White's size obscures feet, vision, production

Posted by ESPN.com's Paul Kuharsky NASHVILLE, Tenn.Â*-- He's big.

Look past it for a minute.

Make a joke, even, and say you have to look around it.

LenDale White is perfectly happy with his role in "Smash and Dash," a tag that seems to be gaining some stickiness for those looking for an alternative label to "Thunder and Lightening" for White and rookie Chris Johnson, the Tennessee Titans' one-two run punch.

Only it's more Dash and Smash, as Johnson's been leading and White following in a manner that recalls, to at least a small degree, the run distribution of the Super Bowl XL champion Steelers. That Pittsburgh team was more imbalanced running the ball, feeding Jerome Bettis at the goal line but relying on Willie Parker to help get it in range.

Like Bettis, White has feet and vision uncommon for a guy his size.

White's a big back for sure, but he's not Brandon Jacobs of the Giants, the biggest big back in the league at around 264. Those who work with White and some who go against him talk often about qualities unrelated to the load he brings.

"He's a very complete back in a big body," Indianapolis Colts president Bill Polian said. "He's got power, vision, dexterity, foot quickness, the ability to make you miss. He's a complete back, just a big guy... When The Bus was younger, that's a pretty good comparison."

Said White: "I can do everything everybody else does. I may not have the shakes, I might not be able to two-step you, but I can do everything everybody else does. I think I proved that against Kansas City."

White lacks the sort of acceleration other backs can find when they see space, but he sees that space as well as most of them. He did break through for an 80-yard touchdown rumble against the Chiefs.

He is probably as close as he's ever been to his listed weight of 235 pounds and certainly qualifies as the hammer when paired with the speedy, elusive Johnson. White leads the NFL with 10 touchdowns and is tops among non-kickers with 60 points. He's averaging 3.6 yards a carry, but take away the huge moment at Arrowhead Stadium and his average carry is good for 2.8 yards and his average touchdown is a 1.8-yard plunge.

"He gets the yards when we need him to get the yards," center Kevin Mawae said. "If it's a hard 1 yard or 4 or 5 yards, he does it and you can't complain about it. ... We're 100 percent from the 1-yard line too. That's a stat that's probably more important than any of them."

"He may not bring the same load as Jacobs from the Giants brings when he hits the hole," offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger said. "But LenDale does have the ability to move the pile. He's a little more..." Here, the makings of an F starts to trickle out of his mouth, but Heimerdinger stops short of allowing "finesse" to escape. "He may not be as explosive as Jacobs at the point of attack, but he's underrated on his feet and his vision."

As young as 10, White was working ladder drills under the watch of his uncle Herman White. In such track-style work, runners race through a straight line of small squares, placing their feet in a variety of different ways that benefit agility. The complex hopscotching translates well to life as a running back. With the Titans, White says he's asked to do the same kind of work in the offseason.

The consensus is that White is now as fit as he's been since the Titans drafted him in the second round, 45nd overall, in 2006. His stock fell before the draft as some questioned his attitudeÂ*-- something he still can't figure out.

He is a different guy than many in the Titans' locker room. He often beams when given a chance to talk in front of the cameras, but clearly hates fielding the same question over and over, something a guy with such big numbers is bound to deal with. He's turned the weight issue into a cat-and-mouse game, no longer sharing the number. Sometimes he appears irritable; other times he's as pleasant as can be, quick to smile and laugh.

But however he's judged, there is no debating that he's a great back in a shared workload system. He was productive working with Reggie Bush at USC and he's gracefully handled what could have been viewed as a demotion with the arrival of Johnson, brought in by the Titans with the 24th pick in the draft.

"I'm a good teammate, you never hear me complain about anything," White said. "Every team I ever played on I think we won. College to high school to pee wee league. I just play football and I love winning."

The lingering questions, Mawae believes, are all connected to White's weight.

"It's because he's been overweight so many years is why he gets called the Thunder and the Smash or whatever," Mawae said bluntly. "I think he does a great job for a guy his size, finding the hole and seeing it. Until recently we didn't think he had the speed to break away from anybody. Whatever role he has or however people view him, it works for us and that's all that really matters."

"It looks like he's in shape and he's playing well right now. It would be a lot easier on him if he just came to camp in shape. As he gets older, hopefully he matures and he figures stuff out."

Ahmard Hall, the underrated fullback who often leads the way for White and Johnson,Â*said that staying at the right weight isn't as simple as it may sound. Hall respects the way WhiteÂ*-- who can look awkward with a pigeon-toed walk and who's never going to be a sculpted like Eddie George -- is trying to control it.

"He's having to manage his weight, he's still a young guy, but he's dealing with it the best way he knows how," Hall said. "That's his body type. He can go wrong one or two days and shoot up. It's a daily struggle for him and people don't understand that."

They should understand his production. No matter how the touchdown chances are being served up, he's taking the ball across the goal line and playing a big role in the undefeated Titans winning by an average of nearly two touchdowns.

White confessed that he entered the season shooting to score 10 times. Now that he's hit that mark before the Titans have played even half their schedule, might he wind up doubling it?

"Now I've got to keep going," he said. "As many as I've got to score to help the team win football games. ... You've got to go ask Dinger that. Tell Dinger to dial me up down there all the time and I think we can make it happen."



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