DEL.ICIO.USTurner “The Burner” burns the record book
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sunday, September 07, 2008
The Falcons waited half of last season for a 100-yard rusher in a game. They got it twice over in the season-opener Sunday from Michael Turner.
Call him a quick study. And powerful.
Rich Addicks/raddicks@ajc.com
Michael Turner carried the ball 22 times for a record 220 yards — a single-game rushing record for the Falcons and a carrier best.
BY THE NUMBERS
• How They Scored• Team Stats • NFC Standings
• Photos: Ryan's debut • Game
• Schultz: More than a win
• Bisher: Expectations met
• Turner burns record
• Smith: 'Matt did good job'
• INT saved game • DBs held ground
RELATED STORIES • More Falcons
Turner, all 5-foot-10, 244 pounds of him, made his first start as a Falcon, first as nobody’s understudy, and rolled up 220 yards, a single-game rushing record for the Falcons.
After four years as a backup to LaDainian Tomlinson in San Diego, Turner unleashed 117 yards and two touchdowns in the first quarter alone. He broke off a 66-yard touchdown run to follow Matt Ryan’s 62-yard touchdown pass to help the Falcons get a 21-0 jump on the Lions on the way to a 34-21 win.
Turner had found daylight on the backside, then cut back to his right and was gone for the seventh-longest rush in Falcons history.
By the time Turner carried on a 17-yard burst in the fourth quarter, former Falcon Gerald Riggs was waving a white handkerchief in the Georgia Dome press box. Riggs, now an analyst for WXIA, had held the Falcons record until that moment for 202 yards rushing against the Saints in the season-opener in 1984.
“It’s about time,” Riggs said. “How many backs have they had through here? It’s a heck of an accomplishment for a debut — coming here and having an opportunity to finally have his own show. And he showed today.”
Turner rushed for two touchdowns in the first quarter, twice as many as he had all last season in San Diego. He finished the day with a career-high 22 carries. And the adrenaline was still pumping well after the game.
Turner was late for a post-game press conference because trainers were trying to get a cut in his right elbow to stop bleeding. Turner had no memory of how the cut got there.
“It’s just a little scratch,” he said. “When I walked off the field, the trainers were looking at me.”
He was well into a line of questioning by then that featured the same question Ryan was asked earlier — did he ever dream that his Falcons career would start this way?
Ryan had said no. Turner said yes.
“Yeah I did,” he said. “You see LT, being around that guy and seeing him break records all the time. I always wondered what it would feel like to break a record. I didn’t even know I was close to breaking the record, but it was something that just happened. LT told me all the time they just happened.”
Well, not for the Falcons, who had to wait until the eighth game last year to get 100 yards from Warrick Dunn against San Francisco. And it didn’t happen again for the last eight games.
Turner, who has about 57 pounds on Dunn — maybe all in his thighs — brings the Falcons a forward lean they haven’t had in a while.
He combined with Jerious Norwood (93 yards on 14 carries) to give the Falcons a record 318 rushing yards overall.
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