FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- At least Kyle Shanahan was honest.

The Atlanta Falcons' offensive coordinator didn't offer coachspeak when asked how he might distribute touches going forward, with veteran Roddy White desiring more looks and Leonard Hankerson close to returning from a hamstring injury.

"The main thing is, I don't think about balancing out passes," Shanahan said. "I think about trying to get the ball to Julio (Jones), for the most part."

Then Shanahan dropped the microphone.

You can't blame the Falcons for focusing on Julio Jones, that's for sure. Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP Photo

Seriously speaking, it's no secret that Shanahan has featured Jones in every which way through the first nine games, moving him around the formation to create mismatches. It's helped Jones lead the league in receptions with 80 for 1,029 yards and six touchdowns on 120 targets. The next closest wide receiver -- Hankerson -- has 39 targets.

At the same time, Shanahan also pointed out the need to get White more involved, as head coach Dan Quinn said earlier in the week. White, the franchise's all-time leading receiver, is fifth on the team with 17 receptions for 230 yards and one touchdown on just 29 targets.

"Roddy is, in my opinion, probably the best receiver of my generation of guys I've studied," Shanahan said. "He doesn't have the same role on this team as he had when he was younger. We have other guys that we can go to. He's not always the No. 2 option.

"Roddy does a lot of good things; he's done everything we've asked him to do. I think we do need to get him more touches. He's been there at times and been open when he hasn't gotten the ball. But it's nothing personal. Roddy's done a good job, and he's done what we've asked him to do."

Shanahan always looks for the best matchups, which is why he'll take Jones against anybody on any given day -- even talented Colts cornerback Vontae Davis. When Jones draws added coverage, it opens up opportunities for others.

Besides White's touches, outsiders are urging Shanahan to play more up-tempo with the no-huddle. As was his theme throughout Thursday's session with the media, Shanahan made it clear he's not going to let the opinions of others not affiliated with the organization dictate how he runs his offense.

"That's something we think about every week; that's something I think about every quarter (and) every time in the game," Shanahan said of the no-huddle. "It's part of our offense. We've done it this year. I don't know if people always notice, but we've done it about three of the games.

"If we think it will give us an advantage, we'll do it. But we don't just say, `Hey, let's go no-huddle,' because we hear you guys telling us to."