The Atlanta Falcons season went from bad to worse when wide receiver Julio Jones was lost for the year following a foot injury. At the time, Jones was leading the NFL in receiving yards as Roddy White sat on the bench with an ankle issue. Jones has been developing into one of the best receivers in the league and the foot injury was a scary setback. However, early reports suggest he is ahead of his recovery schedule.
The Atlanta Falcons can simply not take any more injury news. After their 2013 season was headlined with numerous injury issues to starters on both sides of the ball, getting news that some of them are well on their way to recovery is certainly welcoming.
ESPN's Vaughn McClure confirms that Jones is ahead of schedule after undergoing season-ending surgery and is expected to be fully healthy come time for the Falcons to open up training camp for the 2014 season. That well be welcomed considering the Falcons had put up three consecutive seasons with an offense that finished in the top seven for points scored. However, this season they only managed to rank 20th in the league in that category.
Jones was on pace to break a few franchise records before getting hurt after five games. The wide receiver had put up 580 yards on 41 receptions and two touchdowns. However, with him out of the lineup, the team only managed a 3-8 record, the worst finish in the Mike Smith/Matt Ryan era.
In wake of Jones' injury and White being in and out of the lineup, Harry Douglas emerged as a true starting wide receiver. Normally the No. 3 guy, Douglas took hold of the spotlight and put up a career-best season with 1,067 yards. He credited Jones for being a big part of that saying the two would talk football after each game.
The Falcons offense could return as the unit many expected them to be in 2013. Steven Jackson is expected to be retained despite his injury plagued season. White will be fully healthy. Douglas can be a worthy starter creating a nice triple-threat receiving corps for Ryan. The offensive line is expected to improve.
Smith remains very confident that the downfall season that was 2013 was merely a one-time thing for the Falcons. The head coach predicts much better things in 2014.