DEL.ICIO.USNorwood’s ‘game-changing plays’ made difference
For the Journal-Constitution
Sunday, December 28, 2008
All season the Falcons have taken advantage of their jackhammer. On Sunday it was the jack rabbit who made the biggest difference.
Jerious Norwood, the third-year pro from Mississippi State, showed off the speed that makes him a fan favorite and a pariah to defensive coordinators. He rushed three times for 56 yards and two touchdowns, including a 45-yard game winner, in the 31-27 win over St. Louis. He also caught a pass for 22 yards and averaged 38.4 yards on five kickoff returns.
Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com
Jerious Norwood’s 45-yard rushing touchdown with 3:41 left in the game sent the Falcons to the playoffs for the first time since 2004.
“It’s no doubt that those were game-changing plays,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “Those were big plays in the ball game.”
Norwood’s big day began with a 92-yard kickoff return after St. Louis took a 14-10 lead. Norwood broke free through the wedge and was chased by three defenders, with Jason Craft finally catching him at the 8-yard line.
“The monster jumped on my back,” Norwood said with a laugh. “That was still a great run.”
Norwood scored two plays later. He took a direct snap from center Todd McClure and ran off the left side for an 8-yard touchdown.
“When we do that, when I line up by Matt, the defense really doesn’t know what we’re going to do,” Norwood said.
His speed paid off again in the final quarter, when Atlanta was mounting the go-ahead drive. The Falcons had pounded the ball into the line with Michael Turner on four straight carries, and after a short pass, went to the speed game.
“I wanted to take a breather so we could get a first down,” Turner said. “But that wasn’t what happened. It was a great job.”
Norwood took the handoff and broke free after a nice block from Tyson Clabo. St. Louis safety Todd Johnson unsuccessfully dove at Norwood’s feet and linebacker Quinton Culberson was left flailing for air as Norwood cut back and completed the 45-yard touchdown, which gave Atlanta the lead with 3:50 remaining.
“We were going to stick with the plan,” Norwood said. “It just so happened that I hit a seam, the offensive line did a great job, and I just took it up the middle.”
Norwood’s speed was a great complement to Turner, who ran 25 times for 208 yards and one touchdown.
“One runs over people and one runs away from people,” veteran lineman Todd Weiner said. “It’s real hard for the defense to maneuver around that, because one minute they’re getting run over and the next minute they’re getting juiced.”
Norwood, who has played through a rib injury, improved his regular-season totals to 489 yards, a 5.14 average on 95 carries, and four touchdowns. It was his first touchdown since the Oakland game.
The Falcons finished with 263 yards rushing, an average of 8.2 per play. That’s nearly twice their average of 145.3 yards, which ranks fifth in the NFL.
“One of our main goals was to run the football today,” Turner said. “We want to run it every week, but we knew that this week we might get the opportunity.”
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