Adrian Peterson | Atlanta Falcons Tickets

Michael Turner, Falcons Back, Still Shoulders Load

“I’m from Chicago,” Turner said with a grin. “I’ve played in some weather before. Finesse? Give me a break.”

The Falcons (10-6) have been nothing close to a finesse team in the four years Turner has played in Atlanta, including this season, when the team mixed into its scheme the fascinating and fast rookie wide receiver Julio Jones. There were assumptions that the Falcons were going to change their identity as a one-cut, downhill-run team when they acquired Jones, an all-American from Alabama, but Turner is still the 247-pound billboard of the Falcons’ offense.

Despite dealing with a groin strain, Turner carried the ball 301 times this season, second in the league to Jacksonville’s Maurice Jones-Drew (343). Because of Turner, who rushed for 1,340 yards this season, the Falcons have a varied offense that does not have to put every game in the hands of quarterback Matt Ryan.

“To me that has been the most misrepresented statement about us, that we lost our identity,” said Thomas Dimitroff, Atlanta’s general manager, who signed Turner to a six-year contract in 2008. “I started hearing that earlier in the season. We never lost our identity. We are based around a strong running game. We have always talked about working down the middle of the field. When we acquired Julio, we never had plans to go away from having Michael run the rock.”

Turner, who averaged 4.5 yards per carry this season, has run the ball more than 300 times in three of the four seasons he has been in Atlanta. Only Tennessee’s Chris Johnson (5,645) and Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson (5,411) have more rushing yards in the last four seasons than Turner (5,281).

When Turner went five consecutive games without a 100-yard game in the second half of this season, some theorized that he was wearing down and that maybe the Falcons needed to develop a more fancy offense. Turner is 29 and spent four years in San Diego (2004 to 2007) as a backup to LaDainian Tomlinson. Punishing blows make a short shelf life for an running back, and this is Turner’s eighth season.

“I’m not wearing down,” he said. “We just lost some of our chemistry there for a few games. It fell off a little bit; hopefully we have our consistency back.”

Ovie Mughelli, a Pro Bowl fullback in 2010, was placed on injured reserve Oct. 25 with a knee injury and the Falcons lost some traction in their run game. They seemed to reconstitute the running game last Sunday against Tampa Bay, when Turner ran for 172 yards, albeit against a team that lost its last 10 games of the season.

“It was great to see Michael Turner get back on track,” Coach Mike Smith said. “We knew that our run game had been trending down over the last four or five weeks. It was something that we looked at very closely.”

The Falcons put Turner on a routine in which he was not practicing Wednesdays and Thursdays, and he looked fresh against the Bucs. He dashed 81 yards for a score, and defenders tried to avoid head-on collisions on his way down the field.

Turner is the essence of the Falcons because they are designed to be a fourth-quarter team. They want to run the ball and limit possessions, keeping the score down, and to chew up a defense. Atlanta has a veteran field-goal kicker, Matt Bryant, so it can win those low-scoring games.

The running game is so effective that the Falcons are also able to use play-action on first down to fake a run and throw a pass. They patiently poke around with the run, and while other teams might want to show off their playbook, the Falcons will come back to successful rushing plays.

The opponents who have been successful against the Atlanta ground game, like Jacksonville, stay in a base front on defense and do not move around. They want to make Turner cut back abruptly and know how to fit against the Falcons’ blocking so they have two tacklers coming straight to the point of attack.

Turner is the antidote to the Giants’ pass rush because his early-down gains can keep the Falcons out of bad situations, like third-and-7s.

“Things have always worked out for me,” Turner said. “I was never worried this season about being that piece, not being that piece. I’m a guy who waits his turn and tries to be part of the team.”

Falcons Running Back Michael Turner Still Shoulders the Load

“I’m from Chicago,” Turner said with a grin. “I’ve played in some weather before. Finesse? Give me a break.”

The Falcons (10-6) have been nothing close to a finesse team in the four years Turner has played in Atlanta, including this season when the team mixed into its scheme the fascinating and fast rookie wide receiver Julio Jones. There were assumptions that the Falcons were going to change their identity as a one-cut, downhill-run team when they acquired Jones, an all-American from Alabama, but Turner is still the 247-pound billboard of the Falcons’ offense.

Turner carried the ball 301 times this season, second in the league to Jacksonville’s Maurice Jones-Drew (343), and that was with Turner dealing with a groin strain. Because of Turner, who rushed for 1,340 yards this season, the Falcons are a complementary offense that does not have to put every game in the hands of quarterback Matt Ryan.

“To me that has been the most misrepresented statement about us, that we lost our identity,” said Thomas Dimitroff, the Atlanta general manager, who signed Turner to a six-year contract in 2008. “I started hearing that earlier in the season. We never lost our identity. We are based around a strong running game. We have always talked about working down the middle of the field. When we acquired Julio we never had plans to go away from having Michael run the rock.”

When Turner went five consecutive games without a 100-yard game in the second half of this season, there was some theorizing that he was wearing down and maybe the Falcons needed to become a more fanciful offense. Turner is 29 years old and had spent four years in San Diego (2004 to 2007) as a backup to LaDainian Tomlinson. There is an understanding that punishing blows make a short shelf life for an running back, and this is Turner’s eighth season.

“I’m not wearing down,” he said. “We just lost some of our chemistry there for a few games. It fell off a little bit; hopefully we have our consistency back.”

Ovie Mughelli, a Pro Bowl fullback in 2010, was placed on injured reserve Oct. 25 with a knee injury and the Falcons lost some traction in their run game. They seemed to convalesce and reconstituted the running game last Sunday against Tampa Bay, when Turner ran for 172 yards, albeit against a team that lost its last 10 games of the season.

The Falcons put Turner on a routine where he was not practicing Wednesdays and Thursdays, and he looked fresh against the Bucs. He dashed 81 yards for a score, and defenders tried to avoid head-on collisions on his way down the field.

Turner is the essence of the Falcons because they are designed to be a fourth-quarter team. They want to run the ball and limit possessions, keeping the score down, and grind on a defense. Atlanta has a veteran field goal kicker, Matt Bryant, so it can win those low-scoring, fourth-quarter games.

The running game is so effective that the Falcons are not afraid to use play-action on first down where they fake a run and pass. They patiently poke around with the run, and while other teams might want to show off their playbook, the Falcons will come back to successful run plays.

The opponents who have been successful against the Atlanta run game, like Jacksonville, stay in a base front on defense and do not move around. They set a vertical edge to make Turner cut back abruptly and know how to fit against the Falcons’ run plays so they have two tacklers coming downhill at the point of attack. Turner is the antidote to the Giants’ pass rush because his early-down runs can keep the Falcons out of bad situations, like third-and-7s.

Ryan Throws 3 TDs, Falcons Hold Off Vikings 24-14

“We make it exciting enough for you?” the Atlanta coach said, managing a smile.

Then he took a swig of water and breathed a sigh of relief. His team held on in a game it absolutely couldn’t afford to lose.

Matt Ryan tossed three touchdown passes and the Falcons came through with a goal-line stand after Percy Harvin’s 104-yard kickoff return, preserving a 24-14 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

Atlanta (7-4) had to beat the lowly Vikings to maintain its spot in a tight NFC playoff race. Minnesota (2-9) didn’t appear much of a threat without star running back Adrian Peterson, who was sidelined by a sprained left ankle. To make matter worse for the visiting team, three more players went down to injuries in the first half.

The game started according to plan for the Falcons, who raced to a 17-0 lead by halftime. Ryan hooked up with Harry Douglas on a 27-yard touchdown and Roddy White on a 6-yarder. The Vikings had only two first downs and 38 yards until their final possession of the first half, when they padded their numbers a bit against the prevent defense. Even then, Minnesota went to the locker room with five first downs and 97 yards.

Instead of putting the Vikings away, the Falcons let them back in the game.

“We know we’re a lot better than that,” tight end Tony Gonzalez said. “Sooner or later we’re going to hit our stride.”

Toby Gerhart, filling in for Peterson, scored on a 1-yard run late in the third quarter. Then, after Dominique Franks inadvertently touched a punt the Falcons were trying to run away from, allowing the Vikings to recover, Christian Ponder went to Harvin for a 39-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-13 to make it 17-14.

Ryan responded with two long completions to White before hitting backup tight end Michael Palmer with a 3-yard touchdown that extended the lead with 6:40 remaining.

Still, the Vikings wouldn’t go away.

Harvin took the ensuing kickoff 7 yards deep in the end zone, found a wall of blockers to the right and took off right in front of the Falcons bench. Christopher Owens made a diving tackle at the 3, and that might’ve saved the Falcons.

“That was the most pivotal play of the game,” Smith said. “We were able to put our defense out there and live to play another play.”

The Vikings got it to the 1 and decided to go for the touchdown on fourth down. But Sean Weatherspoon burst into the backfield and stuffed Gerhart right after he took the handoff, throwing him for a 2-yard loss. The Falcons ran out the clock.

“When the guy comes screaming off the edge like that, you have no chance,” Gerhart said.

The game was a near repeat of Atlanta’s performance the previous week against Tennessee, and doesn’t bode well for this team — considered a contender before the season — making a long run in the playoffs even if they do get in.

The Falcons built a 20-point lead on the Titans but staggered to the finish, barely preserving a 23-17 win.

Now, another close call.

“At the end of the day, we had more points than they did,” Smith said. “That’s the most important stat.”

Vikings rookie coach Leslie Frazier admitted it was mistake to go for a touchdown on fourth down, instead of kicking a chip-shot field goal that would’ve made it a one-score game.

“That’s purely on me,” he said. “I let my emotions get the best of me.”

The Vikings looked a lot better over the final two quarters than they did in the first two, though they were still outgained 335-226 in total yards.

“The first half was ugly,” Gerhart said. “There’s no rhythm. We came back after halftime and wanted to get the ball back and wanted to get a little momentum. Unfortunately, they stopped that momentum at the end of the game.”

Ryan completed 27 of 34 for 262 yards and had his best efficiency rating of the season. White, showing signs of turning around a disappointing season, had his second straight big game with 10 catches for 120 yards.

“It’s kind of the nature of NFL. Teams execute at a high level and things are going exactly as planned. Then there are times where you don’t execute as well as you would like,” Ryan said. “The most important thing is how we responded to that and played in the fourth quarter. We did a great job when we needed to score.”

Ponder was 17 of 25 for 186 yards but was sacked four times and had to scramble away from pressure several more times. Gerhart managed only 44 yards rushing, while Harvin had eight catches for 95 yards to go along with his big play on the kickoff, which was the longest non-scoring return in NFL history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

NOTES: Falcons CB Brent Grimes (right knee) went out in the first half and didn’t return. … The Vikings lost S Tyrell Johnson (hamstring), CB Asher Allen (shoulder) and deep snapper Cullen Loeffler (back). DE Jared Allen took over the snapping duties from Loeffler. … Harvin took advantage when the Falcons dropped linebacker Curtis Lofton into coverage on the fourth-and-13. He had no chance of keeping up with the speedy receiver. “We’ll take that matchup every day,” Ponder said.

___

Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at