“If the Falcons are moving past their days of pounding away at opponents with running back Michael Turner then it could mean they are just catching up to the times.
The NFL’s era of feeding the ball to one big featured back have faded in favor of spreading the ball around to multiple backs with different styles. For the Falcons, their 24-23 victory at Tampa Bay might have been the beginning of their full embrace of that trend.
Jacquizz Rodgers played 31 offensive snaps against the Buccaneers compared to Turner’s 23. With the exception of Atlanta’s lopsided victory at San Diego, when Rodgers got extra playing time with the game in hand, it was the first time this season Turner didn’t get the most snaps among the running backs.
“We feel like Jacquizz is a very viable option to carry the football and has done a nice job for us,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “It has become more of the vogue thing to do, to have a ‘running back by committee.’”
Atlanta’s victory against Tampa Bay showed the potential benefits of using multiple backs.
Jason Snelling had three catches for 33 yards, Rodgers had a 32-yard catch and a 20-yard run among his 79 total yards and Turner powered in for a three-yard touchdown for one highlight in a 13-carry, 17-yard day.
“For one thing, it keeps the defense guessing,” Snelling said. “We are similar but different styles of running and what we can do.”
The upshot is that the Falcons are running the ball with less frequency and, when they do run, Turner is getting it less often.”
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