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FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. --Something about Roddy White's stride as he closed in on the end zone last week against the Panthers hinted at something fantastic, something out of the ordinary.

Sure enough, the three-year veteran took advantage of the canyon-like distance between himself and a defender, slowed down slightly and vaulted himself over the goal line with a flip.

It's one of the few times the receiver has let his emotions get the better of him during a game. He normally saves that for practice, where he can be heard well outside the walls surrounding the field laughing and screaming after nearly every catch.

"When I'm at practice I like having fun," White said. "If I go out there and have fun at practice I know it will carry on into the game. I'm not as loud as I am at practice because (there) I'm around my teammates and everything. At the game I try to stay as focused as possible and get people going."

Of course, if his performance Sunday was any indication, more people will start hearing from Roddy White on game day.

The 25-year-old set career highs in receiving last week catching seven balls for 127 yards. His 69-yard flip-and-score was the longest scoring play of his career and, for the first time since he entered the league, White has recorded at least four catches in three straight games. He's the Falcons season leader in catches (15) and yards (237).

The one thing that isn't tracked with stats, however, is self-assurance. Heading into Week 4, White has plenty to be happy and motivated about.

"I knew a lot about Roddy when he was in college," Head Coach Bobby Petrino said. "He was a very big and fast player who made a lot of plays. I think the whole deal with him is that he needed to bring his confidence back. He has experienced a lot of catches in practice and, because of that, he knows we are going to go to him in the game. Right now I think he is playing with a lot of confidence because he knows that the ball is coming his way. Therefore, he has prepared himself to be ready in those positions."

"I'm getting the ball and getting an opportunity to do what I do," White added. "I've just been waiting on this chance to get out there and make some plays and have someone with confidence in me to keep getting me the ball. That's what this coaching staff has done for me."

White hopes he can continue his wideout renaissance well into the 2007 season. He's on pace for 80 receptions and more than 1,200 receiving yards. That would shatter his previous career high in receptions (30) and pretty much erase all frustrations from the dropped passes that plagued him early in his career and have, at times, continued to give him plenty of personal grief.

He had two drops against the Panthers, one in the red zone and another on a third-and-3 play in the third quarter.

"I like the fact that I got some yards after the catch (Sunday)," he said. "What I didn't like was I had two drops during the game on crucial drives. If we pick up a first down right there we probably score. There are a lot of things I felt like I could have done better after I watched the film.

"You want to always do better on the next play than you did the play before. Water off a duck's back. Get to the next play and perform at that high level on the task at hand."

After a college career that included 163 receptions for 3,112 yards and 26 touchdowns, White hit a wall. His 208-pound frame wasn't pushing around NFL defenses the way it did at Alabama-Birmingham and he needed to make some adjustments. He had three touchdown grabs as a rookie, but had just 952 receiving yards over the past two years.

He responded this offseason, lost some weight and increased his speed.

"From the time (the new coaching staff) came in here they told me I needed to get my weight down to get in this offense because we do a lot of running," White said during training camp. "I just needed to get my weight down and come in here the way they wanted me to. I picked up a little speed as I went down in weight."

His body ready to make a play, White next tweaked his mental focus.

"I learned this when Joe (Horn) came in," he said. "You're going to have so many more opportunities in a game to make big plays. So, if you sit there and think about that one play it carries on to the next play, and the next play and the next play."

He won't forget "the flip," which he said he conjured up on his way to the end zone. But for a rejuvenated Roddy White plays, good and bad, get pushed away at the next snap.

That's not to say he won't have any more fun, however.

"When I first got here my teammates couldn't understand why I laughed a lot and stuff like that," he said. "But, as long as I keep catching the ball, it's all right with them."

And all right with Falcons fans.

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