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Why is Roddy White so good all of a sudden?

by brotherbrown on Oct 25, 2010 7:42 PM EDT

....well not quite all of a sudden.

But if you've been a Falcons fan at least since 2005, you should know that Roddy White hasn't always been this good.
For his first two seasons, you could almost say that he seemed to be a bust, and couldn't catch anything...always dropping passes. Another Atlanta Falcons draft Blunder. And we don't need to be reminded about his counterpart Michael Jenkins.

Courteousy of this site SBNation you can see below Roddy's performance over his 6 seasons.

http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/players/1192/roddy-white/career

Year	Team	G	Rec	Yds	AVG	Lng	TD	KR
2005	Falcons	16	29	446	15.3	54	3	0
2006	Falcons	16	30	506	16.8	55	0	0
2007	Falcons	16	83	1202	14.4	69	6	1
2008	Falcons	16	88	1382	15.7	70	7	0
2009	Falcons	16	85	1153	13.5	90	11	0
2010	Falcons	7	54	747	13.8	46	5	0

White has started every game so far and hasn't missed any games. The only current receiver on our roster since 2005 that can say that.

I was convinced after the 2006 season both Jenkins and White needed to depart the Franchise, I just wasn't seeing it. But somehow of the past few seasons, something has changed

But what is it?

Was it Vick? Vick passes could be known as hard thrown uncatchable balls, but after seeing his success in Philadelphia, maybe that isn't it.

What about Gregg take a Knapp? His offense along with Jim Mora didn't seem to know what to do with Vick and the receivers, rarely got involved except for Crumpler at times. But it wasn't just White dropping balls, almost every receiver dropped balls.

Since we've had Petrino/Hue Jackson and then Mike Mularkey as our Offensive Coordinator, from which White has busted out.

Or maybe it was Roddy himself. Perhaps grew up a bit and focused more on the game and his concentration so he can truly shine as he's always has been.

But our team has been full of guys that seem to not be good and when we let them go or give them time, they seem to play better. We all see now that Jenkins may actually open up the offense. Snelling is a good backup. Jamaal Anderson can be a force inside. Grimes may be burned but he can still make plays. Laurent Robinson was actually a better receiver than we thought before we let him go.

So what do you guys think is the reason for Roddy's success?

Debate!

This FanPost was written by one of The Falcoholic's talented readers. It does not necessarily reflect the views of The Falcoholic.

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Because he is actually playing for a team now

before he was in that hell storm of an orginization..now he’s in one of the most stable ones. I love it, every time he runs into the endzone he has this huge smile on is face instead of lookin around like a thug and showboating.

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by dirtybirds233 on Oct 25, 2010 7:48 PM EDT reply actions

so basically he's around better influences

I remember in the Dec 10 07 game wasn’t he one of those “Free Mike Vick” guys?
Yet we kept him and not the other guys.

When you see a person smile, it really doesn't mean anything, unless they are smiling from within...which can be difficult to detect.

by brotherbrown on Oct 25, 2010 11:12 PM EDT up reply actions

so in 07

wasn’t it still a “hell storm of an organization”? oh he wasn’t showboating and wasn’t smiling?

Atlanta will win a championship....someday

by maxxj3 on Oct 26, 2010 10:23 AM EDT up reply actions

the smiling thing was just something i noticed, not saying thats we he's better haha

but yes in 07 it still was and they had confidence in him htats why he was never released like the others, they saw his potential.

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by dirtybirds233 on Oct 26, 2010 12:29 PM EDT up reply actions

He's said himself that he didn't take the work seriously until the past couple years.

That’s one we can’t even blame on Jim Mora — remember Jimmy taking Roddy out to play catch for an hour after practice? Man, if only Roddy and Vick had both put it together at the same time…

One quibble: Laurent Robinson is on pace to finish 2010 with about 130 yards.

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by Jason Kirk on Oct 25, 2010 9:28 PM EDT reply actions

well,

once upon a time Laurent Robinson did look good after he left….

When you see a person smile, it really doesn't mean anything, unless they are smiling from within...which can be difficult to detect.

by brotherbrown on Oct 25, 2010 11:13 PM EDT up reply actions

I respect your brother ...

But he’s had 200ish reception yards and 2 TDs since he left ATL. At what point did he look good after he left?

by James Rael on Oct 26, 2010 2:39 AM EDT up reply actions

He started off good

Last season (2009) before he got hurt (again) and went on IR.

"Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital." - Aaron Levenstein

by orang3b on Oct 26, 2010 10:08 AM EDT up reply actions

Fact is Laurent has the talent like Roddy does

Despite his current numbers.

When you see a person smile, it really doesn't mean anything, unless they are smiling from within...which can be difficult to detect.

by brotherbrown on Oct 26, 2010 1:11 PM EDT up reply actions

I don't think he does

Laurent is at best a competent outside receiver with wheels. Injuries are sapping that from him.

by Dave Choate on Oct 26, 2010 1:51 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

RE: taking the work seriously

I’ve seen people credit his one year with Joe Horn (of all people) showing him the dedication it takes to make it big.

"Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital." - Aaron Levenstein

by orang3b on Oct 26, 2010 10:13 AM EDT up reply actions

Roddy himself stated it was Horn and Petrino's brother (a WR coach?) that did it..

they both kicked him in the pants and taught him he needed to work, train, practice, diet, etc to be a great WR… To his credit, he has stuck with it. We all see how it is paying off.

I have no vampire experience, but I have hunted werewolves. I shot one once, but by the time I got there, it had turned back into my neighbor's dog.

by Heath13 on Oct 26, 2010 11:05 AM EDT up reply actions

Yeah I think Petrino did have a relative that was under our staff that year.
But that’s amazing, if that’s the case. Horn and the other Petrino helped develop our best receiver.
Perhaps the 2007 season wasn’t all that bad after all.

When you see a person smile, it really doesn't mean anything, unless they are smiling from within...which can be difficult to detect.

by brotherbrown on Oct 26, 2010 1:15 PM EDT up reply actions

From the looks of things

We gave him a kick return in 2007 and then he turned the corner. just do this for all our ailing players? Peria Jerry on kick returns for a week?

by Turner_The_Burner on Oct 26, 2010 4:09 AM EDT reply actions

which game was that

Even i don’t remember Roddy on kick returns

When you see a person smile, it really doesn't mean anything, unless they are smiling from within...which can be difficult to detect.

by brotherbrown on Oct 26, 2010 1:15 PM EDT up reply actions

I think Vick was a part of it.

Vick was known for throwing incredibly hard. I even heard that Vick broke one of (Jenkins’s?) hands because he threw so hard.

Also, Vick is left handed. For whatever reason, the spin on the ball can throw off a receiver because of how they catch the ball. You’d think that wouldn’t be a problem, but it happens.

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by Caleb Rutherford on Oct 26, 2010 9:39 AM EDT reply actions

ha

that’s even funnier the second time I’ve heard about this

Atlanta will win a championship....someday

by maxxj3 on Oct 26, 2010 10:26 AM EDT up reply actions

He has a TRUE pocket passing QB, that is REALLY working hard 4 his team!

Rise Up! Its more than a statement, its the definition and belief in a franchise!
(A True ATLien)

by Dirtybyrdatl4life on Oct 26, 2010 10:08 AM EDT reply actions

Joey Harrington?

He broke out in 2007…

"Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital." - Aaron Levenstein

by orang3b on Oct 26, 2010 10:10 AM EDT up reply actions

A combination of factors

We knew coming out of UAB that Roddy was a raw wide receiver. The Falcons were banking on him discovering himself quickly, because there weren’t really any other options.

I think, as previously mentioned, it helped to have people working with him on his work ethic and maturity, and him focusing on disciplining himself mentally after two miserable, drop-happy seasons. The talent has been there from the very beginning.

by Dave Choate on Oct 26, 2010 11:41 AM EDT reply actions

it seems like

Raw players are some of the slowest to develop and you have to be patient for them to be productive.

When you see a person smile, it really doesn't mean anything, unless they are smiling from within...which can be difficult to detect.

by brotherbrown on Oct 26, 2010 1:18 PM EDT up reply actions

Interesting that Roddy didn't blossom until Mora left

Not to blame it all on our beloved Jim-Jim, but what a coincidence, huh? Perhaps there was an environment that didn’t encourage Roddy to develop a work ethic. Same thing happened with Vick, it doesn’t take much of a stretch of the imagination.

by tom slick on Oct 26, 2010 3:01 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

Combination of factors

His work ethic has improved, experience has improved him naturally, the development of a run game has helped him get open more, his chemistry with Ryan creates a lot of plays…more than anything, I think its the tone that the coaching staff has set. There’s definitely no single reason.

by ArthurDank on Oct 27, 2010 9:17 AM EDT reply actions