Rich McKay, genius? Well, he drafted indispensable Roddy
And here we’d been thinking Thomas Dimitroff was the real brains in Flowery Branch. Silly us. According to Bill Barnwell of the Football Outsiders on ESPN.com, the Falcons own the NFL’s fourth-most indispensable player. (Link requires registration.) And now you’re thinking …
Dimitroff signee Michael Turner? No.
Dimitroff draftee Matt Ryan? Nope.
Roddy White.
Color me surprised. I think of Roddy White as a fine wide receiver, but when I think of wideouts I think first of Larry Fitzgerald or Steve Smith or Randy Moss or even — pardon me for mentioning the name, lest ESPN the network do an hour-long special — Terrell Owens. But here’s Barnwell’s list of indispensables, and it’s an eye-opener:
- 10. Kris Jenkins, DT, Jets.
- 9. Michael Roos, OT, Titans.
- 8. Ed Reed, S, Ravens.
- 7. Andre Johnson, WR, Texans.
- 6. Tommie Harris, DT, Bears.
- 5. Ryan Clady, OT, Broncos.
- 4. Roddy White, WR, Falcons.
- 3. Nnamdi Asomugha, CB, Raiders.
- 2. DeMarcus Ware, LB, Cowboys.
- 1. Peyton Manning, QB, Colts.
Barnwell makes a compelling case: “No wideout played a bigger part in his team’s success than White. Matt Ryan threw 32.5 percent of his passes in 2008 to White, the highest such percentage for any receiver in football. (Carolina’s Steve Smith was second, at 29.5 percent.) The Falcons added Tony Gonzalez to help ease White’s load in 2009, but it’s not as if Gonzalez made the Kansas City offense go last year. If the Falcons lost White, the effects on their offense would be catastrophic.”
Loading ...And who drafted White out of UAB in 2005 with the 27th pick in Round 1? Why, Rich McKay, who has since been kicked upstairs to the presidential suite. (The same Rich McKay drafted Jamaal Anderson with the eighth overall pick in 2007, and Anderson has amassed two sacks in two seasons. But I digress.)
So, all together now, let’s assign credit where it’s due: Roddy White is a really good ballplayer, and Rich McKay made a really shrewd pick.
And now you’re asking: Does this mean I’d rather have McKay doing my talent-spotting than Dimitroff? Uh, no.
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175 comments Add your comment
BugKiller
June 24th, 2009
12:18 am
Maybe, like entitled athletes like your boy or Matt Leinart or Vince Young, you had someone do all the work for you.
Who knows. Being a big Vick Supporter must mean you don’t believe people should actually have to work hard for what they get out of life, just skate by on any kind of talent they have, blaming others when things don’t go your way.
Now I can’t decide if you’re a Vick Supporter, a socialist, or if all Vick Supporters are socialists. Hmmm. Would make an interesting sociological study.
Vick Supporter
June 24th, 2009
12:19 am
“Yep, because I blame him for everything. That’s exactly what I do. Again, with someone with your reading comprehension issues and 8th grade education, your inability to actually understand what I’ve said is understandable.”
I would call that race baiting…
Vick Supporter
June 24th, 2009
12:21 am
BugKiller
You lost man. Let it go. You can’t back up your statments. You’re nothing
BugKiller
June 24th, 2009
12:25 am
LOL… yeah, that’s race baiting. Because I’m gonna assume that you’re a certain ethnicity?
Nope. You could be a white guy, latin guy, black guy, I couldn’t care. In the end, you come off as someone with reading comprehension issues.
Stupid is as stupid does. Black. White. Cuban. Asian. Who cares. If you lack intelligence, it has nothing to do with the pigment in your skin or where your ancestors come from.
I have issues with you because of the way in which you support and enable and excuse Mike Vick, his lies, and dirty deeds, and tear down others who work hard (something Vick was never willing to do) for the sake of the team.
But again, play your race card. You undercut even your logically thin arguments every time you do.
BugKiller
June 24th, 2009
12:29 am
You have yet to back up ANYTHING you have to say.
When Bradley wakes up in the morning, let him speak to all of the stories written about Vick and all of the whispers whispered to reporters about the fact that Vick was the last guy in and the last guy out.
The fact that he didn’t film study like he should of.
That instead of doing extra work with his receivers to find a rhythm, he went up to Virginia… Hmm, I wonder, WHY did he not stay extra to work with his teammates?
What was in Virginia that used up so much of his team that COULD have been, SHOULD have been used to make himself a better QB, a better leader, a better teammate?
Wow, Vick Supporter.
Suck it. Hahaha.
I guarantee you, Bradley would probably be even to find us some links. I don’t have the patience to wade through all the crap about Mike Vick on Google, as said already.
Vick Supporter
June 24th, 2009
12:29 am
Vick Supporter > BugKiller
BugKiller
June 24th, 2009
12:40 am
(Pi x r^2 of BugKiller) x 0 = V
V = Vick Supporter’s ability to enter into an argument about Mike Vick without using the race card and accusing someone of being a racist.
V = 0, zero, zilch, null
Atlanta Falcons Talk » Blog Archive » Mark Bradley Rich McKay, genius? Well, he drafted indispensable Roddy
June 24th, 2009
1:01 am
[...] AJC Link [...]
Najeh Davenpoop
June 24th, 2009
1:14 am
I think it’s funny how the same people who point to White and Jenkins improving when #7 left forget to mention that Dunn and Crumpler were better by far when #7 was here.
But I have spent a lot of time in previous years arguing with people on these blogs who had no chance of changing my opinions and whose opinions I had no chance of changing. I’m not about to get drawn into that sh*t.
Thanks for the props, Mark Bradley.
Tom Davis
June 24th, 2009
6:40 am
Vick Supporter: Put on your #2 jersesy. We’re going to the Super Bowl. Shut up and enjoy the ride.
UGASlobberknocker
June 24th, 2009
7:29 am
.
Roddy White isnt that indispensable if he hasnt got a quarterback who can get him the ball. That is why Ryan is the real indispensable one.
dgroy
June 24th, 2009
7:35 am
There are twenty-two players on a football team and all 22 contribute to the success/failure of the team. Certain games make better players for some of the team and some do it over and over; however,it takes all 22 players to contribute to success……..point being, it’s ridiculous to try to pick one player to be most valuable…..they’re all valuable GO TECH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Durty Burd
June 24th, 2009
8:39 am
I agree with Najeh Davenpoop. To bad Mike Vick couldn’t make it pass the Jim Mora regime. Cause now he would have a line and wouldn’t have to run for his life every play. And the Falcons would be in contention for a SuperBowl. And I can see Roddy White being the most indispensable player because he is lightning quick and he is a play maker. Matt Ryan is not stupid that’s why every play he stares down Roddy White and extends the play until he can get open. He know’s who will make him look good. Michael Turner was a big key too and for who ever wanted to say the whole line was indispensable because they blocked to make Turner a pro bowler. You must did not see how many tackles Turner had to break at the line of scrimmage. So with that said the Falcons will not have the year they did last year so I can’t wait to read these articles when the season get started. White and Turner could be the most indispensable but since White has been her longest I give it to him. Imagine what this team could be with pre-jailed Vick….
Vick Supporter
June 24th, 2009
8:44 am
@Tom Davis
I’ll never put on a “#2″ jersey. Super Bowl? That opportunity left back 2007. Sorry. Will only wear jersey #7.
Mike from London
June 24th, 2009
8:50 am
I like Matty Ice however he has only had one season in the NFL, Mike Vick one man team or not did it over a long period and made the pro bowl a few times. Many bloggers on this site forget about the good times the Falcons had whilst Vick was the QB. I agree with Vick Supporter on a couple of points, Roddy White had a breakout year in 2007 Mike Jenkins had a good year in 2008 but its not all do with which QB is throwing them the ball, these guys have developed as players, pure and simple.
Vick Supporter
June 24th, 2009
9:00 am
@Mike from London
Thanks for the props. You have to understand that a lot of these people will find anything to discredit Vick as a QB. These “fans” here don’t know anything about player development. They think all players come in the NFL and supposed to dominate. The WRs sucked in the beginnig because they were young. They know two play now. Simple as that.
Tom Davis
June 24th, 2009
9:01 am
I bet our current QB will throw a couple of touchdowns in the 4th Quarter of a football game.
Vick Supporter, you are good with stats. How many games did Vick go without throwing a touchdown in the 4th Quarter?
Vick Supporter
June 24th, 2009
9:07 am
@Tom Davis
How many potential 4th quarter TD passes were dropped? I bet you can’t remember one. You just have it set in your head that Vick couldn’t do it. You’re so narrow minded
Gator Hater
June 24th, 2009
9:09 am
Roddy dropped numerous gam winning touchdowns. Remember last year’s Denver game? What about that game where Vick threw him a rainmaker he turned around and just dropped it. Real Falcon fans that watch all the games feel that last season was a fluke and we are not sold yet on Roddy.
Vick Supporter
June 24th, 2009
9:10 am
@Tom Davis
How many potential 4th quarter TD passes were dropped? I bet our current WRs have a better chance of not dropping the passes like they did in their first couple of years. I bet you can’t remember one. You just have it set in your head that Vick couldn’t do it. You’re so narrow minded
Tom Davis. Be a man and answer one question for me. During Roddy and MJ’s early seasons, were u criticizing all of the drops? Just answer that if you can be honest for once in your life
Durty Burd
June 24th, 2009
9:10 am
I do think that when it comes down to comparing Mike Vick to Matt Ryan in which this article has become I agree alot with Vick Supporter. And when making the comparison there has and will be a racial line somewhere in the mix. When the dog fiasco occured whites couldn’t believe a human would do such thing and wanted his head. Blacks were like they are only dogs and thought maybe a fine and keep it moving. So let’s agree to disagree. Now in making this comparison, white people can relate more to Ryan because he is like them and Vick relates more to Blacks. Now Ryan is good young quarterback I am not going to say great because he is not. You dont need great QB’s to win Super Bowls. Ryan will never be great will not be a Hall of Famer he is just good. He has a lot of help around him and he IS replaceable…Don’t know if you haven’t noticed but he doesnt see the field very well and the play book seems simple. Vick on the other hand, there has never been a QB or football player ever play the game like he did. Vick brought an excitement to the game that sales out stadiums in Detroit, just to see him. People might look at Vicks completion percentage and want to say he was not accurate but if you see how many passes hit WR’s in the hand and went right thru them, then you will know you can’t look at completion percentages with Mike Vick. Mike Vick was a winner and he did it with nothing around him. Anybody that can win with DeAngelo Hall giving up two touchdowns with everyone you score is a great player. So when making a comparison with Vick and Ryan there is no comparison because there will never be another Vick, his star Power was like Kobe and Ryan’s is like David Lee. David Lee is a good player.
FalconsfanShane
June 24th, 2009
9:27 am
If Roddy went down we could make do with Finnernan for a game or two. But, without him longer than that and we would be in serious trouble. He is the one receiver that is really indispensable. Overall though Dimitrioff has done an excellent job in only two drafts building this team and it’s depth.
Vick Supporter
June 24th, 2009
9:31 am
@durty bird
That’s a good point u made. When I described the racial line like that I was attacked on here. Also, yes, I only see it as just dogs, although I could never fight them. I also see the white POV also. I understand that they see their dogs as family members, as do I, but not as white people do. I don’t let dogs lick me in the mouth as I’ve seen a lot of whites do, or many of the other things they do. Whites do identify better with Ryan, which is why they’ve already annointed him as the next Brady after 1 season. I totally expected that. When Vick was here, a lot of them still picked apart his game even when he had great games. Hell, they think I’m the worse person in the world and call me a thug because I support someone who is trying to rebuild his life. Hell, I support A-Rod and Birdman from the Nuggets too…does that still make me a racist? A lot of this stuff from whites is just pure hatred. They never liked Vick from the beginning, even while they went to every game and cheered him on the field. I would call that being a hypocrite…..just my opinion. I’m anxious to see what will happen when Ryan falters…..what excuses will be made and who they will place the blame on. I’ve always said that the 130 million was a curse for Vick in a sense…just like A-Rod, it made him a huge target for criticism, no matter how well they played. What a shame
Ted Striker
June 24th, 2009
7:44 pm
Najeh touched upon a salient point. Many folks who show up to blog have their viewpoint firmly established and those views won’t be budging. You could expose them to hell, high water, and 1001 excellent reasons to change their opinion.
But if they ain’t buying — you ain’t selling. At any price, including free.
All fine.
I live by several rules.
1) I’m okay with being wrong. And being told I’m wrong. (Been wrong plenty of times and survived them 100% of the time , thus far).
2) Second rule — being right pays fewer dividends than being nice.
3) Many times I thought I was right I was actually wrong. But folks forgave me. And I’m grateful.
4) Never support a land war in Asia if you don’t own property there yourself.
More gushing for the Falcons? Now I'm worried | Mark Bradley
August 24th, 2009
7:33 pm
[...] Barnwell of Football Outsiders on ESPN.com called Roddy White the fourth-most indispensable player in the NFL. (Link requires [...]