HOUSTON — It is not that Julio Jones is a man of few words. It is just that he does not need many words to express what he is thinking or how he is feeling.
Thus, when he was asked Wednesday if he believes there is anyone in the NFL who can cover him, Jones did not mess around or hem and haw.
“One on one, no, I do not,’’ Jones said, without a hint of braggadocio.
It is doubtful the Patriots will dare to test this theory, but, with Bill Belichick, you never know. As expectation grows that the Patriots in Super Bowl LI will surround Jones with a big cornerback — Logan Ryan comes to mind — and a safety — Devin McCourty qualifies — and dare the other Falcons to ignite their prolific offense, Belichick may pull a fast one and tempt Matt Ryan to look so often to Jones that the attack becomes unbalanced.
Either way, there must be a plan in place to deal with Jones, who at 6-foot-3 and a sculpted 220 pounds, towers above every other player as far as possessing the potential to wreck the game.
“Is it easy to take me out?’’ Jones asked. “If you scheme properly that’s cool, but I don’t mind it at all because we have a lot of weapons around. I don’t mind you trying to take me away. It’s not a one-man show, it’s a team effort.’’
His teammates appreciate the way their superstar receiver has their backs, even as they view him as something rather unworldly.
Fullback Patrick DiMarco called Jones “a special human being’’ and described him as “one of the most freakish athletes I’ve ever been around.’’
Even more succinctly, running back Devonta Freeman said, “That guy’s a freak of nature.’’
Jones gets a lot of that. He missed two games this season and still finished with 83 receptions for 1,409 yards. He has been dominant in the playoffs, with 15 catches for 247 yards and three touchdowns in victories over the Seahawks and Packers.
The ball finds its way to Jones, and he is so big and strong that at times it appears impossible to stop him from reaching up and grabbing it. His production comes without much fanfare as far as demanding the football. Only once, Jones recalled, did he implore the coaching staff to target him. It was in Week 2 this season, at Oakland.
“They were singling me up, it was one-on-one,’’ Jones said. “We go into games, a lot of times teams double me. But they didn’t double me at all, I was like ‘Hey, I’m killing this guy over here, I can help us out, I can make this a little easier for us.’ They started coming to me and we had a lot of success.’’
Jones caught five passes for 106 yards and a touchdown in a 35-28 victory over the Raiders.
Unlike most star receivers, Jones shows patience, even if Ryan’s passes go to one of the many Falcons who can do damage to an opposing defense.
“I think Julio understands the team part of that,’’ Falcons receivers coach Raheem Morris told The Post. “He understands his team will be there for him, his teammates will be there for him. He understands his time will come. Everybody spends time trying to take him out of the game. He needs very few plays to be really explosive.’’
Jones, in a departure from other renowned pass-catchers (Odell Beckham Jr. and Antonio Brown, to name two of them) is controversy-free.
“I don’t know what those guys do to get the name ‘diva,’ ’’ he said. “I just go out there and handle my business.’’
Jones said his rural upbringing in Foley, Ala., helped ground him. He grew up playing outside, not watching football, and insists he never even saw a Super Bowl on TV as a youngster.
Jones called Beckham “a good player,’’ but insisted he does not study any of Odell’s antics.
“I don’t know what he’s doing outside of football,’’ Jones said.
The first time he realized he could use his body and skills to dominate, Jones said, was when he was 12 years old.
“That’s the first time my mama actually signed me up to play organized football,’’ Jones said. “I was out there running past kids and I was hitting the kids, I was like ‘I’m strong at 12 years old.’ It was fun.’’
The fun continues Sunday, against the Patriots, in his first Super Bowl.
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