Buccaneers: Game Changers for Week 12 against the Falcons

Julio Jones

It’s been a strange year for stud wide receiver Julio Jones. He only has one touchdown catch on the year, and it didn’t come until Oct. 22. Despite the lack of touchdowns, he is still producing at a high level. He leads the team with 54 catches, 86 targets and 786 yards. The seventh-year receiver is

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one of the premier talents in the league, which always makes him someone to watch in any given game. Not only that, but he has a history of torching the Bucs.

Jones has six career 100-yard games against Tampa Bay, with at least one a year (with the exception of 2013, when he missed both games with an injury). He has eight touchdowns in ten games against the Bucs, always finding ways to strike. This Sunday should be no different, even if his touchdown production is down this year. He will find ways to hurt Tampa Bay even if he doesn’t get in the end zone, but wouldn’t it be a Bucs thing to help him get off his touchdown-less streak? It wouldn’t shock anyone if Jones went for 100-plus yards and two or three touchdowns, would it?

The Buccaneer secondary is very suspect, but a healthy Brent Grimes has been a positive for the group. Missing Vernon Hargreaves last week in Miami proved to be a problem, though, as Ryan Smith struggled. The Dolphins went after Smith and had success, which makes this week dangerous if VH3 can’t return. Miami did its damage on Smith with Jay Cutler and Matt Moore. Both of those quarterbacks are way below the talent level of Matt Ryan. If the Bucs can’t hold the connection between Ryan and Jones in check, it could be a long afternoon.