New England Patriots: Pats Butler, Falcons Jones Talk Super Bowl Matchup

He wanted to check him. He gets his chance in the Super Bowl.

One of the most highly anticipated match ups of Super Bowl LI will be between Atlanta Falcons First Team All Pro wide receiver Julio Jones and the New England Patriots Second Team All Pro Malcolm Butler.

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Jones has been on an unstoppable tear through the Falcons two postseason games, becoming the only player in NFL postseason history to record two 180 yard receiving games. Jones has been battling with a nagging toe injury, but his recent performances have left little doubt on how much impact it’s had on him.

With that in mind, the Patriots game plan to shut him down in the Super Bowl next Sunday is going to be an intriguing matchup to watch, particularly regarding how they line up Butler against Jones.

Butler made headlines earlier this week when a tweet he sent out in 2012 resurfaced on the heels of the Super Bowl:

Butler was a mere freshman at Division II West Alabama, hardly a household name as Jones has been since he stepped on the football field at Bryant-Denny Stadium for the University of Alabama. The sixth overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, Jones has quickly become one of the most athletic and dynamic wide receivers in recent memory.

Still, Jones insists that the game will about how the two teams perform, rather than how his potential matchup with Butler, that will decide the game.

"“He’s a great player,” Jones said of Butler, via ESPN.com. “But at the end of the day, I’ve just got to focus on me, and getting me better, and just working with my teammates.”"

When Butler spoke to the media Thursday, his tweet was brought up and he was asked his thoughts on the possibility of facing a player of Jones’s caliber.

"“Dreams do come true,” Butler said. “That’s not any trash talk or being cocky or anything. I had a vision. [But] talking never won the game, you got to be about that action.”"

There is sure to be plenty of action coming Butler’s way next Sunday. Julio has picked apart every defense he has faced this postseason, which has been almost entirely zone coverage. It will be interesting to see if the Patriots will allow more man-to-man coverage on the freakish Jones, allowing Butler to get physical and throwing Jones off of his game.

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Regardless of the strategy, the Patriots are going to have to do something far different than what the Green Bay Packers did last week and the Seattle Seahawks did the week before. If they can’t, Super Bowl LI’s outcome may already be decided