First round pick Vic Beasley emerged as a solid pass-rushing threat, and the defense will be looking for big things from him heading into his second season. Football Outsiders ranked the pass defense 21st, and the run defense 25th on the season. The pass defense did a fairly decent job, finishing in the middle of the pack in points allowed and various total yardage stats. They've got some serious weapons on offense, and if they can add some talent on the offensive line, he seems capable of being part of an eventual Super Bowl champ. He can put up big numbers, but the debate rages on as to whether he can lead the Falcons to the promised land. Quarterback Matt Ryan remains a story that seems unresolved. He hit a hall after Week 8, surpassing 4.0 yards per rush one time, although Falcons fans seem to blame that more on the offensive line. Between Week 3 and Week 8, Freeman averaged a little over 5.1 yards per rush, putting up 666 yards and eight touchdowns. Second-year running back Devonta Freeman surpassed rookie Tevin Coleman after the latter suffered a rib injury in Week 2. 2 all-time among single season performances. He had 136 receptions for 1,871 yards, both of which were good for No. We already knew Julio Jones was a great wide receiver, but he followed up a great 2014 with an absurd 2015. The highlight of their season likely ended up as being the only team to beat the Carolina Panthers prior to Super Bowl 50. They finished the season 8-8 after winning two straight in December. The Falcons jumped out to a 5-0 start, but after splitting their next two games, they lost six straight to fall out of the playoff race. We started with the Dallas Cowboys and Carolina Panthers, and now move on to the Atlanta Falcons. The third set will come in July, providing a recap of the offseason and a look ahead to training camp for each team. The second one will come in April, providing a look at where teams are at following free agency, and what the draft means for each team. It will also include a list of each team's free agents, and a look at some potential needs heading into free agency and the draft. This first one will review the previous season for each team. Since news is going to start picking up shortly, I thought it was a good time to begin our annual review of the San Francisco 49ers upcoming opponents. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine.The 2016 NFL Combine gets going next week, and we are less than three weeks away from the start of free agency. *Get the BEST Alabama football insider information, message board access, and recruiting coverage today! SIGN UP HERE to unlock our subscriber only content!* He has an edge in a couple of categories however, Jones will surpass him if football is played in the fall.įor Brown, his main objective should be making an NFL roster. At the end of the day, Brown is not overwhelmingly better than Jones.

The 2015 season was an incredible year for both guys and yet, Jones had more yards ( 1,871 to 1,834) and a better yards per catch average ( 13.8 to 13.5) than Brown. Brown has yet to help a franchise appear in the Super Bowl and Jones did that for the Falcons in 2016. Despite the advantage Brown has in touchdowns, it can be attributed to the lack of seeing Matt Ryan consistently targeting Jones in big games. Both players were voted to seven NFL Pro Bowls and were awarded first-team All-Pro honors more than once.

Julio jones stats against dallas 2016