FLOWERY BRANCH — Falcons All-Pro wide receiver Roddy White is one of the few remaining members of the team who played with quarterback Michael Vick. Through Vick’s incarceration and return to the NFL in Philadelphia, the two have remained friends.
But they’ve shoved that relationship to the side because the Eagles face the Falcons in a nationally televised game at 8:20 p.m. Sunday at the Georgia Dome.
In a Q&A with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, White discussed his friendship with Vick, how the Falcons need to get their explosive plays and how he wants Vick to throw four interceptions this week.
Q: What do you think about Michael Vick coming back to town as a starter?
A: I’m happy for him and all of the success he’s had up until this point. We have to play against him. I want him to do really, really bad.
Q: Have you all been texting this week? Talking?
A: Yeah, I talked to him. No trash talking. Actually, we didn’t talk about football. Just life and things like that. Football is the last thing that we ever talk about. That’s about it.
Q: Are you happy for him, given what he’s been through?
A: Absolutely. He’s done a good job. For all of the misfortune that has happened to him, it was great for him to bounce back. He’s handled it well, and I hope he continues to handle it well. But just not this week. ... [I want him to throw] four picks.
Q: Were you surprised how the Falcons played against Chicago?
A: When we looked at the film, there were so many things that we did wrong.
Q: Is the onus on the receivers to make plays since assistant coach Mike Mularkey said he doesn’t want Matt Ryan forcing the ball down the field?
A: Absolutely. I don’t think we should force it down the field. That just causes interceptions and bad plays. That will lead to second-and-longs and third-and-longs. You don’t want to be in those positions. We are going to do what we do. If they are not going to let us throw it deep, then we’ll just catch passes underneath and break tackles and get our 20-yard gains like that until we can get them to come up. They just did a good job last week of laying back and keeping everything in front of them. When we did try to go deep, they dropped back into their zone spots so we couldn’t get the ball out.
Q: How will Matt handle the hoopla with all of the No. 7 jerseys expected at the Georgia Dome?
A: He’ll be fine because he wasn’t here for the whole Mike thing. He’s come in here and started his own thing. Every since he got here, we’ve been winning. We’ve been winning a lot of games and making the playoffs. There’s nothing he can do about that. ... We just need to get off to a good start and put some points up early.
Q: What do you think of the matchup with Philadelphia’s cornerbacks, Asante Samuel, Nnamdi Asomugha and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie?
A: You relish that opportunity ... We are going to be jacked up. Me, Harry [Douglas] and Julio [Jones] want to go out there and get those guys. You really get into it when you go against the best in the league.
