Roddy White is not entirely unhappy with a reduced role in the Atlanta Falcons' offense -- the team is 4-0 after all -- but that doesn't mean he enjoys being so low on Matt Ryan's list of progressions.
"For me, at the end of the day, I want to catch passes," White told ESPN.com. "I'm not out here just f---ing around just to sit around to just block f---ing people all day. It's not what I want to do.
"I've contributed to offenses for this franchise for the last nine, 10 years. It always bothers me when I go out and don't catch any balls in a game because it hasn't happened in so long."
Before this story turns into White taking a shot at Kyle Shanahan, here is some required nuance:
White has been a No. 1 or No. 2 for almost a decade now and pressed extremely hard on a surgically-drained knee to make it back for the opener. Before this season, he had not been held without a catch in a game since 2006. In that 39-28 win over Dallas, in which he was not targeted once, Shanahan called it his best game of the season because of his run blocking.
To a long-time playmaker like White, this can get frustrating.
It doesn't mean that White will check out or put Shanahan on mental mute. Like Larry Fitzgerald in Arizona, he's learning a new role and a new offense that is asking him to do different things.
White, after all, says it's not an issue of him gaining separation.
"I've watched the film. We've watched the film weeks and weeks and that's not a problem, me not getting open," White said. "I'm open, but it's not in the progression. Matt's not looking at it, and that's the type of guy he is. He's a 1-2-3 progression guy. We don't get off script, which is good. We've been winning that way for a very long time, so we've got to be consistent."
Trepidation comes with change and there was no doubt some members of the Falcons were going to be unhappy after an explosive 4-0 start to the season. While White is adjusting, don't expect him to drop off altogether. He's been around long enough to know that won't help.
