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Home > Terence Moore > Archives > 2008 > October > 17
Friday, October 17, 2008
Roddy White on track for consistent greatness
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Flowery Branch — For so many reasons, Roddy White is symbolic of why the Falcons are turning their three previous seasons of mediocrity, ugliness and turmoil into yesterday’s news.
As for today’s news, there is The List, for instance.
Let White explain.
“At the beginning of the season, Coach [Mike] Smith told me to write down the best wide receivers in the league,” said White, who promptly did what many around the Falcons’ locker room have done throughout their surprising 4-2 start: He kept his mouth shut, and he followed one of his coach’s suggestions.
Smith is a first-year NFL head coach, but this was a veteran coach’s move. For instance: White showed in 2007 that he was close to consistent goodness with 1,202 receiving yards after his opening two years in the league were dominated by dropped passes. Even so, if you’re Smith, and you’re always into improvement, you want White to seek consistent greatness.
Get better, suggests Smith and his assistants. Strive to become the ultimate that you can be. Don’t settle.
So Smith came up with The List for White, and the wide receiver nodded before rushing somewhere to jot down names. Torry Holt. Randy Moss. Chad Johnson (or Ocho Cinco or whatever he wants to be called nowadays). Terrell Owens. Reggie Wayne.
Afterward, White showed The List to Smith, who responded in a hurry.
“He said I need you to be like these two guys,” said White, referring to the names of Holt and Wayne, both the antithesis of the others when it comes to flash and silliness. That sounds like the no-frills White these days. He ranks second in the league in total receiving yards with 566, and he is proficient in the clutch. After all, he is tied for second in the NFC in third-down receiving with 13 catches for 245 yards and a touchdown.
More impressive, White displayed his growing NFL maturity after two drops against Carolina. The next week in Green Bay, he had eight catches — during the first half. Then there was last Sunday at the Georgia Dome. Despite missing two practices during the week with a head injury, he caught nine passes for 112 yards and a touchdown in the Falcons’ 22-20 thriller over the Chicago Bears.
It’s the stuff of Holt and Wayne, which is becoming the stuff of White.
“They just go out there and do their jobs,” White said. “They don’t complain. Whether they get the ball or not, they don’t go to the media about it. They sit back, they catch the ball, and at the end of the year, they’re always at the head of the stat sheets, and they always make the Pro Bowl.”
Sounds like White is reaching that next level with his 27th birthday just a couple of weeks away. So why did Falcons wide receivers coach Terry Robiskie respond with a deep sigh?
Get better. Strive to become the ultimate that you can be. Don’t settle.
Remember?
“Roddy’s getting better every day, but I won’t concede he’s at the next level yet,” said Robiskie, with nearly three decades as an NFL coach. “I’ll make the call that somebody is at that next level as a wide receiver when I see him in [Tampa for the Super Bowl] this season. And they’re catching one over somebody’s head. And the confetti is flying at the end. And the commissioner is handing somebody that trophy. And the guy’s waking up the next day at 6’o’clock in the morning to catch a flight to Hawaii [for the Pro Bowl].”
Tough standards. Then again, that’s why these Falcons aren’t playing like those other Falcons.
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