Atlanta Falcons' Jones Progressing

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones is progressing nicely from his season-ending foot surgery. Coach Mike Smith spoke with reporters yesterday morning at the owners' meetings in Orlando and said the team will proceed with caution with their star.
"He's ahead of schedule," Smith told the group. "Julio's started his running program with the athletic performance department. We anticipate he'll be ready to go 100 percent. We'll get him going at some point in time here in the offseason. We'll be very careful. Our no. 1 goal is to have him ready to participate in training camp."
Jones has not been seen on the field since sustaining a broken foot running a "go" route in a loss to the New York Jets on October 6. In that game Jones had eight catches for 99 yards, including a one-handed reception for a 46-yard gain in the fourth quarter. At the time Jones led the NFL in receptions and ranked second in receiving yards to New Orleans tight end Jimmy Graham. He was also the first player in NFL history to have a reception of at least 80 yards in each of his first three seasons with the league.
Jones had surgery on October 14 and was on crutches for two months.  In five games Jones had 41 catches for 580 yards and two touchdowns, on pace for 130 catches and 1,800 receiving yards. He has not spoken to the press since his injury.
"Injuries are part of the game," Smith said. "You gotta be able to overcome them. That was one of the things that I don't think we did very well. Julio, I think, is a special receiver. I think he had 41 catches in five games, so he was on pace to have a monster season at that point in time when he went down. His skill set is very special. There's very few guys in this league that can do the same things he can do in terms of his route-running, speed. He competes for the ball when the ball's in the air."
Tampa Bay coach Lovie Smith told ESPN.com regarding Jones and his return, "Whenever you talk about a special player in the division on a team, things change automatically. You just look at all that Julio brings to the table. Look at his toughness. Yeah, it's easy to talk about him as a receiver, catching the ball and all that. But man, this is a tough guy. He's just a special talent. There are some special receivers in the league. Of course, Calvin Johnson is special. But Julio is big, fast, strong, tough. He's got everything you're looking for. Atlanta's automatically a lot better just based on him being back on the field."
The Falcons reached the NFL championship in 2012, but slipped to 4-12 without Jones last year.
References: ESPN and AL
If you are a football player with a foot or ankle problem, call our Rocky Hill or Middletown office to make an appointment.
Jeffrey S. Kahn, DPM
Connecticut Foot Care Centers
Sports Medicine Podiatrist in CT
Podiatrist in Rocky Hill and Middletown, CT
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Is Julio Jones Done For the Season?

Losing at home to the New York Jets was pretty embarrassing for the Atlanta Falcons, but the situation may

have become even more serious with the potential loss of wide receiver Julio Jones for the season with a foot injury. 
A team source told CBS NFL Insider Jason La Canfora the injury is "a legitimate concern." Jones will get a second opinion today. 
FOX Sports' Jay Glazer tweeted, "[The] initial determination by the Falcons is that Jones' season is over. They are hopeful [a] second opinion says otherwise, but [they're] not optimistic."
Yesterday at a press conference at Falcons headquarters, head coach Mike Smith called the rumors of Jones being out the rest of the season "premature at this time." He did concede that the results of the team examination earlier in the day "were not encouraging, but we will wait to see what the second opinion comes back as." 
It is unclear when exactly Jones was injured, but according to Smith, it was likely before Jones' one-handed diving grab over the Jets' Antonio Cromartie with five minutes left in the game. 
Jones has positioned himself as one of the NFL's brightest young talents. Against the Jets he had eight catches for 99 yards, with 41 catches for 580 yards and two touchdowns on the season. He leads the NFL in catches and is second to New Orleans' Jimmy Graham in receiving yards. Last year he had 79 receptions for 1,198 yards and ten touchdowns. As a rookie Jones hauled 54 catches, 959 yards, and eight touchdowns. 
The Falcons were also without other big man Roddy White much of Monday night, who is sidelined with a hamstring injury and is still recovering from the high-ankle sprain he's had since the preseason. The Falcons are 1-4 this season and Smith does not want to blame their poor record on injuries. 
"Injuries cannot be an excuse in the NFL," Smith said. "Every team has injuries, and we will not allow that to be an excuse. We've got to go out there and perform, and we haven't performed up to the abilities that we need to, to win football games and win them at the end thus far."
References: Sporting News and CBS Sports
If you are a football player with a foot or ankle problem, call our Rocky Hill or Middletown office to make an appointment.
Jeffrey S. Kahn, DPM
Connecticut Foot Care Centers
Sports Medicine Podiatrist in CT
Podiatrist in Rocky Hill and Middletown, CT
Visit our website, follow my tweets on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook.