Post by Guvmintcheeze on Oct 6, 2015 21:20:52 GMT
Roddy White wants wins, a ring and catches
ATLANTA -- Of course Roddy White is ecstatic about his team's 4-0 start. At the same time, the prideful Atlanta Falcons veteran wide receiver would like to contribute more to the team's success as he strives for a Super Bowl title.
The 33-year-old White, who is to make $3.7 million this season, is fifth on the team in receiving with six catches for 92 yards on 12 targets. He went without a catch against the Giants, which was the first time he'd been shut out since the 2006 season, then had no catches again the next week against the Cowboys. And the emergence of Leonard Hankerson (17 catches, 241 yards) as a secondary option behind top target Julio Jones (38 catches, 478 yards) has folks wondering where White will fit in Kyle Shanahan's offense moving forward.
Shanahan said White had his best game in Week 3 against the Cowboys based on his run blocking.
"For me, at the end of the day, I want to catch passes," White told ESPN.com. "I'm not out here just f---ing around just to sit around to just block f---ing people all day. It's not what I want to do.
"I've contributed to offenses for this franchise for the last nine, 10 years. It always bothers me when I go out and don't catch any balls in a game because it hasn't happened in so long."
White's not about to start a revolt. The four-time Pro Bowler simply wants to relay that he has plenty left in him as the franchise's all-time leading receiver. Going into Sunday's matchup with Washington, he has 771 career receptions for 10,449 yards and 62 touchdowns.
White was asked how he would approach Shanahan to express his feelings.
"I don't," he said. "I just stay consistent. I just have to handle my business and what I can do; be the best football player I can be. He's going to do what he has to do. He's going to call the plays the he wants to play and how he wants to play it. Formations are made out how he wants to do it.
"I just have to stick in there and bear with it; just continue to do my job. And hopefully, Matt [Ryan] will throw me some balls."
White said getting open is not an issue for him despite his body not being the same. He had his left knee drained during minicamp and wears a compression sleeve to protect it.
"I've watched the film. We've watched the film weeks and weeks and that's not a problem, me not getting open," White said. "I'm open, but it's not in the progression. Matt's not looking at it, and that's the type of guy he is. He's a 1-2-3 progression guy. We don't get off script, which is good. We've been winning that way for a very long time, so we've got to be consistent."
Receivers coach Terry Robiskie shared how he has advised White to handle matters at this stage of his career.
"We all are prideful guys, but it's when you set your pride aside," Robiskie said. "I've got a Super Bowl ring and pride doesn't have anything to do with that ring. It's on my finger. No matter how much pride I had and how much I think I had, when you walk in with a ring, that's pride.
"Roddy's got all the records. He's done fantastic. ... He's been one of the greatest guys at his organization at his position in the NFL. But at the end of the day, he don't have a ring. Hopefully he sees, like the world sees, this is Julio's team. So now, 'I'm in the backseat and Julio's driving, but if I get there, I don't care who's driving. Just let me come along for the ride.' Rod just has to add fuel to the fire, and if Julio needs a push, get out the car and push a little bit. He doesn't need to drive it. He just needs to sit there and say, 'Let's see if we can go get a ring.'"
White fully understands Robiskie's point.
"I'm a football player and a competitor at the end of the day, so my mindset is always to win football games, set ourselves up for playoff games, and try to make it to the Super Bowl," White said. "I felt like we had some good chances. We had some good teams that were right there at that point."
We'll see if this is the year White and the Falcons reach their final destination.
Falcons coach Dan Quinn, who emphasized the importance of White in the grand scheme, was asked about White's desire for more touches.
"You wouldn't want it any other way in terms of the mindset and the attitude," Quinn said. "I think that's probably one of the things I most respect about him -- to be honest with you -- it's just the way he continues to battle and go for it.
"Some games, there will be more that go his way, and some that don't. I think that's the nature of playing the position. But he's definitely someone that we count on a bunch."
ATLANTA -- Of course Roddy White is ecstatic about his team's 4-0 start. At the same time, the prideful Atlanta Falcons veteran wide receiver would like to contribute more to the team's success as he strives for a Super Bowl title.
The 33-year-old White, who is to make $3.7 million this season, is fifth on the team in receiving with six catches for 92 yards on 12 targets. He went without a catch against the Giants, which was the first time he'd been shut out since the 2006 season, then had no catches again the next week against the Cowboys. And the emergence of Leonard Hankerson (17 catches, 241 yards) as a secondary option behind top target Julio Jones (38 catches, 478 yards) has folks wondering where White will fit in Kyle Shanahan's offense moving forward.
Shanahan said White had his best game in Week 3 against the Cowboys based on his run blocking.
"For me, at the end of the day, I want to catch passes," White told ESPN.com. "I'm not out here just f---ing around just to sit around to just block f---ing people all day. It's not what I want to do.
"I've contributed to offenses for this franchise for the last nine, 10 years. It always bothers me when I go out and don't catch any balls in a game because it hasn't happened in so long."
White's not about to start a revolt. The four-time Pro Bowler simply wants to relay that he has plenty left in him as the franchise's all-time leading receiver. Going into Sunday's matchup with Washington, he has 771 career receptions for 10,449 yards and 62 touchdowns.
White was asked how he would approach Shanahan to express his feelings.
"I don't," he said. "I just stay consistent. I just have to handle my business and what I can do; be the best football player I can be. He's going to do what he has to do. He's going to call the plays the he wants to play and how he wants to play it. Formations are made out how he wants to do it.
"I just have to stick in there and bear with it; just continue to do my job. And hopefully, Matt [Ryan] will throw me some balls."
White said getting open is not an issue for him despite his body not being the same. He had his left knee drained during minicamp and wears a compression sleeve to protect it.
"I've watched the film. We've watched the film weeks and weeks and that's not a problem, me not getting open," White said. "I'm open, but it's not in the progression. Matt's not looking at it, and that's the type of guy he is. He's a 1-2-3 progression guy. We don't get off script, which is good. We've been winning that way for a very long time, so we've got to be consistent."
Receivers coach Terry Robiskie shared how he has advised White to handle matters at this stage of his career.
"We all are prideful guys, but it's when you set your pride aside," Robiskie said. "I've got a Super Bowl ring and pride doesn't have anything to do with that ring. It's on my finger. No matter how much pride I had and how much I think I had, when you walk in with a ring, that's pride.
"Roddy's got all the records. He's done fantastic. ... He's been one of the greatest guys at his organization at his position in the NFL. But at the end of the day, he don't have a ring. Hopefully he sees, like the world sees, this is Julio's team. So now, 'I'm in the backseat and Julio's driving, but if I get there, I don't care who's driving. Just let me come along for the ride.' Rod just has to add fuel to the fire, and if Julio needs a push, get out the car and push a little bit. He doesn't need to drive it. He just needs to sit there and say, 'Let's see if we can go get a ring.'"
White fully understands Robiskie's point.
"I'm a football player and a competitor at the end of the day, so my mindset is always to win football games, set ourselves up for playoff games, and try to make it to the Super Bowl," White said. "I felt like we had some good chances. We had some good teams that were right there at that point."
We'll see if this is the year White and the Falcons reach their final destination.
Falcons coach Dan Quinn, who emphasized the importance of White in the grand scheme, was asked about White's desire for more touches.
"You wouldn't want it any other way in terms of the mindset and the attitude," Quinn said. "I think that's probably one of the things I most respect about him -- to be honest with you -- it's just the way he continues to battle and go for it.
"Some games, there will be more that go his way, and some that don't. I think that's the nature of playing the position. But he's definitely someone that we count on a bunch."