Norwood, Turner and Snelling

[Quarterback]

Norwood has NFL speed, NFL quickness, and a good attitude; Norwood, unfortunately however, wasn’t born with the body to take the pounding in the NFL.

Turner, who was born with such a body, is still in my opinion carrying about 10-15 extra pounds of fat that makes him a step slower than 2008 and more prone to injuries common to NFL skill position athletes. He still has good open field speed when he gets through the line but that first step burst we witnessed in 2008 is now absent. I think it's the extra pounds.

Two years ago Turner easily wins a foot race over Snelling, who has average NFL speed for a tailback. From what I saw at the game yesterday, Snelling actually looked quicker than Turner! That’s what being 30 pounds overweight in 2009, 10-15 pounds overweight this season, and the associated injuries can do to a previously really good NFL running back. I'd like to see Snelling's heart yesterday in Turner's well conditioned body!

Turner should be ashamed of himself for taking all of his most generous paycheck while not reciprocating with all of his dedication and commitment to conditioning his body for optimal performance. His fans and teammates deserve such! Next Sunday we will be facing a bunch of gazelles at the skill positions whose coaches demand optimal conditioning to compliment Drew Brees.

Please understand that I genuinely like Turner, how he conducts himself on and off the field, and certainly appreciate his value to this team's success; it is this value that when not optimized through personal and professional dedication that I find disappointing in a teammate that must certainly understand his significance to the Falcons' offensive philosophy that places a heavy dependence upon his production.

[since68andcounting]

Turner always reminded me of Cowboys great Robert Newhouse. Low to the ground, big thighs and hips. Like trying to tackle a fire hydrant. Newhouse wasn't blazing, but had enough speed to breakaway and so does Turner, but I agree he may have lost a half step. Whether it comes back or not we'll see.

Overall though, I think you're being overly harsh. Running backs take a ridiculous pounding and have the shortest lifespan of all NFL players. The guy took 370+ carries two years ago. Sometimes players put on weight so they can take more pounding. Turner said he was overweight, but only in hindsight. He may have also done it partly to protect himself, and I don't blame him.

[Quarterback]

Turner always reminded me of Cowboys great Robert Newhouse. Low to the ground, big thighs and hips. Like trying to tackle a fire hydrant. Newhouse wasn't blazing, but had enough speed to breakaway and so does Turner, but I agree he may have lost a half step. Whether it comes back or not we'll see.

Overall though, I think you're being overly harsh. Running backs take a ridiculous pounding and have the shortest lifespan of all NFL players. The guy took 370+ carries two years ago. Sometimes players put on weight so they can take more pounding. Turner said he was overweight, but only in hindsight. He may have also done it partly to protect himself, and I don't blame him.

Didn't intend to be harsh; certainly hope I wasn't "overly harsh" by pointing out the extra weight. Nevertheless, I can't buy the weight gain to protect himself.

Turner himself acknowledged coming into 2009 significantly overweight. Further, I could understand a guy like Norwood or an OL or DL gaining some extra pounds for mass and protection; I cannot buy a 5'11" 245 pound running back needing to add 10-15 more pounds to "protect himself" at the expense of a vital forward burst and optimal lateral movement.

[falken]

You know.... it is possible to compliment one player on your roster without criticizing others.

Having two great backs is a luxury in this league that could pay huge dividends during the grind of the season and come January.

Turner- Calling Turner overweight is a cop-out. He looks to be in great shape, even better than '08, and is a vital part of how far this team will go this season. Turner doesn't avoid contact but somehow has a knack for never getting hit square. The yardage he put up in '08 was no fluke and I expect more of the same from him this year.

Snelling- Snelling deserves AS MUCH credit as Ryan did for breaking 'the Curse' last season. Billick may have noticed him for the first time Sunday but he had already earned a spot in Falcons' faithfuls heart.

For those of you that didn't have a chance to watch William Andrews in person I can't tell you how much Snelling reminds me of him. His motor just doesn't stop. He doesn't try to dance around a defender.....he tries run them over. You could see how he drove the will out of the Cardinals defense in the 4th quarter of Sundays game. He may not be the quickest guy on the field but he makes up for it with a determination that's just stubborn. He's a blue-collar player that would be right at home with a hardhat, lunchbox and Stanley thermos.

[NewFalcon]

You know.... it is possible to compliment one player on your roster without criticizing others.

Having two great backs is a luxury in this league that could pay huge dividends during the grind of the season and come January.

Turner- Calling Turner overweight is a cop-out. He looks to be in great shape, even better than '08, and is a vital part of how far this team will go this season. Turner doesn't avoid contact but somehow has a knack for never getting hit square. The yardage he put up in '08 was no fluke and I expect more of the same from him this year.

Snelling- Snelling deserves AS MUCH credit as Ryan did for breaking 'the Curse' last season. Billick may have noticed him for the first time Sunday but he had already earned a spot in Falcons' faithfuls heart.

For those of you that didn't have a chance to watch William Andrews in person I can't tell you how much Snelling reminds me of him. His motor just doesn't stop. He doesn't try to dance around a defender.....he tries run them over. You could see how he drove the will out of the Cardinals defense in the 4th quarter of Sundays game. He may not be the quickest guy on the field but he makes up for it with a determination that's just stubborn. He's a blue-collar player that would be right at home with a hardhat, lunchbox and Stanley thermos.

Well said. Great summary of Turner and Snelling's strengths.

[Hammafan58]

I have not heard anybody say that Turner didn't have dedication. By his own admission, he said he waited too long to start getting back in shape before 2009. He corrected that this off season. I find it funny that people who have no connection at all to a player question his dedication.

[vel]

It is ridiculous to think that we blow a team out and now all of a sudden Turner isn't good enough to be our starting RB. Seriously, he was averaging 8.3 yards on 9 carries. If he maintained that pace and added Snelling's 24 carries, he would have broken for 273 yards. I mean really, plenty of teams in this league would take Turner in a heartbeat.