A nice change from the "Bama Busts" mantra that was so pervasive not too long ago. The key difference - NFL coaches have always loved Alabama players while the media has looked for reasons to diminish them.
Not to be the Debbie Downer of the thread but I think many times these type scenarios of having two star players on the field who play the same position sounds great on paper. But in many cases just turns into one player getting the bulk of the balls and the other becoming very unhappy. I think the better scenario (long term) is having one star wr and the rest of the wr's being role players who support the star player.
I think that it very much depends on the offense. The Falcons and Saints, for instance, run offenses that put a lot of vertical pressure on the defense. With only one very good WR, that pressure isn't close to the same.
"Very good" WR's can still be role players. I'm talking about having two "star" wr's on the same team and keeping both happy enough to keep them together. If Ridley continues to impress and impress to the point the Falcons are confident he can/will be a "star" wr. Are they as willing to unload the bank and give Julio what he wants?
I don't follow the Falcons super closely but I don't think that will be an issue(at least at first). Ridely isn't the physically imposing WR Julio is and I would bet they use them somewhat differently. Julio should and will get the majority of the targets but Ridley could be a deadly secondary WR right off the bat with potential to become a true #1 eventually if Julio leaves.
I think they have to think about "down the road" now when dealing with Julio's holdout and his monetary demands. Granted, I don't know the exacts of the Falcons' salary cap situation. But a big part of the dealings with Julio ties into salary cap. Because my guess is he and his agent are going to fight for as much guaranteed money as they can get. Ridley is obviously locked into a rookie contract now. But they've already paid Ryan a hefty new contract and I'm sure they want to have the free cap space to add quality players elsewhere. This may get quite interesting all depending on how impressive Ridley continues to be. You (the Falcons) also have to factor in Julio's age when deciding on how much to unload on him relative to how many more great years they think he has left in him.
I think drafting Ridley was a great move by the Falcons for the reason you mentioned but also because he was the most NFL ready WR in the draft. The Falcons have a window to win a SB that is closing and adding Ridley gives them a piece they didn't have last year in a down field threat opposite of Julio. Sanu is a fine receiver, especially on 3rd down, but he doesn't stretch the field. In two years, the Falcons are going to have to re-sign their defensive talent they have been developing (Grady Jarrett, Deion Jones, Ricardo Allen, Keanu Neal and Vic Beasley). There may not be room for a big contract like Julio's and having Ridley will be nice.
Oh, I think they are going to do everything in their power to get him signed. But they also simply can't throw caution to the wind and not be conscious of other things that impacts their goal of winning a superbowl. I'm certain from the Falcons' standpoint they are asking questions like "Can we afford to pay Julio something that will make him happy AND have enough money/cap room over the next two three years to address other areas of our team?"
Agreed - there are professional bean counters on every team who do only this for a living. If Jones is allowed to walk at some point, it will be because they simply could not make it work within the context of the overall team. The problem - they just paid their QB too much money to let it fall apart now.
Well the last two years of Ridley's college career he was the only star and he still barely got the ball. He should be able to handle being second fiddle to Julio as long as Matt Ryan is the one throwing the balls. Not the way I'd like to say our guys are prepared for the NFL, but it's probably true.
