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Roddy White, WR, Atlanta Falcons
Roddy White, WR, Atlanta Falcons
Flight Plan
Monday, November 29, 2010

Subject: Atlanta Falcons WR Roddy White

Location: Atlanta, Ga.

Objective: Become an Elite Wide Receiver

When Roddy White walks in for his interview, he notices an inviting table of food. There's a wrap-shaped something covered in foil. Like any good South Carolina kid with proper home training, White asks if the sandwich belongs to anyone before he grabs it.

Nope, it doesn't appear to have an owner.

"Great, that's what I wanted to hear," White said.

While the 28-year-old Atlanta Falcon digs into his breakfast burrito, we start to digest a few things: 1. White has a huge appetite; 2. He doesn't mind talking with his mouth full; 3. He's nothing like you'd imagine.

On the field, White is all business. Seven catches, 100 yards and a touchdown just about every time he laces up the cleats. He might high-five a teammate after a big gain or flex a muscle upon scoring but, for the most part, White comes off pretty quiet.

Spend a few more minutes at the table with the two-time Pro Bowler and it's easy to realize that it's all part of the receiver's winning recipe. He knows when to be serious and when to have serious fun.

"I'm getting more football-oriented instead of being the fun-loving guy who does as little as possible," White said of his maturity over the past three years. "I wanted to get ready for games and just be a pro. I was just doing extra in the weight room, 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 for Sunday games."

As for the physical preparation, a typical in-season day for White reveals workouts, meetings and, of course, some serious eating.

7:30 a.m. 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.

8:00 a.m. 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 into the weight room and do what the coaches want me to do. After that, it's straight meetings.

10:30 a.m. Time for team meetings and individual meetings. We meet for about three hours and then we go on the field.

1:30 p.m. 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.

3:30 p.m. Time to take a shower and get out of there. Sometimes we watch a little bit of extra tape with the QBs. If we don't watch tape, I come home and take a two-hour nap.

5:30 p.m. After the nap, I'm up to watch [ESPN's] "Pardon the Interruption" and "Around the Horn."

6:30 p.m. I go get something to eat from whichever restaurant [I feel like] because I can't cook. I love steak. I love Stoney River. I love Morton's. Those are my stops. I hit two of those a week. I like pasta, too. I might go to Olive Garden, Maggiano's, or something like that. It's the same routine, week in and week out.

RODDY WHITE ON...

The Falcons' Playoff Hopes: We just want to get back to where we were in '08. 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.

Staying Focused: You've got to stay focused all of the time, especially at the high school level. To even give yourself an opportunity at the next level, you've got to 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've got to do things when people aren't watching. That's what separates the good guys from the average guys.

The Super Bowl or Hall of Fame: 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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