In White's absence, Douglas gets more reps

By D. ORLANDO LEDBETTER

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Flowery Branch — Falcons wide receiver Harry Douglas is getting in a lot of extra work.

With Pro Bowl receiver Roddy White in a contract dispute and holding out, Douglas is getting snaps in training camp that would have gone to White. “Everybody, the whole group, is getting a little more,” Douglas said.

To help alleviate some of the wear and tear on the group, the Falcons signed former Kentucky receiver Dicky Lyons Jr. in time for Tuesday’s afternoon practice.

Lyons’ father, Dicky Sr., was drafted by the Falcons in 1969. Lyons Jr. worked out for the Falcons a month ago and was told to stay ready, and White’s absence gave him another opportunity.

At the top of the receiver rotation, Douglas, who played at Jonesboro High School, has moved in alongside Michael Jenkins. With White out, Douglas doesn’t feel any added pressure.

“We are all out here, and we have a job to do,” Douglas said. “Our job is to be productive.”

As a rookie last season, Douglas was a triple-threat weapon. He played in all 16 games and had 23 receptions for 320 yards and one touchdown. He also had 12 rushes, mostly on reverses, for 33 yards and a touchdown, and he returned punts for an average of 11.9 yards per return and a touchdown.

This season, he has things even more under control.

“Once you learn the offense and get into the system, it pays off a lot,” Douglas said. “Your head is not spinning. You can play fast and do things right.”

Douglas said he spent a lot of his time in the offseason studying tape, trying to learn to read defenses better.

“I have to keep my eyes up,” he said. “The first year you were just trying to get the play right. Now you know the play and you know what you’re doing.

“Now you’re just looking at the defense to see what’s going on. Then you run your route after that.”

With White out, Douglas is studying the play of tight end Tony Gonzalez, a 10-time Pro Bowl selection acquired in an offseason trade.

“The one thing that he does is that he is patient with his routes and he attacks the ball when it’s in the air,” Douglas said. “I got cut-ups on film of him to see how he approaches his routes.”

White, who is the final year of a five-year contract, became a holdout Friday night in hopes of landing a contract extension. Negotiations continued into the early evening Tuesday, but “there is nothing new,” Dimitroff said.

“We want Roddy here,” Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff said after the morning session Tuesday.

In the meantime, White is working out in Birmingham with Darrell Hackney, his former college quarterback and an Atlanta native, and Lance Rhodes, a Birmingham personal trainer. White’s agent, Jonathan Feinsod, said “no comment” when asked Tuesday for an update on the negotiations.