Yardbarker: Michael Turner

Breakin It Down: Arizona Cardinals vs. Carolina Panthers

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 18:32:20 -0500

Breakin it down is 5 key stories plus a pick for each postseason game this season. Will the Tough Guy Play? For all the Wide Receivers that are primadonnas, Boldin is one tough son of a bitch. The man looked like he was decapitated against the Jets and he ended up breaking his face and yet he played a few weeks later. Then last week he told the media despite being injured, that if they thought he wasn't playing than they were pretty dumb. Well what about this week when he's even more ...

Michael Turner may not be consistent, but at least he's predictable

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 15:59:58 -0500

I've been beating this drum on our weekly fantasy football podcasts, but Michael Turner doesn't run well against teams with good (or even mediocre) run defenses. That may seem intuitive, but he REALLY doesn't run well against good run defenses. Take a look at his first eight games. (The opposing team's rank in average rush yards per game is in parenthesis.) (Read the rest after the jump.)

Silencing the Critics

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 02:21:06 -0500

This is one of the happiest days of my life. Not only for myself, but also for the Falcons owner, the head coach, my teammates, and the city of Atlanta, we needed this win so bad. I've had a lot of nervous energy leading up to today, knowing how much rides on this. You don't get a second chance to make a first impression. We spent the pre-season talking about how we were a new team, new head coach, new quarterback, new outlook. But we didn't just want to talk the talk; we knew we had to walk the walk. I wanted more than anything to silence all the critics that didn't believe in us. The Lions are a great team, but if you can't beat them at home, there isn't much hope for the rest of the season. Prior to the game, all the naysayers kept throwing out the Lions' preseason stats, talking about how Matt Ryan was too young and inexperienced, and just giving any reason they could for why we couldn't beat Detroit. With so many non-believers out there, the importance of this game couldn't have been stressed enough. To not only win, but to really go out there and put on a show, meant so much to all of us. For me personally, it was amazing to actually be in the game this year, since last year I was on the bench cheerleading. For our first touchdown of the 2008 season, I made a key block and looked on like a proud father as Matt Ryan got his first NFL touchdown pass. That feeling made it all worth it. I couldn't be more happy that my family came out to support me today. We just got back from our post-game team dinner, where my parents had a chance to meet my coaches, who spoke very highly of me. I don't know if they were just being nice and saying the things you're supposed to say when you meet someone's family, but it meant a lot to me to hear them say how happy they were to have me on the team. I can't even explain how important it is to me that I made a difference in this game. After the game, I was joking around with Michael Turner and telling him that if he goes to the Pro Bowl, he's flying us all out there with him. Then I thought, "Actually, if he's going, then I'm going." My goal this year is to get Mike 1,000 rushing yards, and I expect for you all to see both of us in Hawaii in February. Now it's time to go celebrate with all of my friends and family. Tonight's going to be a great night, but then it's back to work, so we can put on another show in Tampa.

Big win in ATL

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 15:19:19 -0500

The Falcons came into game one of the 2008 season the concensus worst team in the NFL. What they did was not just prove the critics wrong and beat the pants off of the Lions but they did it is style. The story of the game was free agent pick-up Michael Turner, with his?220 yards to [...]

Happy Birthday to me

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 14:17:00 -0500

Happy belated birthday to me I guess. I turned 28 this past Tuesday and had one of the best birthdays ever in my opinion. My birthday started with me waking up early in the morning because I had to go to mini camp. Unfortunately, I don't think Coach Mike Smith would accept me missing a chance to get better with my teammates just because its my 28th anniversary of life on this earth; even if our practices are voluntary. But anyway, after practice I planned to do 3 of my favorite things to celebrate. Relax and play video games, go to the theatre to watch a movie, and EAT some good food at a swanky restaurant. I accomplished the first 2 things without a problem but I never got to have a good quiet meal because my brother and some of my friends took me to a rooftop lounge on top of the Glenn Hotel to a surprise birthday party for me. And I truly was surprised. What surprised me most was that there was so many people that showed up to celebrate with me. Everyone I have met from my networking functions, charity events, football stuff I do around the city, business dealings, or just from hanging out in the city showed up. But what made me feel real good was to see some of my teammates like DJ Shockley, Michael Turner, Roddy White, Jerious Norwood and others stopped by. I can say I really felt special. Something that impressed me was that my backup fullback Corey McIntyre helped to set this up with my assistant. It's not always that you have 2 people who play the same position really be cool with each other on and off the field. I know this because in Baltimore when I was a backup FB the starter showed no love towards me and even told me that I should concentrate on special teams because I would never take his spot. But leaving the party helped inspire and motivate me to become even better in every way because I know that a lot of people got high expectations for me in this city from football to philanthropy and are cheering me on and I definitely don't plan to disappoint. P.S. people keep asking me what I want for my birthday because they think I have everything (which is not true). And I don't know what to tell them. I want to hear from you guys on what some of your favorite birthday presents were or your favorite birthday surprises.

Back to Work

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 12:18:52 -0500

Yesterday was the first day of team meetings, and it allowed me to witness the reshaping of our organization. It is definitely a lot more quiet with Crump, Wayne Gandy, Rod Coleman and especially "Mouth of the South" DeAngelo Hall no longer with us. Yardbarker, to be honest, DeAngelo and I did not get along that well when I first arrived (to keep it really real we never got along). I don't know what it is about DB's and me, but even in Baltimore, Chris McAlister and I butted heads initially. I want to assume that it is the Napoleon complex but C-Mac is not a little guy. Near the end of the season D-Hall and I began to understand each other, though. That may have been due, in part, to the departure of cancer of a coach, Petrino. It definitely helped the feng shui of the team because we now had a common enemy. But back to our 1st day volumandatory (I made this word up.) Because it says "voluntary" on the schedule, but if you don't show up to these workouts and meetings you might not want to show up at all). I had the chance to meet Michael Turner, the man for whom I am going to be blocking in the years to come. I believe the synergy there will lead to great things on the field. After reuniting with the Boys, meeting Turner and the new staff, all I can think of is Championship.