AFC Notes: Julio Jones, Titans, Texans

Julio Jones

New Titans’ WR Julio Jones commented on the situation involving his trade and his future in Nashville after his first practice with his new team.

“First off I just want to thank Atlanta,” Jones said, via D. Orlando Ledbetter of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It was home for me for the last decade. The fan base, the Atlanta Falcons, the whole organization, without them, they gave me the opportunity to showcase my ability and what I can do and my absolute love for the game. Being here at the Titans, I love it. I’m very excited to be a part of this organization. Just the team camaraderie. Just the whole atmosphere and everything here just feels like when I was in college at the University of Alabama. It’s amazing here. That’s where I’m at right now. Had a great day today. Just finished the workout. I’m excited about being here.”

Jones was also willing to give an update on the status of his health as he joins the Titans.

“For me, at the end of the day, I believe in me. I know what I have left in the tank. We’re talking about age, it’s 32. I’m young. In football, you can say it’s old, but you either do it or you don’t. This game don’t change for me. I’m still fast. I’m still strong. To the games last year, I had an issue (grade 2 quad hamstring strain) where I didn’t take enough time to heal up properly, but you know, that was just my decision, going out there and just playing. No excuses, things like that. I’ll be ready to go. For those who are questioning my health and things like that, just stayed tuned.” Jones said.

Jones knows he may wind up with fewer targets in Tennessee, but adds that it is all about winning at the end of the day, saying he is a team player and not concerned with personal stats.

“At the end of the day, you want to create a winning culture,” Jones said. “However you need to do it to get the job done. My whole career, I’ve never been a stat guy. In previous years, everybody was always asking me what do you think you are going to do? What’s your prediction? Things like that. I’ve never been a stat guy. I’m a team guy. I’m just excited to be a part of the organization. Whatever they need from me to do, I’m willing to do it and play my role. Play it at a high level.”

For the first time in his career, Jones will have to adapt to another NFL quarterback in Titans’ starting QB Ryan Tannehill.

“Me and Ryan, we have hung out already,” Jones said. “We went out to dinner. Just talking and communication….but I don’t think it’s going to take (any) time at all. He’s a veteran player. I’m a veteran player. We have to just go out there and just (get in) repetitions at the end of the day. Just going out there, and just you know, this is where I want it at. Put it here. And where he wants me at, can I get there? It’s just us working together because at the end of the day as long as we are on the same page we’re going to be successful.”

When it comes to leaving the Falcons, Jones was willing to give insight about how the trade out of Atlanta came about.

 “Yeah, that’s me and the Falcons we have an agreement at the end of the day. We discussed everything. We just made the decision. It was just cut and dry. There was nothing toward football, it’s business. So, you just had to accept whatever happens, happens. As I said, it was a mutual agreement on it. We just split up.” Jones said.

Jones said the firing of former Falcons’ HC Dan Quinn had nothing to do with him wanting to leave Atlanta.

“No, no. It (had) nothing to do with Dan Quinn or the firing of Dan Quinn or anything like that. It was just that, as I said, we came to an agreement. We made the decision and we are here now. I’m here in Nashville. I’m excited to be here. Expect big things from us just by our effort and the way we are going to play the game.” Jones said.

Texans

Texans DC Lovie Smith is confident that CB Bradley Roby has the skill set to be successful as the team’s No. 1 cornerback. 

“Number one, I think he has that skillset to be able to do that,” Smith said, via Aaron Wilson of SportsTalk790. “Excellent speed, quickness, change of direction, all of that. He’s a willing tackler. We need him to be our one cornerback as much as anything. You just look at our division. The division seems like daily it’s getting stronger at the wide receiver position.”

Smith mentioned that the Texans plan on running “more than Cover 2 every snap” and believes they have multiple players who are capable of lining up on the outside. 

“There will be some big challenges that we’ll have. I know most people assume we’re going to play – I hear it always, ‘Well, you guys don’t need corners, you play Cover 2 every snap.’ Well, we play a little bit more than Cover 2 every snap. We’ll need to be able to match up on the outside and we feel like we’ll have not just Bradley that can do it, but others also.”

Texans CBs coach Dino Vasso said that they are running a “new scheme” this season and thinks Roby has made a smooth transition given his veteran status. 

“It’s a new scheme and a learning curve for everyone involved,” Vasso said. “As we talk about the experience of Bradley Roby, a guy that has played a lot of football in his career, experience is something you can’t teach, obviously.” 

Vasso points out that fellow CBs Vernon Hargreaves and recently signed Terrance Mitchell received a lot of playing time last season, which should help the Texans’ defense.  

“Then, Terrance Mitchell and Vernon Hargreaves are guys that have played over 1,000 snaps last season. Excited about the experience at the top and then we have a bunch of young players that are athletic and have played some football in their careers as well.”

Titans

• Titans WR Josh Reynolds said their receivers have been rotating in the slot and outside roles. (Turron Davenport)
• Reynolds added that he’s spending “extensive time” with WRs coach Rob Moore and OC Todd Downing on route-running and learning Tennessee’s system. 
• Titans’ recently acquired WR Julio Jones said he had a mutual agreement to part ways with the Falcons: “Me and the Falcons, we had an agreement at the end of the day…we just made a decision.” (Michael Giardi)
• Jones believes he still has playing time left in his career after dealing with injuries last season: “I know what I have in the tank. This game doesn’t change for me. I’m still fast, still strong.” (Jonathan Jones)
• Jones admitted he did not “take proper time” to correctly heal from his hamstring injury.  
• As for the Titans signing UDFA OL Adam Coon, HC Mike Vrabel said he’s followed Coon’s career as a Greco-Roman wrestler and feels he possess “great balance” as an offensive lineman: “I followed his wrestling career, and we wanted to take a look at him. Wrestlers have great balance, core strength, and things that transfer well for an offensive lineman. He’s learning, and he’ll compete and see how he develops.” (Jim Wyatt)