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Patriots need 2 players to simulate Julio Jones in practice

Brett Davis / USA TODAY Sports

Super Bowl practices are often the stuff of legend.

In 2008, David Tyree dropped every pass during one practice session, then went on to make one of the greatest Super Bowl catches in history.

In 2015, Malcolm Butler was routinely beat by a rub route in the red zone in practice. Days later, he made an interception on the 1-yard line that would seal a New England Patriots victory.

This year's story may revolve around the fact that the Patriots are resorting to using two players to mimic Atlanta Falcons receiver Julio Jones in practice ahead of Super Bowl LI. Head coach Bill Belichick made the admission that both Matthew Slater and Michael Floyd are wearing No. 11 on the scout team.

"That's such a key guy for us, the routes and all that. We have two guys doing it so we won't wear one guy out," Belichick said in an AFC pool report, according to Nick O'Malley of MassLive.com.

"You've got to know where he is on every play."

At 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds, neither Slater (6-foot-0, 205) or Floyd (6-foot-2, 220) can replicate Jones' size, much less his wiry frame and game-breaking speed.

Nevertheless, this would appear to confirm that the Patriots will opt to blanket Jones and force the Falcons to use other weapons to beat them on Super Bowl Sunday.

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