Falcons wide receiver Roddy White said earlier this week that he wants more catches than the six he’s managed through the first four weeks of the regular season.
White likely heard some criticism for that stance because he followed up by saying that his desire to have the ball in his hands more often doesn’t mean he’s unhappy with the Falcons offense and that his primary goal is to win. At the time of the initial comments, coach Dan Quinn said he “wouldn’t want it any other way in terms of the mindset and the attitude” and the topic came up during his Wednesday media session as well.
Quinn said that he would have an “easy conversation” with White, who missed Wednesday’s practice for personal reasons, about his feelings. He also said the team wasn’t going to alter its approach just to put the ball in White’s hands with greater frequency.
“I wouldn’t say a point of emphasis,” Quinn said, via ESPN.com. “We’ve got great respect for Roddy and all the unique things that he brings to our team. But we don’t generally go into this or that to make it happen. He’s somebody that we think the world of and think a ton of. The [opportunities] will be there, although they weren’t in some of the games. We certainly think that they will be moving forward.”
Julio Jones is the centerpiece of the Atlanta offense and the Falcons have looked Leonard Hankerson’s way more than they’ve looked to White this season, something that is definitely a big change but not a particularly surprising one. It’s a new coaching staff and offensive scheme that isn’t going to use players the same way that Mike Smith’s staff did, to say nothing of the fact that White isn’t the first 33-year-old wideout to see his role diminish in the later stages of his career.