In a Tuesday press conference at Falcons headquarters, head coach Mike Smith called the report of Jones being out for the season "premature at this time.'' However, he said the results of the team examination earlier in the day "were not encouraging, but we will wait to see what the second opinion comes back as.''
It wasn't clear exactly when Jones got hurt, but Smith said that as far as he knew, it was before Jones' stunning one-handed diving grab over the Jets' Antonio Cromartie with around five minutes to go in the game. Jones leads the NFL with 41 catches and is second to New Orleans' Jimmy Graham with 580 receiving yards.
The Falcons already have seen running back Steven Jackson miss time with a bad hamstring, and their other Pro Bowl wideout, Roddy White also sustained a hamstring injur Monday night after he already was slowed by a sprained ankle. That's before getting into the numerous injuries they have battled through defensively, including end Kroy Biermann and linebacker Sean Weatherspoon.
At 1-4, it's been a disappointing lost season for a Falcons team thought be a strong Super Bowl contender. Their growing list of walking wounded means they may never find their way back to a wild-card berth. In an immediate sense, the team catches a break with their bye coming this week.
White will also be monitored, although his status doesn't appear as dire as his wide-receiver mate. "We'll have to see how that thing turns around the next couple of days,'' Smith said.
Asked if the slew of injuries factored into the Falcons' failures in close games so far, Smith refused to connect the two.
"Injuries cannot be an excuse in the NFL. Every team has injuries, and we will not allow that to be an excuse,'' Smith said. "We've got to go out there and perform, and we haven't performed up to the abilities that we need to, to win football games and win them at the end thus far.''
