Heath Evans Rips Julio Jones On Zo & Bertrand
BOSTON (CBS) -- Zolak & Bertrand kicked off their Wednesday on Radio Row in Houston by welcoming former Patriots fullback and current NFL Network analyst Heath Evans to the show.
Evans has been breaking down film on the Falcons all season long, and while there's no denying that Julio Jones is one of the best receivers in the game, Evans recently said Jones was "physically soft" in an interview with The Boston Herald. He expanded on those comments on Wednesday.
"I made that statement off of one play. Go back to their first drive of the last game, the NFC Championship against Aaron Rogers and the Green Bay Packers. It's second-and-11, Green Bay bangs him on the play and it's an incomplete. He walks off the field and Matt Ryan is able to pick it up on third-and-11 without him. And then he comes back on the field on first down," explained Evans. "I'm thinking, if that was the Randy Moss I played with. If that was [Terrell Owens], Jerry Rice, the greats that Julio gets thrown into the mix with -- talent-wise and spectacular play-wise rightfully so, but not overall proof of his NFL longevity yet. I think that's blasphemous.
"Randy, never, on third-and-11 are you kidding me? He's going to the huddle no matter how hard he was hit and saying, 'Tom you better throw me the ball and we'll get them back.' That's just something that rubbed me the wrong way," Evans continued. "There's something about that temperament that drives me nuts. He has more talent in his left pinky than I have in my whole body. I never would have stepped off the field on third-and-11."
Evans pointed to receivers like Julian Edelman, Doug Baldwin and Steve Smith as "the type of guys I want and the type of guys who help you hoist Lombardis."
"Again, Julio is probably the best wide receiver in a lot of ways. Call it jealousy or bitterness; I'm jealous that I'm not as gifted as him. If I had my mindset with the talent of him or a Randy Moss, I would have loved to have seen what I could have done," said Evans.
As for the Patriots defense stopping the No. 1 offense on Sunday, Evans said the Falcons should pick up their yards, but will struggle to get into the end zone.
"I can see Matt Ryan throwing for 400 yards and they may have 80-90 rush yards, but at the end of the day they'll be point deficient," said Evans.
Listen to the full interview below: