The Falcons are in London for a date with a very stingy Lions defense, which is hardly what the doctor ordered after Atlanta managed to score just two touchdowns in the last two weeks.
That’s not going to cut it for a team that isn’t very good on the defensive side of the ball and wide receiver Julio Jones says that the team’s turnaround has to begin with him because his play has not been up to snuff through the first seven weeks of the season.
“It starts with me,” Jones said, via the NFL Network. “I got to go out there and make plays when they are presented to me. I got to go out there and catch the ball, be more of a deep threat. ... We are out there misreading or dropping balls. We have to fix that. It’s nothing that the defense is doing, we have to fix that here.”
Jones has had too many drops, as has Roddy White, but anyone who has watched the Falcons offense sputter for the last year-plus knows that Jones isn’t the main culprit when the team fails to get into gear. It’s the injury-plagued offensive line that has let the Falcons down time and again, limiting their chances to get the ball to their playmakers and leaving quarterback Matt Ryan exposed far too often.
The Lions are well-equipped to take advantage of that weakness, which could mean the Falcons are taking a long trip to have a long day.
