Posted by: jmike811_DEP at 3:12PM EST on December 4, 2007
It may seem hard to believe, but there hasn't been a Falcons receiver hasn't recorded 1,000 receiving yards in a season since Terance Mathis hit the mark in 1999 (1,016).
The Falcons haven't had two players hit the mark in the same season since 1998, when Tony Martin (1,181) and Mathis (1,136) in 1998.
I don't need to go into too much detail about the 1998 seasons.
Most Falcons fans can give a play-by-play of every game, the post season and Super Bowl XXXIII.
My how times changed.
That, of course, will become even more a piece of the past if Roddy White picks up just 80 more receiving yards. The third-year receiver set career highs in almost every category much earlier this season.
How he's just piling on and showing the NFL his performance can match up with his first-round pick status.
Here's a glimpse of that, by the way...
It's also not out of the question for White to record the most catches in a season since Mathis' 81 in 1999. No receiver has had more than 64 catches in a season since then. White already has 62 -- and 920 receiving yards.
Of course, it's not fair to place everything on the shoulders of the receivers.The Falcons ran a run-heavy offense for the first two years of Whites career.
Atlanta led the NFL in rushing yards last season, running the ball on 56.3 percent of its plays for more than 2,900 yards.
As a result, White and fellow veteran Michael Jenkins could sometimes count on one hand how many times the ball came their way.
Now the Falcons are throwing the ball more than 50 percent of the time and White has already surpassed career numbers for receiving yards.
"I'm happy," White said earlier in the season. "I get to go out there and catch eight or nine balls a game... A lot has changed around here and it's more pass oriented. It's kind of got me in the right direction and got my career going in the right direction.
"Ever since I got here I've been working hard and I'm going to continue to work hard and get better and, hopefully, set some career marks this year."
And, if all goes well, some Falcons' marks as well.
Now, just for the heck of it, a YouTube clip of Roddy White in college.
The Falcons haven't had two players hit the mark in the same season since 1998, when Tony Martin (1,181) and Mathis (1,136) in 1998.
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