Larry Brown Sports

The NFL Network recently began releasing its annual list of the top 100 players in the NFL, which is always a source of great debate among fans, players and analysts. While the entire list has not yet been revealed, Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman and Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Roddy White have already begun hurling insults at one another over it.

Sherman, who is one of the league’s biggest loudmouths, was interviewed as part of the NFL Network feature. He singled out White, who was ranked at No. 39, when asked if he disagreed with the placement of any players on the list. Sherman came in at No. 50.

“Roddy White,” Sherman said emphatically, via Shutdown Corner. “Ah, top 100? No. In my book, he’s just not a top 100 player.”

As you might expect, White feels differently.

“I’m not going to come out and say he shouldn’t be a Top 100 player because he should be a Top 100 player, but he talks too much,” White said. “He has talked himself into a place where he has to play some really good football this year. I have no problem when he says I’m not that good or I can’t do this or I can’t do that. But I know the rest of the players in this league know what I can do, and that’s why I’m higher on this list than he is.”

Sherman spoke highly of White’s teammate Julio Jones but did not give Roddy any credit. Champ Bailey, who was also interviewed by the NFL Network for the feature, said Sherman talks too much and that White was dominating before Jones came into the league.

“He’s a front-runner,” White continued, adding that Sherman is the first guy he would want to face. “When things are going good, he’s all good. When things ain’t going his way, he has nothing to say — that’s just how he is. You let him talk in the offseason because that’s what he likes to do. You let guys like that talk, but at some point when September rolls around, you got to come play football.”

Let us remind you that White burned Sherman in the playoffs last season when the Falcons beat the Seahawks, but apparently nothing is going to shut the Seattle corner up. Some guys just don’t know when to turn it off.

Sunday’s game between the New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons will feature some of the best receivers in the NFL. Back in September, Roddy White made the argument that he and Julio Jones are a better receiving duo than Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz. White downplayed Cruz’s abilities by labeling him a slot receiver and claiming that the “big boys play on the outside.”

Unsurprisingly, Cruz disagreed with White’s assessment and reminded the Falcons star that he has a Super Bowl ring sitting at home. Earlier this week, Nicks echoed his teammate’s remarks.

“Numbers don’t lie, or Super Bowl rings don’t lie, neither,” Nicks said according to the Star-Ledger. “So when you get (into) that battle about who’s the best, I think you just let your play on the field talk for you. You ain’t got to be talking with your mouth.”

Nicks and Cruz have combined for 126 catches, 1,656 yards and 12 touchdowns this season. Jones and White have been slightly more productive with 140 catches, 2,137 yards and 12 scores. From a talent standpoint, this one is pretty much too close to call. I would personally prefer White and Jones to Nicks and Cruz simply because Nicks has such an extensive history of injuries. He has yet to play a full 16-game season in his four-year career and Tom Coughlin admitted that he will likely never be 100% healthy this season.

Aside from that, the Giants win this argument. White can argue that he and Jones are the best pair of receivers in the history of the game if he wants, but none of that matters until you win a Super Bowl.

Roddy White was busy running his mouth like usual, but Victor Cruz has put him in place.

White and Falcons teammate Julio Jones joined NFL Network’s Michael Irvin for a sit-down interview that will air on Sunday. When presented with the suggestion that Giants receivers Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz might be a better wide receiver tandem, White put down Cruz.

“I’m not taking shots at people, but Victor Cruz is a lot more of a slot receiver,” he said. “The big boys play on the outside.”

Even though White said he wasn’t taking shots at people, he did. And Cruz responded.

“I couldn’t care less about what anybody else has to say,” Cruz told the Star-Ledger on Friday. “I got a ring back at home. I don’t care about what Roddy White has to say.”

Cruz and Nicks have combined for 37 catches, 516 yards, and two touchdowns this season. White and Jones have totaled 34 catches for 453 yards and four touchdowns. The two tandems are pretty even in terms of talent, and if I were a franchise I’d be satisfied with either one.

But the best part is how Roddy White’s big mouth got him into trouble again (his assertion was factually inaccurate anyhow), and how Cruz put him in check. The Giants wouldn’t have won the Super Bowl if it weren’t for Cruz’s excellent play last year. Where was White when the Giants beat the Falcons in the playoffs?

Roddy White had a good day in the Falcons’ season-opening 40-24 win over the Chiefs, but he wasn’t the team’s top-producing receiver. That honor went to Julio Jones, who combined with Matt Ryan for a big game — 6 catches for 108 yards and two touchdowns.

Although White had 6 catches for 87 yards, he was disappointed with his final stat line and had his fantasy owners in mind after the game:

Fantasy owners got to get y’all some more points

— Roddy White (@roddywhiteTV) September 9, 2012

You may recall that White apologized to his fantasy owners after an 8-catch, 61-yard performance in last year’s season opener, and promised to make it up to them the following week. White did have a touchdown catch the following week, but hardly any yards. It took him til the end of the season to start blowing up — he had 4 100-yard games in the final two months and 5 touchdowns — so owners are hoping it doesn’t take him as long to blow up this year. Still, if he’s expecting bigger things than an 87-yard game, that’s a great sign for fantasy players.

Just when it looked like Roddy White was finally going to use Twitter for a positive reason, he goes out and screws it up:

I would like to thank reebok for being my proud sponsor they do suck a wonderful job

— Roddy White (@roddywhiteTV) July 28, 2012

Naturally White, who never has been one to delete a tweet regardless of how controversial it may be, didn’t take down his message but instead sent a second note:

Reebok I’m sorry y’all do such a good job taking care of me

— Roddy White (@roddywhiteTV) July 28, 2012

It’s hard to tell if he was being genuine since he didn’t delete the original note, but we’ll chalk it up to a massive typo.

We already knew that the Falcons receiver needed to think before he tweets, but now it looks like he also needs an editor too. Or maybe the best solution would be for Roddy White and Twitter to part ways … permanently.

For those of you who didn’t already think someone needs to ban Roddy White from Twitter, this should officially seal the deal. On Thursday, Freeh’s firm produced a 267-page report from their eight-month investigation into the Penn State scandal. The investigation revealed that Joe Paterno and other Penn State officials covered up child abuse allegations against Jerry Sandusky in order to protect the image of the football program.

Freeh said in a news conference that Paterno “was an integral part of this active decision to conceal” and deserved to be fired. White apparently disagrees and decided to send this incredibly insensitive string of tweets to share his thoughts with the public.

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Many athletes who voluntarily played professional football are now suing the NFL for injuries they sustained while playing in the league. Falcons Pro Bowl receiver Roddy White, who is no stranger to voicing his mind, doesn’t understand that approach because he believes players knew what they were getting into when they voluntarily chose to play the game. He tweeted about the matter on Wednesday:

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