A New Era In Atlanta

The Atlanta Falcons finally gave their long suffering fans something to cheer about, signing Michael Turner, one of the NFL’s most underrated players, to a six-year deal. Atlanta had expressed interest in Turner once the free agency period began, and hit the jackpot by locking him up long term. This terrific deal for the Falcons finally allows the talented and rugged Turner to get out of LaDainian Tomlinson’s gigantic shadow in San Diego. With everything Tomlinson has done over the last two years, Turner has been largely relegated to the bench. However, in short stints as a replacement for LT, Turner has proven he can handle the job just fine. During his three years as a Charger, Turner averaged 5.5 yards per carry and scored six touchdowns in 228 carries. He became the feature back once LT went down in the postseason, yet did very well against three of the league’s best defenses. Turner ran for 164 yards in three games, including 71 in the upset of the Colts. The lessons learned from road playoff games against the Colts and Patriots will be invaluable at his new home. The addition of Turner makes the Falcons a contender in the declining NFC South. Last year, the division saw a steep decline and it could continue this season.

Turner’s signing creates a pretty impressive duo as he joins the speed back Jerious Norwood, who has also displayed tremendous promise as well. The 24-year old has averaged 6.2 yards per carry during his two season as a Falcon, and finally has a power back to join him to keep defenses honest. Atlanta tried a Dunn/Norwood duo last year and watched as the NFL’s best running back attack in ’06 fell all the way down to 26th last year. Vick’s absence was partly responsible for that, but the dual running back system didn’t help much either. Atlanta learned last year how important a bruiser in the Brandon Jacobs mold is, and they targeted that immediately from the get-go in free agency. Turner has his prime in front of him at 26 and fills a gaping hole that Atlanta doesn’t have to pursue in the Draft now.

Atlanta has the third selection in April, and their selection is probably going to come down to Matt Ryan or Glen Dorsey. If Chris Long isn’t taken, he would be just as useful as Dorsey for Atlanta’s terrible defense. One way or another, one of Atlanta’s most pressing needs will be filled. Drafting Ryan gives new coach Mike Smith an experienced and proven quarterback. Chris Redman should be the starter to begin the season, but if he fails, having Ryan to turn to would be ideal. With his talented running back core already in place, the rookie won’t have as much on his plate. The ACC Player of the Year didn’t take part in the combine, but still managed to draw raves for his tremendous attention to detail. Colts GM Bill Polian even compared him to Peyton Manning in that regard. Ryan was a gamer throughout his career at BC, and carried the team to unprecedented heights during his senior season. You could do a lot worse than Ryan with the third overall pick.

Dorsey is a bit of a question mark with his nagging injuries, but at 100%, he could be the top player on the board. Despite battling injuries during the stretch run, Dorsey was still able to start all 14 games for a national championship team and become the first person to ever win the big four (Nagurski, Outland, Lott, Lombardi) defensive awards all in the same year. Atlanta’s defense was downright pathetic last year, allowing 26 points a game. No team with Joey Harrington as its starting quarterback will approach that kind of offensive production. The defense must get better, and drafting the nation’s pass rusher is a good place to start. Dorsey and Chris Long of Virginia are the two defensive players on the top of everyone’s board, but early indications are that the Falcons would probably draft Dorsey over Long.

Signing Turner is a great start for a franchise trying to pick up the pieces from the disaster it has been dealing with over the last year. Any one of these three great draft picks would be just as helpful. Vick’s fiasco, coupled with Bobby Petrino’s abandonment were black eyes for a team that was a game from the Super Bowl four years ago. It became clear that an overhaul was needed, and Atlanta has done that in stride early in the offseason. Dunn is set to be released with Turner’s signing and will mark the first time since 2001 that the Falcons won’t have Dunn or Vick. The NFL is all about teams coming out of nowhere (Browns last year, Saints before that), and no team is putting the pieces for an unexpected run quite like the Falcons.


Other Great Free Agent Signings:


Bernard Berrian (6 years, Vikings)

Asante Samuel (6 years, Eagles)

Kawika Mitchell (5 years, Bills)

Donte Stallworth (7 years, Browns)


Thoughts? Agree? Disagree?