Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Roddy White is as big a talker you’ll find in the NFL, but he backs it up with his play. White is fully aware that 49ers safeties Dashon Goldson and Donte Whitner will try to knock you out if they get clean shots on you.
White made reference to Whitner knocking Saints running back Pierre Thomas out of a playoff game last season with an explosive helmet to helmet hit.
White told USA Today that he understands the 49ers are physical, but if they take those knockout shots against him or Julio Jones and miss, “there will be consequences.”
“Those guys do come downhill and they try to knock you out, and anytime you do that, if you miss, there’s going to be consequences,” White told USA TODAY Sports Friday. “It’s going to lead to explosive gains on offense. We’re looking forward to that.
“We’ve got big strong guys who are used to contact after catching and used to getting after people. As long as we can catch the ball and get our pads turned downfield, we’ll break tackles.”
White referenced through hours of watching film that big plays can be had against the San Francisco defense.
“We’re watching film. We’ve seen a lot of things — people have made plays,” White said. “With their front seven, they’re getting after the quarterbacks and not giving them a lot of time, (but) we just figure if we can go out there and hit those plays, that puts a lot of pressure on them.
“They’ve never been in position where they have to play catch-up. That’s one thing we want to do, get off to a good start and see how they play football catching up.”
I agree with White, I don’t necessarily see the Falcons sustaining long 10 play drives against the 49ers, I do see them hitting on a few deep bombs.