The Falcons handed over a 17-point lead against the Dolphins on Sunday, paving the way for a 20-17 loss and a two-game losing streak that will launch a lot of deep thinking in Atlanta this week about how to get better results in the coming weeks.
Coach Dan Quinn offered one suggestion, via Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com, during a Monday press conference. Quinn said “no” when he was asked if he’s satisfied about how often wide receiver Julio Jones is getting the ball.
Jones caught six passes for 72 yards on Sunday while being targeted seven times and he has 25 catches on 37 targets for the entire season. Those numbers are down on a per-game basis from where Jones has been throughout his career, although Quinn pointed out that it’s more than just a question of the desire to throw the ball to Jones.
The Falcons have run 306 plays so far this season, which is an average of 61.2 snaps per game and down from each of Quinn’s first two seasons. Quinn said he wants to see the team running more offensive plays in the weeks to come and it stands to reason that more snaps would result in more balls going Jones’ way.