FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Roddy White has been limited in recent Falcons practices in an effort to reduce the strain on a tweaked hamstring. But that hasn't broadened the pinpoint focus the receiver has carried ever since the end of 2007.
White finished last season with 83 catches for 1,202 yards and a career-high six touchdowns. His 62 receiving yards in the season finale against Seattle also moved him into fifth place on the team's single-season receiving list. He came just 157 yards from breaking the single-season record (1,358 yards), which is held by Alfred Jenkins (1981).
"I feel good," White said Thursday, minutes after finishing six 100-yard trots to help his conditioning. "I think I can go out there and perform at a high level. I want to make the Pro Bowl and I think this is the year I can catch a lot of balls. They have me doing a lot of things in this offense."
The offense has changed since the end of his breakout year, but White is certain he can do more in the run-oriented scheme being introduced by new offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey.
Mularkey installed a strong running game in Pittsburgh from 2001 to 2003. The Steelers led the league in average rushing yards per game in 2001. But the veteran coach never lost sight of the passing game. In fact, Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward had some of his best seasons under Mularkey -- a career-high 112 receptions in 2002 and a total of 26 touchdowns from 2001 to 2003.
White is playing a position similar to Ward in the Falcons' new offense.
"I'm playing the Z position and that's the same position he played," White said when asked about Ward's success under Mularkey. "I was watching film on Hines the other day and watching what he did in that offense. Watching someone that succeed in the offense is good for you."
White also likes what other receivers can do in the new offense.
"I think all of our receivers are good," he said. "Certain players can do certain things good. Laurent (Robinson) is more of a vertical player -- more of an outside game. (Michael Jenkins) is the guy in the middle that makes all the right reads on the option and short routes. Either one you go with would be a great compliment for me."
Receivers succeed in run-first offenses with option routes and the play-action passing game. White gets "mental reps" on those and countless other styles during organized team activities, which run through the middle of this month.
The hamstring pull is frustrating, but the sweat from conditioning drills and the mental weight lifting of each practice keeps White on track. You can find the fourth-year receiver behind and to the right of the quarterback on every play, making reads and following the Z wideout.
His new receivers coach, Terry Robiskie isn't surprised by the extra focus.
"When a guy has touched that iceberg of success he keeps himself going," he said. "Roddy realizes he's right at the verge of being a good football player. He's pushing himself closer to being a Pro Bowl player... I think the motivation comes from him."
Robiskie grew familiar with White's game well before the 2005 Draft. He interviewed him at the Scouting Combine and was impressed by strength and two high school state wrestling championships. A 26-year veteran of NFL coaching , Robiskie saw something special in White -- a drive that transcended a few frames on game footage. The devotion carries into his personality and the classroom.
And it takes a little more than a tweaked hamstring to slow it down.
"I knew he had some toughness," Robiskie said. "When I interviewed him at the Combine I felt I was talking to a very confident guy -- a guy that believed in his ability."
