After being asked about it by the media, his fellow coaches, players, pundits, relatives of Michael Turner and most sentient trees, Mike Smith has delivered what he surely hopes is the definitive statement on Turner's carries for 2012. That statement?

Not so many.

In an interview with WCNN, Smith said once more than he "doesn't envision" Turner hitting 300 carries again this year. Considering Turner's heavy workload over the last few years, the presence of Jacquizz Rodgers and the team's likely focus on improving the passing game, this rings about as true as it ever has.

The Falcons would be well-served to go down that road, considering that Turner's a soon-to-be free agent and the passing game in its current form is probably about as potent as it's going to get.

That said, if you're one of the many fans who remains skeptical about this, you would be perfectly justified in waiting until the end of the season to do a carry count. The Falcons have been notoriously poor at keeping Turner to any kind of a limit.

The rest of the interview's a decent read, too. Check it out, and know that this is the last word on the Turner carry subplot. I think.