Why Do You Think Michael Turner Should Be MVP?

by Caleb Rutherford on Feb 2, 2012 7:00 PM EST in Editorial

This is not a "YOU'RE ALL DUMB" post (I don't do that) but I am curious as to why some of you think Michael Turner should be the MVP of the team. Personally, I disagree with him being the MVP BUT it has been made clear by many of you that Michael Turner should at least receive some consideration for that and some have also declared him the MVP of the team.

So this is your soapbox to explain why you think Michael Turner is the MVP (Or offensive player of the year, if Spoon or someone else is your MVP).

We passed 115 times more on first down than we ran, for anyone who's wondering.

I feel like an MVP rusher should have something that stands out. Some quality. Look at MJD this year. THAT is an MVP rusher. That team would have been nothing without him. But without Turner, would we falter? Perhaps a little, but the dropoff would be much greater without Matt Ryan. Snelling and Quizz do get a lot of reps and they can both play ball. MJD does it all for the Jags. He had nearly 2,000 scrimmage yards this year, and I can tell you from watching us that he wasn't stopped after one yard. EVER.

Perhaps if we relied on Turner more, then yes, he could be considered our MVP, but because of where Matty is at this point in his career, we don't have to lean on him as much because Matt has become more valuable to the offense. 2008 Turner was absolutely the MVP of the offense. He ran for infinite yards and helped our fledgling Matty grow into his own.

Fast forward to now, where Turner has slowed down, and he's not as valuable to the offense because there has been a changing of the guard, or a shift in value.

But that's just my opinion. You're welcome to offer your opinion here.

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“We passed 115 times more on first down than we ran, for anyone who’s wondering.”

Wow, would have never guessed those numbers! Maybe I don’t feel like those are right because of how they stuck in my head; I was furious every first down run.

by J_Cod on Feb 2, 2012 7:06 PM EST reply actions

MT MVP?!

Come on…they should know better than to vote for MT for MVP. I am almost certain he will be trade bait this offseason since he is in the last year of his contract (if I am not mistaken). We shall see…

by FalconsFansincePrimetime on Feb 2, 2012 10:06 PM EST via mobile reply actions

I voted Matty for MVP

and Turner for Offensive Player. In this case, I viewed the “Offensive Player” category as a consolation prize when an offensive player won the overall MVP. It’s often done this way with the real awards.

But I can see a case being made. Somebody posted the stats, but this team, I think, only lost once when Turner rushed for 100-plus. Granted, if the O-line isn’t run-blocking well, there are probably a lot of other things they aren’t doing well. But think about the Saints game: Big numbers by Ryan that didn’t mean a hill of beans, and Turner had…40-something yards?

I blame Mularkey for conditioning the fans to hate the power run game. :)

by ChardeeMacDennis on Feb 3, 2012 9:01 AM EST reply actions

100+ yard wins

In the games MT had 100+ yards that we won, how many of those yards were time wasting yards in the 4th qtr?

Dont cloud the issue with facts!

by muuzilla on Feb 3, 2012 5:10 PM EST up reply actions

Instead of looking at that stat

I believe ATL only lost once this year when MT carried the ball twenty times or more.

by mwalex on Feb 4, 2012 1:00 AM EST up reply actions

Hmm... It appears very few people outside myself are willing to vote Turner so here you go, Caleb

You said like an MVP rusher should have something that stands out… How about percentage of yards? Everyone keeps saying that Snelling and Quizz could handle the load, but I just think that is assuming too much. Snelling rushed for 8.2% of our total rushing yards, Quizz had 11.2% and Turner had 73.1%. Consider now that Snelling averaged 3.4 ypc, Quiz averaged 3.6 ypc, and Turner averaged 4.5 ypc. Michael Turner is clearly our best rusher, and it isn’t even close. Some might argue that Turner isn’t a threat in the passing game, which is generally true, but this past year, Turner, Snelling, and Quizz were all within 20 receiving yards of each other. And guess who averaged the most yards per catch? That’s right, Michael Turner.

I posted the other day regarding the Falcon’s record when Turner has a successful day and when he does not. I admit there can be several factors contributing to the fact, other than Turner having a good day. But I also noted that when Turner is running well and the offense is not relying on Matt Ryan to have a big day, we are very successful. 7-1 when MT has a rushing TD and 5-1 when MT runs for over 100 yards, those are tough to write off.

I would also argue the intangibles that Michael Turner brings to the team. I would argue that no running back wears down a defense like Michael Turner can. He truly is a load, and to quote every announcer to ever broadcast a Falcon’s game, he is a “bowling ball”. Wearing down the defense, especially the front seven, theoretically would allow the offensive line to dominate towards the latter parts of the halves. Turner is also a proven veteran and a respected player on this team.

There is no doubt in my mind that this team is much better with Michael Turner. The thought of using him as “trade bait” for a fourth rounder is an insult to his time here, in my opinion. I hope to see Michael Turner lined up behind Matt Ryan next year, because he is truly the MVP of this team.

"He has lived up to the legendary billing... And the legend is born in Calvin Johnson!" -Wes Durham

by sportsfan4life2012 on Feb 3, 2012 10:33 AM EST reply actions

i agree

I’ll add (at risk of being crucified) Michael is a play maker and Matt Ryan throws to playmakers. Even though it takes two to make a reception, Matt rarely makes plays on his own

Atlanta will win a championship....someday

by maxxj3 on Feb 3, 2012 11:16 AM EST up reply actions

That argument...

can easily be flipped, but I will just simply say that in receiving you just can’t have one without the other…they are both playmakers. Now, with YAC the receivers are “play extenders” and can turn bad/good/great plays into good/great/OMFG plays.

Yes, Matt rarely makes plays by himself but, the exact same thing can be said of the receivers too…just playing “Devil’s Advocate” on this one.

"I'd run over my own mother to win the Super Bowl." - Joe Jacoby, formerly of the Redskins
"To win, I'd run over Joe's mom too." - Matt Millen, formerly of the Raiders

"We now have exactly the same situation as we had at the start of the race, only exactly the opposite" - Murray Walker, Sportscaster

by Blood_Talon on Feb 3, 2012 1:07 PM EST up reply actions

I always enjoy having a Devil's advocate

Consider for a second though, that Darren Sproles had more YAC this season than yards receiving. Why? Screen passes. Is Drew Brees a great quarterback because he can dump the ball off to Sproles? No. He is a great quarterback because of his ability to sense the pocket collapsing and make throws into very small windows. Matt Ryan (I hope) has the ability to make good throws, and his receivers let him down at times this year. But in all honesty, if it is the last play of the game, I wish the ball was already in Julio’s hands, not hoping for Ryan to throw it to him.

"He has lived up to the legendary billing... And the legend is born in Calvin Johnson!" -Wes Durham

by sportsfan4life2012 on Feb 3, 2012 1:58 PM EST up reply actions

true

Plus, QB’s often play a role in YAC. Throwing on time and hitting a guy in stride vs. laying him out, throwing slightly behind him or waiting until the defender is already in his grill can mean a big difference in yardage.

by ChardeeMacDennis on Feb 3, 2012 4:11 PM EST up reply actions

Very well said

and to add to your post – MT has performed very well with ATL in spite of a marginal OL for the past two to three years, a terrible OC that HAS NEVER run a good ground game and a young QB.

I just am amazed at all of the MT hate that has popped up on this board. I actually hope he does get traded so he’ll go to a team that will appreciate him and better use his skill sets.

by mwalex on Feb 4, 2012 12:58 AM EST up reply actions