Michael Turner doesn’t mind a little help.
But he does have a problem if the Falcons want to drastically cut into his action.
Turner’s averaged 20.1 carries per game the last four seasons (and perhaps not coincidentally, his performance has tailed off late in them).
“I’ll just see what happens,” Turner told D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “Ten carries a game, I don’t think I’ll be that effective like that. But you know, I’m going to make the most of my opportunities like I always have.”
Right now, there’s a bit of an unknown, as the Falcons are still installing new coordinator Dirk Koetter’s offense, and practices have been a little pass-heavy.
“We’ll see,” Turner said. “It always goes with the flow of the game. You can’t even say that we are going to go out here and throw the ball 50 times or run the ball 30 to 40 times. It all goes with situations. We play situational football.”
As most teams are, the Falcons are more successful when they have more rush attempts, but that’s as much a product of having leads as philosophy. Now Turner just wants to make sure he’s not getting phased out.
“There has been an emphasis on some passing stuff,” Turner said. “But we have a lot of weapons and guys need to touch the football.”
If anything, Turner should take solace in the fact Maurice Jones-Drew led the league in carries last year with Koetter calling the plays. As long as he holds up over the course of the season, he should still get his chances.