Pretty Fly for a white guy
If the Falcons are to soar this year, star receiver Roddy White needs to take his game to new heights

by DeMarco Williams

Atlanta Falcons standout Roddy White is standing outside of a large camper. He exchanges a few pleasantries with people on the grass, all behind-the-scenes folks of a Reebok photo shoot about to take place. The South Carolina native, who’s at home in pretty much any situation, marches inside the RV and immediately notices some grub on the counter. “Who’s is this,” asks the 6-1, 200-pound package of hands and horsepower, pointing towards a foil-wrapped breakfast burrito. No one claims it. White digs in.

The whole scene might remind fans of how the 28-year-old came to the Falcons huddle back in 2007 and simply snatched the No. 1 receiver role. After a ’08 year of 1,382 receiving yards and an ’09 campaign of 11 receiving TDs, he’s now not only the consensus top long-ball threat in Atlanta, the two-time Pro Bowler is arguably a top  five wideout for the entire NFL. And between breakfast bites, White lets us know that his devouring of opposing defenses isn’t done. In fact, with a healthy Matt Ryan and Michael Turner by his side, the sky’s probably the limit for this Falcon. That is, of course, if he doesn’t permanently cramp up from inhaling the burrito first.

What’s a realistic goal for the Falcons this season?

We just want to get back to where we were in ’08. We want to get back to the playoffs. Every year we want to be productive, get to the playoffs and give ourselves a chance to get to the Super Bowl. That’s our goal.

Your career seemingly turned a page from ’06 to ’07. What helped you do it?

Just getting in there and doing what I was supposed to do, getting more football-oriented instead of being the fun-loving guy who does as least as possible. I wanted to get ready for games and just be a pro. That’s what they call it. Just doing extra in the weightroom, doing extra film work, watching tape and going out there and practicing hard on a consistent basis. Day in and day out, I just get myself ready mentally to go out there and prepare myself for Sunday games.

What’s a typical day of preparation like?

I stay about 10 minutes from the [Falcons training] facility, so it takes me about 20 minutes to get dressed. I brush my teeth, wash my face. I get up, put on my jogging suit and hop in my car. There my day starts. I get to my locker and throw on my workout clothes. I go in there and get my movement prep in. I just get my body activated and my muscles working right before meetings. I go in the weightroom and do what the coaches want me to do. After that, it’s straight meetings. Time for team meetings and individual meetings. We meet for about three hours and then we go on the field. Really, this is when my day starts because that’s when I’m in grind mode. That’s when I’m locked and loaded. I get on the practice field a little bit earlier than most guys. I do my four-cone drills and I catch passes and things like that before practice. When they blow the horn, I’m ready to go. We start stretching and practice goes from there.

A lot of high school and college kids look up to guys like you. What are a few words of wisdom you can give them about staying focused with school and football?

You gotta stay focused all of the time, especially at the high school level. You can’t get into college without good grades. To even give yourself an opportunity at the next level, you gotta go hard in the classroom. As far as the football thing, just listen to the coaches. Do what they ask you to do and do a little bit more. You gotta do things when people aren’t watching. That’s what separates the good guys from the average guys. Once you get to that level, you become an elite player.

Speaking of which, would you rather have a Super Bowl win or a Hall of Fame career?

Everybody wants to win the Super Bowl. I mean, like two percent of the league is in the Hall of Fame. The Hall is all about consistency, putting up numbers and being at the top of your class. But when you win the Super Bowl, you are etched in [history]. I would rather win the Super Bowl. But both ain’t bad!

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