Wide receiver Roddy White made no secret of his Pro Bowl goal in 2008. He achieved it, advancing to the all-star game that seemed unlikely during his first three years in Atlanta.
Looking for an encore, White finished 2009 with a team-high 85 catches, 1,153 yards and a career-high 11 touchdowns.
Like other Falcons that didn’t get an all-star nod, White took the high road. Players understand Pro Bowls aren’t the only measure of success. You can’t forget Super Bowl championships.
Besides, White and other receivers clearly benefited from the addition of Tony Gonzalez — a reliable, pass-catching tight end.
Here’s a look at the receivers currently on the roster, including those who finished 2009 on injured reserve or the practice squad…
Michael Jenkins: Unfortunately, one of the lasting images of Jenkins’ season was a dropped touchdown pass against the New York Giants. Examining the stats, he had another solid year as a No. 2 receiver — 50 catches for 635 yards. But he had just one touchdown. Certainly something he’ll focus on moving forward.
Harry Douglas: Went on injured reserve in training camp and spent much of the season in rehab. He traveled with the team in the second half of 2009 and stayed in meetings. Click here for some additional notes on Douglas and his recovery.
Brian Finneran: The Falcons 2009 Man of the Year nominee suffered a late knee injury — his third in the last four years. Head Coach Mike Smith expects a recovery. Before his injury, Finneran totaled 11 catches for 111 yards.
Roddy White: Became just the second wide receiver in franchise history to record back-to-back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons (Andre Rison).
James Swinton: A practice squad addition during 2009, Swinton is a native of Tucker and a graduate of Auburn.He caught just five passes for 53 yards in college but was a highly-regarded prep star in the state, named to the Georgia Top 50 by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Marty Booker: Signed during training camp to fill in for Douglas, the 11-year veteran finished the year with 16 catches for 181 yards and a touchdown.
Andy Strickland: Another practice squad addition, Strickland, an undrafted free agent in 2009, was released by the Jaguars in the preseason after recording three catches in exhibition games. The 6-foot, 197-pound receiver recorded 83 career catches for 1,540 yards and 15 touchdowns at Wofford. He also had five rushing scores.
Eric Weems: Stepped in as a returner for Douglas and — as the season wore on — got more involved in the Falcons offense. More on his contributions on special teams later in the week. As a receiver, Weems had six catches for 50 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran the ball eight times for 53 yards.
Troy Bergeron: A former Arena Football Rookie of the Year, Bergeron bounced between the practice squad and 53-man roster through the season before landing a more permanent spot after Finneran’s injury.
Now it’s your turn…
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13 Comments
Little correction: Roddy became the first Falcons receiver ever to have three consecutive thousand-yard seasons.
The fact that Roddy White didn’t make the pro bowl still surprises me. He has to be the biggest snub this year. Roddy White is the only WR I like on the Falcons. I wish they would trade Jenkins to the Chiefs or Chargers or someone along with JA98 for a second round pick. Jenkins isn’t going to get better, the Falcons have to find a way to move him and sign a guy like a Wes Welker possession WR, or draft one. Shippley would be great but I don’t see him falling to the 3rd round. C overall because as far as WRs go White is the only one that got into the endzone and got the job done. The WR position on this team needs a re-tooling. Add 2 or 3 new possession WR get rid of Jenkins and hope Douglas is as good as everyone has made him out to be. Hey Malcolm Floyd might be a free agent! Hope the Falcons address the weak WR core.
I think we should definitely get some kind of reciever over the offseason. We need another quality reciever to take the pressure off roddy.
larry fitzgerald just said he wasnt going to participate in the pro bowl…so maybe roddy gets in. still say loftons the biggest snub, he lead the nfl in tackles. personally though, i dont care bcus the pro bowl means nothing except how recognizable your name is.
Quality WR needed with speed requiring special attention by the defense.
What I see based on that roster is a pro-bowl caliber No. 1 WR, an above average slot receiver in Douglas, and a below avg No. 2 in Jenkins. Good receivers make big catches in big situations, and time and time again Jenkins let the big catches slip from his grasp. A couple of them really cost us games this year, but given his extension last year I can’t his role with the Falcons changing any time soon. Let’s hope he focuses more this offseason like White did a few years back. His stat of most games played without a 100-yd game is very telling. Hopefully Finn can work his way back, but too many knee injuries for a lanky WR like that has obviously taken its toll.
i think jenkins needs to be utilized more…..but with douglas coming back…watch out..i think roddy, jenkins, and douglas will explode in 2010.
always count on tony g doin his job…hope he sticks around a few years before retirement…go falcons!
Besides dropping too many important passes, Jenkins does not agressively pursue balls in traffic. If he’s not completely open, he’s not effective at coming down with the ball if contested by a DB. If I was the coach I would replace him.
Personally, I don’t think the falcons should go out and get a receiver or draft one. By the end of the next season I see Harry Douglass improving to the point he passes Michael Jenkins as the number 2 receiver, if he stays healthy. He was projected by espn to have a breakout season last year, it easily could just be delayed a year. This would a win win for both as Douglass will still be free since Tony and Roddy going to be looked as Ryan;s top targets. Then Jenkins would be able to finally produce more in the slot against worst corners. Finally, with Booker having one year left, he and Finneran will fight it out for 4 and 5, filling out the spaces.
While i do think we need reciever help (why we should have never given up Laurant Robinson) we could get one in like the 5th round with like 5th overall pick. However in the mean time, if Douglass comes back close to healthy he beat Jenkins out for the job & becomes the 2 guy. Yet when they go to 3 wide sets, they’ll slot Douglass inside to the slot position & allow Jenkins to play on the outside, bc he is simply not a slot reciever & would not be producive used as one considering the routes that position runs.
i say draft a wr late in the draft. Thomas D is good at finding sleepers in the draft. we obveously will focus on D first, but we need a wr and Te late. we need a good catching te that Gonzo can teach b4 he leaves us. michael jenkins needs to get bumped down to third. he isnt getting any younger, but he does show promise somtimes, i dont kno how many times we were third and long and he was the one to get the catch, but i guess he missed a lot too. in conclusion, dont say we are going to the super bowl next year and dont bad mouth people online durring games. its all bad charma that we dont need. Good luck in the draft Falcons. we are in good hands with Mr smith and Thomas D
I see our needs as:
DE: Free Agent
OLB: #1 round pick
CB: Free agent
OT: #3 round pick
WR: #3 round pick (possible)
RB: #4 round pick
DT #4 round pick (possible)
WR: #5 round pick
OG: #5 round pick
OLB: #6 round pick
CB: #7 round pick
we need a number 2 to help white cuz jenkins isn’t getting the job done