May 27

NFC South

Mark Bradley: Are the Falcons prepared for life beyond Julio Jones?

There’s no way a team can trade one of its best players and win a popularity poll the next day. Remember when the Braves sent Dale Murphy to Philadelphia? When the Hawks swapped Dominique Wilkins for Danny Manning? (In midseason, no less, while in first place.) Even if the Falcons get outrageously lucky and reap a middling return for Julio Jones, they’ll take a hit. That’s guaranteed. New coach Arthur Smith has been made to look silly – his non-responsive online presser Tuesday already is enshrined in the Museum of Lousy PR – but sometimes looking good is impossible. When that happens, a franc…

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