up a little.

I don't know. If you look at Ryan's and Julio's numbers you would think they did something right with match-ups.

Situational play-calling is a different story.

There is such a thing as getting too cute and too fancy and let's be honest.... Julio is a mistmatch 99% of the time.

[papachaz]

I don't know. If you look at Ryan's and Julio's numbers you would think they did something right with match-ups.

Situational play-calling is a different story.

There is such a thing as getting too cute and too fancy and let's be honest.... Julio is a mistmatch 99% of the time.

he can even run a route and make a diving one handed catch with a broken screw in his foot..........

[DoYouSeeWhatHappensLarry]

I don't know. If you look at Ryan's and Julio's numbers you would think they did something right with match-ups.

Situational play-calling is a different story.

There is such a thing as getting too cute and too fancy and let's be honest.... Julio is a mistmatch 99% of the time.

But the numbers don't tell the whole story. He was certainly productive but IMO you should strive to be as productive as possible. Moving JJ around the formation could yield beneficial matchups....especially in that ~25 yard range into the redzone.

I don;'t think we should be just moving everyone around for the sake of doing it. It should be pointed. And though Julio is a tough/impossible cover for everyone, putting him at different spots in teh formation could yield better looks for the offense as a whole.

[I love Julio]

The more I read about the way our new coaching staff is approaching things, the more impressed I am. I am so excited for the coming season!

[falconidae]

I think Dirk Koetter was a decent OC, but I could never shake the feeling of "slow and steady" with our offense. We knew what we liked to do and we did it reasonably well. So we did it over and over and over, stringing together long, 13+ play drives to score TDs.

In contrast, the Packers seemingly have an offensive system with a ton of flexibility and multi-level threats on every snap. I don't think theres any doubt that said system has yielded insane efficiency and has even made Matt Flynn and Scott Tolzien viable NFL QBs in a pinch.

My hope is that Kyle Shanahan does more of this. Move guys around. Find a matchup. Stop relying solely on talent. Stop making your WRs make difficult catches in big spots. Set them up for success.

Ryan is going to feast in this system. It requires accurate pre-snap reads, quick decisions and the arm for 30+ yard throws. It's the system Ryan should have been in starting in 09 or 10.

He's going to kill it with play action. He's always hit 6-8 receivers per game, just the bottom 4-5 only got one or two catches a game, this system it'll be 3-4 and will make all the difference.

Imagine combining the aggressiveness of 2008 Ryan with the Ryan with 110 games of experience.

Yeah, going to be a fun year to be a falcon fan, they'll lose games this year , but not because they took their foot off the gas with a lead.

[Sun Tzu 7]

But the numbers don't tell the whole story. He was certainly productive but IMO you should strive to be as productive as possible. Moving JJ around the formation could yield beneficial matchups....especially in that ~25 yard range into the redzone.

I don;'t think we should be just moving everyone around for the sake of doing it. It should be pointed. And though Julio is a tough/impossible cover for everyone, putting him at different spots in teh formation could yield better looks for the offense as a whole.

Amen to that brother.

You can always get better but my point was that with the previous personnel we had moving Tony and Roddy around may have provided the best match-ups.

Tony and Roddy kill them underneath and when they start creeping up to stop it kill them over the top with Julio. It worked great in 2012 but now there's no more Tony and Roddy isn't the same player so moving Julio around makes sense.

[runshoot]

6 td. That was all.

For all the talk of how Julio is the baddest WR in the game, he only had 6 tds. All the top WRs provide more actual points on the board than Julio did.

So yes, our offense needs to be better than what it was last year and the year before that to allow Julio to do that.

[falconidae]

6 td. That was all.

For all the talk of how Julio is the baddest WR in the game, he only had 6 tds. All the top WRs provide more actual points on the board than Julio did.

So yes, our offense needs to be better than what it was last year and the year before that to allow Julio to do that.

Jones had 8 pass plays that ended inside the opponents 5 last year. Some of scoring TDs is just dumb luck.