Atlanta Falcons-Seattle Seahawks sideshow: Julio Jones vs. Richard Sherman

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- The last game ended in controversy with Seattle's Richard Smith dragging Atlanta wide receiver Julio Jones to the ground.

There was no call and Seattle won the game, 26-24.

Jones dominated Sherman with with seven catches for 139 yards and a touchdown.

. Sherman was so mad he threw a tirade on the sidelines.

Jones discussed Sherman on Wednesday, but the Falcons' All-Pro wide receiver sure doesn't seem to be dwelling on the late no-call involving the Seahawks' four-time Pro Bowl cornerback.

They will meet again Saturday in the Georgia Dome in a divisional playoff game.

"For me, I'm just getting ready like any other week," Jones said. "I don't have any grudges against Sherman or nothing like that. I'm here to play ball. What happened then was then; this is now."

The play is still in the forefront of the memory of most fans.

Quarterback Matt Ryan threw deep on fourth down, and the ball fell incomplete near Jones, who stretched out his left hand to try to catch the ball as his right arm was pinned by Sherman.

Falcons coach Dan Quinn and the sideline howled, seeking a pass-interference call that would have left the Falcons in range for Matt Bryant to attempt a potential game-winning field goal.

The Falcons' last possession was over.

Jones downplayed that play and game. He has no plans to grease game officials Saturday, or do anything differently.

"It's not a big game for us," Jones said. "It's like any other game. We're just doing what we do. No pressure for us. ... We just landed them in the playoffs. It's another game for me. It's not I want revenge or anything like that. They're in the way.

" ... I'm not talking to refs at all or anything like that. I'm here to play football. I ain't here to talk to refs about this and that. That's their job. They call what they call. If they see it, they call it. If they don't, they don't."

Jones said: "It's going to be fun, just the matchup going up against each other."

Jones, who's coming off a toe injury, also said: "I feel great."

Quinn agreed.

Jones had 83 receptions for 1,409 yards and six touchdowns in 14 games, missing the 13th and 14th games because of a sprained toe. Last week's bye, a reward for the Falcons finishing with the second-best record in the NFC, benefited Jones.

"It definitely did," Quinn said. "There were certain guys that I was watching more closely just to see the speed that we were practicing at yesterday. I was definitely pleased with that."

It appears the bye week paid off for the Falcons in terms of their health. Quinn said no players will be limited by injury during Wednesday's practice.

The Falcons closed the season with four consecutive victories. Whatever momentum, if any, the Falcons lost by not playing during the wild-card round last weekend likely is more than offset by getting key players healthy.

"We had a lot of nicks and bruises around here," Jones said. "Getting guys full speed, everybody is up and running-(the bye) didn't' hurt us by any means. We took advantage of it. We came in, we worked out, we ran around. Practice was basically working on us to get better."

--Matt Ryan obviously is not solely responsible for the success or failure of the Falcons. But he's the quarterback, the most-scrutinized (and highest-paid) player on the roster, and looming in the background of Ryan's MVP-caliber season is his 1-4 mark in the postseason.

It doesn't matter if it's appropriate or fair to attach a record to any quarterback's name. Never mind that Ryan has never really been able to lean on a great defense. Forget those shaky offensive lines he's sometimes had to work behind.

The quarterback takes the heat. That's just the way it is. And if the Falcons have another one-and-done playoff appearance, that postseason stigma will stick to Ryan and overshadow whatever he does until he takes them to the Super Bowl.

Ryan and the Falcons play the Seahawks on Saturday in their first playoff game since the 2012 season. Coach Dan Quinn wasn't with the Falcons then, but he said he decided to bring the topic of Ryan's playoff record out of the shadows and address it directly with his quarterback

"You can't truly be relentless until you have been right close to it and you didn't get it," Quinn said. "From my experience, you learn so much from a loss. What I can tell you is Matt is a far different quarterback today than he was a few years ago."

--One part of the narrative for Saturday's Falcons-Seahawks game is Dan Quinn facing his old team and boss. The more interesting angle to me is this will be Quinn's first playoff game as a head coach.

His decisions will face more scrutiny than ever and, if the regular season is an indication, expect Quinn to be aggressive.

A Wall Street Journal analysis of in-game coaching decisions this season ranked Quinn as the fourth-most aggressive coach in the NFL. The study compared coaches' decisions against the league average in three categories-fourth down, "general offense and defensive playcalling ... (and) special teams." The analysis considered "game situations," including score and time remaining.

Quinn's play-calling aggressiveness was about average, ranking 15th among the 32 head coaches. But he was fifth-most aggressive with his special-teams calls and seventh-most aggressive with his fourth-down decisions. Seattle head coach Pete Carroll, Quinn's former boss, ranks in the middle of the pack at No. 17 overall in aggressiveness.

--It's easy to wonder, especially at this time of year, what the Seahawks are up to after adding J.D. McKissic to their roster a few weeks ago. Did they scoop him after the Falcons waived him last month to pick the wide receiver's brain ahead of a possible playoff rematch against Atlanta?

Has Seattle gained some sort of intel from McKissic, whom they're paying nearly four times more than the Falcons were, that might help them scheme Atlanta ahead of Saturday's playoff matchup in the Georgia Dome?

Dwight Freeney has seen a lot in 15 NFL seasons, but he seriously doubts the Falcons have lost any truly valuable secrets through McKissic.

"It could be small things ... but we understand who they have as well," Freeney said. "So it's kind of like if it's something that major, we probably have changed those types of things over time."

The Seahawks might not be able to learn much, if anything, from recently signed return man Devin Hester, whom the Falcons released before the season. He's been nowhere near the Falcons' high-powered offense this season as coordinator Kyle Shanahan, quarterback Matt Ryan and the gang has built habits.

NOTES: WR Julio Jones (toe). LB Vic Beasley Jr. (shoulder). WR Taylor Gabriel (foot). CB Robert Alford (knee) and TE Austin Hooper (knee) all were listed on the Falcons' injury report, but fully participated in practice.