Do you often awaken with heart pounding, drenched in a cold sweat, after nightmares that Roddy is somehow lost to our offense? Of course you do, and for good reason! The Falcons’ helpless dependence on #84 to anchor their passing game is the stuff bad dreams are made of. Our amazing Mr. White has accounted for just under HALF of the Falcons’ passing yardage this year. Looky how that compares to his NFC peers at WR…
|
Player |
Team |
% of team yds |
Yds |
Team Yds |
|
ATL |
46% |
747 |
1634 |
|
|
ARI |
38% |
331 |
877 |
|
|
CHI |
34% |
478 |
1413 |
|
|
WAS |
33% |
548 |
1652 |
|
|
NYG |
31% |
525 |
1703 |
|
|
DAL |
30% |
524 |
1738 |
|
|
Mike Williams |
SEA |
29% |
348 |
1191 |
|
Mike Williams |
TB |
29% |
365 |
1265 |
|
DET |
28% |
437 |
1552 |
|
|
PHI |
27% |
458 |
1703 |
|
|
MIN |
26% |
289 |
1094 |
|
|
STL |
25% |
351 |
1388 |
|
|
CAR |
25% |
244 |
985 |
|
|
NO |
23% |
452 |
1955 |
|
|
GB |
22% |
390 |
1755 |
|
|
SF |
22% |
332 |
1542 |
While these numbers testify to Roddy’s extraordinary ability, they also speak to the Falcons’ vulnerability and utter lack of depth at the WR position. Going back 5 seasons, only a handful of teams have had a WR that carried such a big portion of the workload:
|
|
Player |
Team |
% of team yds |
Yds |
Team Yds |
|
2008: |
Steve Smith |
CAR |
45% |
1421 |
3158 |
|
|
Calvin Johnson |
DET |
45% |
1331 |
2960 |
|
2006: |
BUF |
48% |
1292 |
2719 |
|
|
2005: |
Steve Smith |
CAR |
48% |
1563 |
3271 |
|
|
Santana Moss |
WAS |
48% |
1483 |
3106 |
|
|
TB |
45% |
1287 |
2890 |
It’s foolish, even risky if the Falcons think they can continue to function in this manner. Despite recent appearances to the contrary, Roddy’s only human and needs help at WR if our team wants an offense that can compete against top defenses like the Steelers.
My take on this is that the Falcons need to make WR & OL their top priorites in the offseason, just like they did with CB and LB this year. Your opinions, gents?


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