When the Falcons signed free agent Michael Turner on March 2, he was immediately appointed the starter. Jerious Norwood would have been in line for the starting job, but he knew he wasn’t going to be the every-down back in Atlanta this season. Still, Norwood stayed positive, and now he sees a great opportunity.
“I want us to be like thunder and lightning in the backfield,” he said.
Fullback Ovie Mughelli joins the two young running backs in Turner and Norwood in the backfield that Norwood is so excited about. In fact, all three of them believe that they can form one of the best running units in the NFL.
Turner is the centerpiece among the running backs. He backed up perhaps the league’s best in LaDainian Tomlinson for the past four years in San Diego, but the Falcons and many other teams around the NFL believed his performances indicated that he was ready to start. He took over the starting spot during the 2007 postseason after Tomlinson injured his ankle and is also averaging 5.5 yards per carry for his career. Now Turner has received his opportunity to be the No. 1 back on the depth chart for good.
“It feels great,” he said. “It’s finally my turn.”
NEED FOR SPEED
Speaking of yards per carry, Norwood also brings an impressive average to the table: he sports a 6.2 in that category. Norwood has also been a fixture in the highlight reels, having scored on touchdown runs of 69 and 78 yards in his rookie season and running back a 67-yard touchdown against the Super Bowl XLII champion New York Giants last year. With two home-run threats, the two could be dangerous.
“Both of us can take it to the house at any moment,” Turner said.
Don’t forget about Mughelli either; the 2006 All-Pro is one of the best fullbacks in the game but rarely had a chance to shine in Bobby Petrino’s offensive scheme last season. With Petrino gone, he’s ready to get back to his form of two years ago under first-year head coach Mike Smith, who will use Mughelli much more this fall.
“You always want to affect the game in a positive way,” Mughelli said. “The fact that I’m being used more is different than last [year].”
Smith is utilizing the 6-foot-1, 255-pound mammoth of a man as much as possible. After just a few days of training camp, Smith had already used Mughelli heavily as a blocker, runner and even receiver out of the backfield.
With an uncertain immediate future at the quarterback position, the performance of the running backs will take on special importance. And Mughelli thinks that if they can produce, it should take much of the pressure off of whoever gets the nod at the quarterback position.
“We’ve already decided that whoever is going be the starting quarterback, it’s gonna be easy on them,” Mughelli said. “We’re trying to be the heart of the team.”
If they do produce, it will require a strong offensive line. Many deemed the line as a weakness of the team during last season’s 4-12 campaign. This year, they feature a more experienced Justin Blalock at guard, a veteran tackle in Todd Weiner, decorated rookie Sam Baker at the other tackle position and many more. Turner doesn’t think that the front five will have a problem jelling this time around.
“They’ve been getting out there and competing,” he said. “I’ve been getting some big holes to run through.”
WHAT TO EXPECT
As for their expectations, the Falcons think that their backfield could be downright scary. How well will Norwood and Turner work together as a tandem on the field? Mughelli sounded confident that they would form a great team.
“Jerious and Michael are going to be unstoppable,” he said.
Norwood’s face lit up when he was asked the same question.
“We continue to work together and try to have the No. 1 backfield in the country,” he said. “That’s something we’re looking forward to and hopefully we can fulfill our goal.”
With this group of different styles, there is certainly a chance to evolve into a strong group when the regular season rolls around. And their success just might help the Falcons win a few more games in 2008 than the experts think.
“When we get ready for games,” Norwood added, “we want teams to say ‘Man, here come the Falcons.”’
By Josh Bagriansky, who can be reached at jbagriansky@scoreatl.com.
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