Pat Y article about Roddy and Falcons D

[Falcon Fantom]

Atlanta wide receiver Roddy White is one of the most quotable players in the NFC South. Sit down with him for 10 minutes and you’ll get a tape recorder full of good quotes.

That’s what I did on my recent visit to Atlanta’s training camp and we’re still seeing the results. When we last heard from White, he was singing the praises of the offense.

This time he’s talking about the defense. White said the addition of receiver Julio Jones isn’t the only reason he believes the Falcons can take a step forward after last season’s disappointing playoff loss to the Packers.

White believes the defense is also on the verge of doing something special.

“We had a hiccup during the playoffs,’’ White said. “Watching the film after that game, it was like I didn’t feel we really were ready to take that next step. We were right there, but we were one year away. This year, I feel like getting [defensive end] Ray Edwards and what he can do with the pass rush, he can come in and open up a whole lot of things, especially for [defensive tackle] Jonathan Babineaux. I expect 'Babs' to get seven, eight or nine sacks. It’s going to be great to watch. Our corners aren’t going to have to cover as long. Tipped passes, interceptions and sacks are always a wonderful thing and we’re going to have a lot of those.’’

We are close. I just hope the 2nd and 3rd teams played like that because of rust. hopefully they play better against Jax. I do think that the defense will be outstanding this year. The defense seemed very opportunistic friday. 2 int's and robinson looked beastly. :wub: Can not wait to see Big Play Ray in the line up.