“He Can Play”
September 6th, 2022
Todd Bowles on Julio Jones.
A reasonable question was asked often after the Bucs signed star receiver Julio Jones.
The question was something like, “How much gas does Julio Jones have left in his tank?”
To hear Bucs coach Todd Bowles speak, there’s enough.
“He can play,” Bowles said yesterday, assuring folks Julio is still a dangerous receiver.
In his last days with the Dixie Chicks and last year with the Titans, Julio was a shell of his former self. Lawd, how he used to torment the Bucs. Ryan Smith still has scars from the burn marks.
It seems the key to getting the most out of Julio is to limit his snaps.
“When we got him, he was kind of out of shape so we kind of limited his number of plays during practice,” Bowles said. “He’s kind of gotten to the point where he’s returned to his old self.
“He’s been great mentally, he’s been great for the guys in the room as well as out on the practice field, DBs alike. Right now, he can play.
“We have a bunch of receivers that can play so the pitch count should be kind of even depending on who we play and how we play it. We think he can lend a lot for us – we’ve just got to knock on wood and keep him healthy.”
Bowles noted that the Bucs have sort of developed a personalized method for trying to keep Julio healthy.
“We’ve taken our own measures as far as when he practices and when he doesn’t and try to monitor all the things that he’s doing to see how he feels,” Bowles said.
One reason the Bucs got Julio was Bowles feels Julio can in some way replace some of foot-rubbing Rob Gronkowski’s catches. Bowles emphasized that Gronk cannot be replaced, but his receptions can be.
So it seems routes Gronk in (some down the seam), can now be some of Julio’s targets.
Sure would be nice to see Julio burning Bucs’ opponents for a change rather than him running wild through the Bucs secondary.
(Joe waves hi to Mike Smith!)
September 6th, 2022 at 10:16 am
From 25 yards out Julio & Mike should be options 1A & 1B.
September 6th, 2022 at 10:28 am
I would suspect that Brady will make a huge difference with Julio’s motivation……I expect him to be a huge contributor…..
September 6th, 2022 at 10:29 am
If Julio can block at all, line him up next to tackle and have him block a few beats before releasing after Evans Godwin and Gage hit their routes, occupying the DBs. Julio should be able to feast if being covered by linebackers.
September 6th, 2022 at 10:42 am
Def hope he isn’t here to chip block and put is body on the line since he is a lil long in the tooth, I envision 15-20 plays a game of the old Julio who is rejuvenated by playing with TB12 and chasing a ring IMHO. Go BUCS!
September 6th, 2022 at 10:53 am
How about 10 plays or less through week 14 if the win Column allows .
September 6th, 2022 at 10:54 am
Oh. I though this article’s title was talking about Suh.
September 6th, 2022 at 11:07 am
I sure wouldn’t want to is be the opposing AC!! Trying to game plan first the top 4 receivers!! Any one of them could be a number 1 or 2 receiver for any team out there!!! Line up 3 or 4 at a time and watch TB12 do his thing!! LFG!!!
September 6th, 2022 at 11:09 am
I think this signing will pay big dividends for the Bucs.
I think Julio will think he has died and went to heaven here in Tampa, where he will not face constant double coverage, and will have the GOAT QB throwing to him.
I see a big year for him this year!
September 6th, 2022 at 11:19 am
A 4 WR set means the Bucs OL is severely exposed. Either its empty backfield with a TE or single back with Lenny. Teams will go double A-gap blitz and not even give Brady time to throw a hot to anyone. Opposing defenses will rush six and keep five back in some form of press man – zone combo. Hell, they might even get home with four.
If we had Jensen and a reliable LG, I would be licking my chops. We don’t have that.
The middle is where Brady is vuilnerable, and we’ve got Mutt and Jeff manning the LG / C positions. Fortunately Jason has fortified the OL with some depth signings in time for the new guys to get up to speed on the offense.
Oh, wait……………….
September 6th, 2022 at 11:49 am
@Goatfarmer
We barely use a 10 personnel pkg in-game and in 3 years of the BA-Leftwich regime we’ve only lined up in 4 WR sets for 107 snaps. We have consistently used the 11 personnel at a 60% usage rate in that same span of time for a total of 2,374 snaps and that numbers has gotten higher from season to season between 2019 & now
September 6th, 2022 at 12:06 pm
Julio Jones with the goat at the helm will be fun to watch. I expect Julio to be like a little kid set free in a candy store when the season opens. BTW, stone crab season opens in about a month. Cant wait.
September 6th, 2022 at 7:22 pm
If I’m TB12 and we are empty or 4 wide and a TE AND the defense is showing double A gap pressure… I am BEGGING for the defense to do that because he’s got multiple single coverage options. Plus he’s be holding the ball no more than a second.
September 7th, 2022 at 10:35 am
Nope! Guys can’t off the line quick enough. Maybe if they run no huddle constantly and can find defensive players out of position. If Brady gets no time to throw it won’t matter who the receivers are.