JACKSONVILLE -- After years outside the national spotlight, Roddy White's profile has grown.
Over the offseason, the Falcons' All-Pro wide receiver participated in ESPN the Weekend at Disney World and later debated the affable but tenacious Skip Bayless on First Take.
“I got my five minutes in with Skip,” White said. “The First Take thing was good.”
White also toured the ESPN facilities in Bristol, Conn., and did maybe a dozen other shows, mostly discussing the high expectations set for his team.
The painful part was White also had to explain the Falcons’ exit from the playoffs at the hands of eventual Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers.
“Everybody has high expectations for us," White said.
White’s expectations for himself and the team aren't any different.
“Last year was a good year for us," White said. "Our team excelled. We had [nine] Pro Bowlers. So all of that stuff is really good, but our ultimate goal is to win a Super Bowl. Until that’s done, we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
White has not pursued the spotlight during his climb to stardom after his first-round selection in the 2005 draft from Alabama-Birmingham. It found him after he led the league with 115 catches last year and posted his fourth consecutive 1,000-yard season.
The Falcons, with a big draft-day deal, added wide receiver Julio Jones, who enters his first NFL season as one of the most hyped Atlanta players in recent memory, and that's fine with White.
He figures there’s enough room in the spotlight for the both of them.
White has embraced Jones, just like he did a group of wrestlers from his old high school, James Island Charter in Charleston, S.C. He took 10 wrestlers to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., after USA Wrestling reached out to White to help promote the connection between wrestling and football.
“We went out there for like three days and we got to get in the room with those guys,” said White, a two-time, state-champion wrestler in high school. “We got to roll around with those guys on the mats.”
White caught Al Spalviero, his James Island Charter wrestling coach, off guard with an offer to travel to Colorado.
"He was doing his football camp and I went over to tell him how happy I was for him and how proud everyone around here is for him," Spalviero said Friday. "He said, ‘Coach I have to go out to Colorado and I want you to go.' ... He doesn't have to, but he does stuff for us."
White, 29 and a six-year veteran, has supported Jones in a similar manner, welcoming his new teammate with steady advice.
“Roddy helps me out with everything,” Jones said. “If I run a route and I’m kind of covered up, he’ll tell me what I can do to separate a little more.”
Around the league, the wide receiver position has become synonymous with selfish and diva-like behavior, thanks in part to Keyshawn Johnson, Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco. But Jones believes there will no ego problems among the Atlanta receivers.
“Not at all, we all just want win,” Jones said. “At the end of the day, that’s why we play the game, to win the Super Bowl. He is just trying to help me, which will help the team. We don’t have any selfish players on this team.”
White said he was OK with not having a ball thrown his way in the exhibition opener against Miami; it was time to get Jones and the other receivers involved.
“It’s looking all good for him,” White said of Jones. “As long as he keeps coming out here and getting better every day, and keeps his head in the playbook, he’ll be just fine.”
Falcons coach Mike Smith isn’t expecting any abhorrent behavior from White or Jones. Still, he knows the players will want their precious touches.
“There is nobody that likes to compete more than Roddy White,” Smith said. “He always has a smile on his face when he comes to work. You know that he’s going to come in here with a great attitude.”
After a slow start to his career, caused by key dropped passes, White caught 83 in 2007, 88 in 2009 and 85 last year. With White, Jones and tight end Tony Gonzalez, the Falcons have the welcome dilemma of wondering if there will be enough passes to keep everyone happy.
Last season, White led the team in receptions in nine games and was tied with Gonzalez for the most catches in three other games.
With Jones, White expects a wider distribution of the passes.
“There are going to be a lot of mismatches,” White said. “The player with the best mismatch is probably where we are going to go with the ball. It’s going to be tough to just line people up and cover us.
“You can’t double-team all of us. At some point, somebody is going to get man-to-man coverage and that person has to win. That’s what I think is going to happen. Just pick your poison.”
Jones finds security in his budding relationship with White. Smith has sensed the bond that is developing between White and Jones.
“Roddy has done a great job,” Smith said. “He is the elder statesman of our wide receiver group.”
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