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Rowdy Roddy White won't 'sit around' in Atlanta, will drop expletives

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Roddy White sounded more like the late great Rowdy Roddy Piper when discussing his diminishing role in the team's offense with ESPN.com's Vaughn McClure on Tuesday.

"For me, at the end of the day, I want to catch passes," White told ESPN.com. "I'm not out here just f---ing around just to sit around to just block f---ing people all day. It's not what I want to do.

"I've contributed to offenses for this franchise for the last nine, 10 years. It always bothers me when I go out and don't catch any balls in a game because it hasn't happened in so long."

Now's about the time we remind you the Falcons, Green Bay Packers and Carolina Panthers are the only remaining unbeaten teams in the NFC, and their 4-0 record can largely be attributed to an offense that features the NFL's leaders in receiving yards (Julio Jones) and rushing touchdowns (Devonta Freeman).

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And Falcons wide receivers coach Terry Robiskie nailed that point home, publicly, to ESPN.com.

"We all are prideful guys, but it's when you set your pride aside," Robiskie said. "I've got a Super Bowl ring and pride doesn't have anything to do with that ring. It's on my finger. No matter how much pride I had and how much I think I had, when you walk in with a ring, that's pride.

"Roddy's got all the records. He's done fantastic. ... He's been one of the greatest guys at his organization at his position in the NFL. But at the end of the day, he don't have a ring. Hopefully he sees, like the world sees, this is Julio's team. So now, 'I'm in the backseat and Julio's driving, but if I get there, I don't care who's driving. Just let me come along for the ride.' Rod just has to add fuel to the fire, and if Julio needs a push, get out the car and push a little bit. He doesn't need to drive it. He just needs to sit there and say, 'Let's see if we can go get a ring.'"

Harsh words on both sides.

Indeed, White owns Atlanta's franchise receiving records for career catches (771), yards (10,449) and touchdowns (62). Now a 33-year-old wideout with a left knee that requires draining from time to time, White ranks fourth on the Falcons in targets and fifth in both catches and yards this season. After 130 consecutive games with a catch dating back to 2006, he was held without a reception in consecutive weeks on Sept. 20 and 27. That included a 39-28 win over the Dallas Cowboys in which White wasn't targeted once — a performance offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan called "his best game blocking."

As the Brits would say, keep calm and carry on, which is what White did by backtracking somewhat on his original statement in a phone conversation with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution later in the day.

“This is nothing to get mad over,” White said. “I can’t control no plays that are being called in the huddle. All I can do is run the routes I’m supposed to run on the play and do my job. That’s all I can do.”

He went on to say that he believes his time will come again, if only because doubling Jones is "the only chance people have in playing us," and he recognizes the importance of blocking for Freeman in the running game. "That would be stupid for me not to want all of my teammates to do well," he added.

If White does want a larger role, CBS Sports reporter Jason La Canfora reported that teams have "some interest" in his services, speculating that the Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens might be among them.

It would make sense, considering Baltimore is without Steve Smith Sr. and Dallas lost Dez Bryant. There are also a number of contending teams who currently rank in the league's lower third in passing yards, including the Seahawks and Broncos. But Atlanta still might represent White's best shot at a title.

That is, if Rowdy Roddy White prefers the NFL's Super Bowl rings to WWE's championship belts.

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Ben Rohrbach

is a contributor for Ball Don't Lie and Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rohrbach_ben@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!