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Falcons' Turner wrestles with signs of decline.[PFW] - Polar Bear Jones - 10-15-2012 09:57 PM
Quote:Falcons' Turner wrestles with signs of decline.
Posted Oct. 15, 2012 @ 8:14 p.m. ET
By Dan Parr
The Falcons are 6-0 for the first time in franchise history. They have a 3½-game lead in the race for the NFC South title, but the last thing head coach Mike Smith wants is for his players to get too comfortable during a Week Seven bye.
Smith apparently will not need to caution RB Michael Turner about becoming overly satisfied.
Turner expressed his frustration with the team’s running game after he matched a season-low, rushing only 11 times in Atlanta’s win over the Raiders on Sunday. He said he was still confident in himself but told reporters they would have to take their inquiry to management when he was asked whether the team had lost confidence in him.
Turner rushed for only 33 yards (3.0 average) vs. Oakland and has 84 carries for 357 yards (4.3 average) and three touchdowns through six games. Atlanta’s complementary back, Jacquizz Rodgers, has not fared any better, rushing 31 times for 77 yards (2.5 average), but this is unfamiliar territory for Turner, who has been a heavily utilized workhorse since he became the first marquee addition of the Mike Smith-Thomas Dimitroff regime in 2008. Turner has had at least seven games with 20 carries or more in each of the three seasons in which he has played in every game for Atlanta. This season, he has yet to have more than 18 carries in a game.
Our Falcons sources say the team has been far from content with the running game’s frequent ineffectiveness this season and is eager to work on improving it during the bye, so Turner is not alone in his frustration. The issue for Turner might be that he is sensing his own decline in his first season over the age of 30 and that the Falcons are sensing it, too.
RE: Falcons' Turner wrestles with signs of decline.[PFW] - ChrisD - 10-15-2012 10:39 PM
I love writers. They have no clue what they are talking about 75% of the time. Does Turner seem to dance a little more now than he used to? Yes. But I don't see signs of him being better orworse than past seasons. It's a factor if many things. The way we are using him, the o line sucking, the fact that we are trying trip pass more and more, ec. We are passing more because we can, and need to nowwith how the game is played. So obviously Turner won't get the amount of carries he used to.
RE: Falcons' Turner wrestles with signs of decline.[PFW] - Drathdon - 10-15-2012 10:52 PM
We leaned on him to protect Ryan. Ryan can now play at a level to protect himself (and get the ball out fast enough by making quicker reads). Most young QB's rely on a run game to get them up to speed.
RE: Falcons' Turner wrestles with signs of decline.[PFW] - Greg M - 10-15-2012 11:12 PM
I don't see a decline in Turner.. I see a different blocking scheme with LOTS more emphasis on pass blocking. When Turner "Tip Toes " he is looking for his block.. I saw more of it during this Sunday's game.. it ain't him folks.. we are a pass first team now.
RE: Falcons' Turner wrestles with signs of decline.[PFW] - AUTiger7222 - 10-16-2012 12:45 AM
I'll just saw I appears that Turner's vision has gotten worst. There have been more than I few times when I've seen green grass just to left or the right and Turner instead runs straight into a pile of bodies. I'm not talking about him having to make an extraordinary move to get to the open space. I'm talking about just a simple little shift to the left or right by a couple of steps to get to open grass and Turner doesn't see it. It's so frustrating.
RE: Falcons' Turner wrestles with signs of decline.[PFW] - ggp - 10-16-2012 03:30 AM
(10-15-2012 11:12 PM)Greg M Wrote: I don't see a decline in Turner.. I see a different blocking scheme with LOTS more emphasis on pass blocking. When Turner "Tip Toes " he is looking for his block.. I saw more of it during this Sunday's game.. it ain't him folks.. we are a pass first team meow.
I think that the offensive scheme that we use tries to make the best of the situation. Our interior OL is suspect. None of them excels at run blocking. This is mostly true of our RG. Even during the Dahl years, this position was mediocre, at best.
Turner does tip-toe at the line because the running lanes are usually not opened quickly. Turner stutter steps to give his OL more time to push defenders. Turner is still a very good RB and a load to bring down. The trouble is that he is not given a fighting chance on most plays.
Our Falcons sources say the team has been far from content with the running game’s frequent ineffectiveness this season and is eager to work on improving it during the bye, so Turner is not alone in his frustration. The issue for Turner might be that he is sensing his own decline in his first season over the age of 30 and that the Falcons are sensing it, too.
I don't know who these "Falcon sources" are but I am hoping that these statements are accurate. The priority for this bye week must be to find a solution for our interior OL. I don't know whether we need to promote a young player from the roster, or whether we need to find a better RG through free agency/trade. The point is that our post season success depends on drastically improving our RG productivity.
Short yardage gains are a must. Without them, we will lose against the playoff caliber teams.
RE: Falcons' Turner wrestles with signs of decline.[PFW] - ggp - 10-16-2012 03:44 AM
I picked this up from a preseason Rotoworld article.
28. Atlanta Falcons
LT: Sam Baker
LG: Justin Blalock*
C: Todd McClure*
RG: Peter Konz
RT: Tyson Clabo*
Top reserves: OT Will Svitek*, G/C Joe Hawley*, OG Mike Johnson, G/T Garrett Reynolds, OG Vince Manuwai, OT Lamar Holmes.
Overview: Line play was Atlanta's Achilles' heel last year, on both sides of the ball. Needs drafter GM Thomas Dimitroff devoted his first two picks to offensive linemen, his third to a lane-clearing lead blocker, and fourth to a defensive end. While Konz may shore up right guard, some of last year's problems remain. In addition to battling a chronic back injury, Baker has struggled mightily to protect Matt Ryan, and 2011 late-season replacement Svitek wasn't a whole lot better. McClure has a bad knee and turned 35 in February. Blalock and Clabo are strong starters, and the Falcons don't lack for experienced depth, but this is no better than a below-average line.
Our OL was rated #28 in the league. They mention Konz as a possible upgrade at RG. Since it will be nearly impossible to find a RG in free agency and it is even less likely that we will trade for one, Konz becomes the only realistic answer to the problem.
Konz has had several weeks to learn the schemes. This may be the time to incorporate him into the starting line up. My hope is that he is a better RG than Reynolds and that he has been held back to give him the time to learn the position.
RE: Falcons' Turner wrestles with signs of decline.[PFW] - JDaveG - 10-16-2012 06:33 AM
Re: the line, I still need to hear a decent explanation for why Reynolds is starting at RG when he is a T, and why Mike Johnson is cross-training at RT when he is quite obviously a G.
I trust Pat Hill, don't get me wrong. I just can't wrap my head around why this is a good idea.