Usually this Time Machine blog discusses a certain game in a series against an upcoming Falcons opponent that is interesting or compelling. But we are changing things up this week because of a particular player's dominance in the series against the Carolina Panthers.
RB Michael Turner has owned the Panthers during his time as a Falcon and it's worth pointing out, especially since it hasn't been written or talked about much this week.
In his eight career games in this series, "The Burner" has amassed 783 yards on the ground on 172 carries with an eye-opening 11 touchdowns scored and a healthy 4.6 per carry average. For some running backs, that's a good season of work and Turner has done it in just eight contests.
The former product of Northern Illinois has collected five 100-yard rushing games when playing the Panthers, including at least one per season in the pair of yearly meetings. Among some of his best games in this I-85 rivalry was last year's series-best 139-yard rushing day with two touchdowns in a Week 7 win at the Georgia Dome.
In 2009, he started out with nine rushes for a whopping 111 yards of total power on display at Carolina in Week 9 before being felled with an early ankle injury and did not return. (Can you imagine how much yardage he would have gained playing a full game at that pace?)
During a Week 14 outing again on the road in 2010, Turner churned out 112 yards and scored as season-high three times. In his second game in the series during a Week 12 showdown at the Dome in 2008, Turner bulldozed his way for four touchdowns to tie the team record for most rushing scores in a single game.
With number 33 leading the rushing charge, the Falcons are 6-2 in this series since 2008 and have captured four games in-a-row.
Suffice it to say, Michael Turner is eagerly awaiting the opposition this weekend as he gears up for another potential big game against his division foe from the north.
