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Falcons WR White not concerned about big numbers
Falcons White Footbal Heal
FILE - This July 31, 2012 file photo shows Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Roddy White during football training camp in Flowery Branch, Ga.. He's confident and outspoken, but White is playing a different role for the Falcons this season. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File) - photo by Associated Press
GEORGE HENRY
Associated Press
Updated: Aug 15, 2012, 2:42 AM
Published: Aug 15, 2012, 2:43 AM

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Roddy White doesn't shy away from the diva tendencies of many successful receivers.

He's still confident and outspoken, but White has taken on a different role for the Atlanta Falcons this season.

For the first time in his eight-year career, White is no longer the Falcons' undisputed best player at his position, not with Julio Jones entering his second season.

If White's numbers are down this year, so be it.

"I told them earlier in the season that I don't want to be the most targeted receiver in the NFL," White said Tuesday. "We've got a lot of good playmakers and we've got to spread the ball around. We've got to get everybody involved in the game plan."

White promises he won't be upset if Jones, last year's No. 6 overall draft pick, catches more passes and scores more touchdowns for the Falcons (No. 13 in the AP Pro32).

That doesn't mean White won't speak his mind, but with goals like winning his first playoff game and helping Atlanta reach the Super Bowl, he wants to put the team first.

"I think Roddy has a great attitude," coach Mike Smith said. "Roddy has been a perennial Pro Bowl player, and I think he'll continue to be that kind of player. Where his numbers are going to be, who knows? But I can assure you that defenses are going to have to figure out how they're going to defend Roddy White. He's that type of player."

While earning his fourth straight Pro Bowl invitation last year, White led the NFC in catches for the second consecutive season and became the eighth receiver to catch at least 80 passes for 1,000 yards receiving for five consecutive years.

But White, the Falcons' career-leading wideout with 7,374 yards receiving, might not have posted big numbers if Jones, the league's No. 6 overall draft pick last year, hadn't missed three-plus games with hamstring injuries.

In last week's preseason loss to Baltimore, quarterback Matt Ryan targeted Jones seven times and White five times. Jones caught six passes for 109 yards, one of them a one-handed grab for a touchdown.

White had three catches for 46 yards.

Now that No. 3 receiver Harry Douglas has returned from a rib injury, White might have less chances Thursday when the Falcons (0-1 preseason) host Cincinnati (1-0).

"Like I said, if we're going to go out there and sling it, then we've got to get everybody involved, especially Julio and Harry," White said. "They're going to be very important to our offense and what we do out there on the field."

Though Jones' size and speed could make him more of a deep threat, Smith still considers White to be the team's top target.

"He's our No. 1 receiver, and you've got to try to defend him first and foremost," Smith said. "And then certain weeks they're going to try to stop somebody else, and Roddy's going to get his opportunities."

And White is going to keep defending himself, as he did in a tweet Sunday with one of his 99,850 followers:

"If your going to be a fan be a fan of the game stop acting like you know football when you don't know nothing squirt why am I talking to you," White wrote.

Notes: Smith stopped short of calling reserve CB Dominique Franks the Falcons' No. 1 punt returner because Douglas, who handled the job as a rookie in 2008, could still factor in the team's decision. Smith added that Douglas will not work at punt returner in preseason. Franks returned a first-quarter punt 45 yards against Baltimore. ... Smith said Ryan and the first-team offense will be on a snap count Thursday. If the count is low, Ryan could play into the second quarter.
Ryan glad to have extension settled ahead of training camp
Ryan
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan speaks during a news conference Monday, in Flowery Branch, Ga. Ryan recently signed a contract extension that makes him the highest paid player in the NFL. - photo by Associated Press
CHARLES ODUM
AP Sports Writer
Updated: May 8, 2018, 3:47 AM
Published: May 8, 2018, 3:49 AM

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Matt Ryan pulled out his secret weapons to seal the five-year contract extension that made him the NFL's highest-paid player.

Ryan brought his infant twin boys, Marshall and John, to Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank's office on Friday, when the deal was signed.

"Tough negotiators," a smiling Ryan said Monday.

The twins, born on April 8 following a complicated pregnancy for Ryan's wife, Sarah, and the new contract are reasons for Ryan to have an optimistic new focus on his future.

The extension announced on Thursday is worth at least $100 million , a league record, and could be worth as much as $150 million.

Ryan has been the figurehead of the Falcons during their most successful 10-year run in franchise history. He says he sees the contract as an incentive for the future instead of a reward for leading the team to six playoff seasons, including the Super Bowl run in 2016, when he was named NFL MVP.

"We've had some really good teams," Ryan said. "But I think the best is in front of us and that's what has me so excited about my future here and our future as an organization, that we have a lot of really good pieces in place."

Ryan said when he was drafted in 2008 it was his hope "to be the quarterback that a franchise leans on for a long time, 15, 20 years. That's kind of still where my head is at."

Before the extension, Ryan, who turns 33 on May 17, could have been a free agent after the 2018 season.

The threat of Ryan entering free agency could have been the biggest story of training camp. That was a distraction Ryan and the Falcons were eager to avoid.

Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff described the extension as "our primary focus this offseason."

Now Ryan can focus on football instead of finances as he prepares for the 2018 season.

"I'm happy with the timing of it," Ryan said. "I think the organization is very happy with the timing of it. Certainly when we get back to training camp it's 100 percent about football. ... I always felt confident it was going to get done in a smooth way and in a timely manner and I feel like it did."

There was little question the Falcons would keep Ryan, who has helped to reshape the perception of the franchise.

Before the Ryan era, the Falcons had only eight playoff seasons in 42 years, and none in back-to-back years. With Ryan, the Falcons have made the playoffs in six of 10 years, including the 2016 Super Bowl run.

The contract extension brings continued stability for an offense that also returns wide receivers Julio Jones and Mohamed Sanu and running backs Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman. Dimitroff gave the offense a boost by making wide receiver Calvin Ridley its first-round draft pick last month.

Like Jones, Ridley is from Alabama.

"I guess I'm an honorary Alabama quarterback now," Ryan said. "... I'm very excited about Calvin coming here."

Ryan's new deal topped the total compensation of the $84 million, three-year guaranteed deal that quarterback Kirk Cousins received from the Minnesota Vikings.

Someday, Ryan will be able to show his twins a photo taken by the Falcons of the day they were in the room when he signed the extension.

"It was a special day for our family," he said. "I was excited that they were there. That will always be a great memory for us but also a really cool picture for me to be able to show them when they get older. They won't remember it, but I'll tell them I was OK at one point."