The news for Julio Jones keeps improving as we press towards Thursday night's kickoff between the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints.
A day after NFL Media's Tiffany Blackmon reported that Jones would play through his hamstring injury, coach Dan Quinn told CBS's Tracy Wolfson that the receiver will not be on a pitch count.
Quinn added that Jones feels better than he did last week, when he played 73 of 80 snaps in an overtime win against the Washington Redskins.
Jones has been held under 70 yards receiving each of the past two weeks while dealing with the injury, after starting the season with three straight games of 135-plus yards.
The reality of Jones' situation is that, like in Week 5, once the game starts, all snap management -- good or bad -- goes out the window and is reliant on game flow and potential reinjury. The Falcons reportedly wanted to monitor his snaps last week, but the game remained in doubt. The same goes for this week. If the Falcons jump out big, Jones can get some rest late, if it's close, he'll stay in the game.
The Saints defense has given up the 10th-most passing yards per game season. Even at less than 100-percent, Jones creates huge mismatches. If Saints defensive coordinator Rob Ryan decides to try and have corner Brandon Browner -- who is having a dreadful season -- bully an injured Jones, it could backfire, as the corner has been burned deep frequently his season.
