Second Thoughts

NFC champs rally thanks to pingpong

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones may have been hard to stop on the field during the playoffs, but
Jones said his table tennis skills need some work.
Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones may have been hard to stop on the field during the playoffs, but Jones said his table tennis skills need some work.

The two pingpong tables behind the throng of reporters surrounding Julio Jones were quiet Thursday.

And strangely, so was the Atlanta Falcons Pro Bowl wide receiver when asked if he was the best table tennis player on the team.

"I'm OK," Jones said softly to ESPN staff writer David Newton. "I got humbled a little bit yesterday."

Jones appeared embarrassed, particularly when asked who beat him.

"I can't tell you all that," he said. "I can't tell you."

But Jones, who has humbled defenders with 15 catches for 247 yards and 3 touchdowns in the Falcons' two playoff victories, can tell you how great it has been for the NFC champions to have pingpong tables in the locker room.

"It's helped on hand-eye coordination and just always competing ... every day," Jones said. "It doesn't mattter what it is. You get the blood going."

The tables have fostered the camaraderie and brotherhood that Coach Dan Quinn often stresses as important to the team's success.

Quinn had that in mind when adding the tables as the locker room was remodeled before the season. It started with one table and leather couches to encourage players to spend more time interacting.

The lines became so long that a second table was added.

"Then it grew to three," Quinn said. "So honestly, it's just been a fun thing for the guys to connect. It goes on all sides of the ball, all different groups competing against one another. So we have a lot of fun with it."

The competition off the field is an extension of the competition on the field, according to Quinn.

"Usually, when you're really good on the field, it starts with the locker room first," Quinn said. "Those are the moments where the guys spend the time on and off the field to grow their relationships, to get it stronger.

"The best teams I've been a part of were good in the locker room. You can feel how tight these guys are. They have a real connection to one another, and they take that responsibility seriously."

Running back Tevin Coleman said the tables have absolutely played an important role.

"Last year, it was just guys on their phones," he said. "Nobody was talking, communicating, nothing like that. The tables have helped a lot. It got players like me who have never played pingpong involved."

Beyond competition, players use the tables to stay loose between meetings and practice.

"One of the central themes of our organization is competition, and you see it come to life on the pingpong table, that's for sure," quarterback Matt Ryan said.

Asked to evaluate his game, ranked among the better ones on the team, Ryan laughed and said, "Like our team, I think my pingpong game has been improving throughout the year."

Headlines

Sports-related headlines from the satirical website fark.com:

• Rory McIlroy has fractured his McRibs and is still not lovin' it

• Usain Bolt forced to give up an Olympic gold medal because his idiot teammate couldn't lay off the methylhexaneamine

• If [Clemson Coach] Dabo Swinney thinks passing on Deshaun Watson is like passing on Michael Jordan ... then who would be like Sam Bowie?

• Danica Patrick is having sponsorship problems, because what company doesn't want to sponsor a lower mid-pack driver?

Sports on 01/27/2017

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