D. Orlando Ledbetter's brief Twitter report that Michael Turner had off-season groin surgery raised a few eyebrows around the Interwebs.. Apparently, this is information the crafty Falcons brass was able to conceal from the fans, which isn't particularly surprising.
A groin injury would help to explain why Turner plodded at times last season, though it hardly accounts for all his woes last season. Turner had problems owing to blocking and to Mike Mularkey's insistence that he run straight into six guys and try to bowl them all over on a consistent basis. That said, on balance Turner had a good but not great year even with nagging injuries, so it's safe to assume that the surgery can only help him.
The bigger question is how the Falcons managed to keep this so thoroughly under wraps after it was discovered in an off-season utterly devoid of the usual free agent noise. They're non-disclosing ninjas, for certain, but I suppose no particular harm was done here. I just get a bit antsy about injuries, especially when they involve our bell cow back.
I'm glad to hear Turner's healthy, though. Let's hope he has a huge season. The Falcons still need that ground game to complement the new-look passing attack. What kind of season do you think he'll have?
Also, please be aware that I'll be sans computer for much of the day. If breaking news...breaks...then be sure to pop up a well-written FanPost about it and Caleb, Adam or I will promote it to the front page as soon as we can. Thanks guys and girls!