NIU alum Turner leads NFL in rushing

After four seasons of backing up LaDainian Tomlinson in San Diego, former Northern Illinois running back Michael Turner finally hit free agency last winter with a chance to find a starting job.

One team showed serious interest and it wasn't the one whose headquarters are located within a reasonable bike ride of Turner's boyhood home in North Chicago.

Instead, Turner signed with the Atlanta Falcons, a team that finished 4-12 last season and seemed to have slim hopes of a quick turnaround.

"It wasn't like a bidding war for me," Turner "the Burner" admitted during a conference call with Chicago reporters. "It was fine. Different teams take different directions."

Now the Falcons (3-2) appear headed in a different direction. Turner turned things around immediately by rushing for a franchise-record 220 yards against the Lions in his Atlanta debut. Heading into Sunday's game against the Bears, Turner leads the NFL in rushing yards with 543.

Had the Bears known they were about to give up on Cedric Benson, things might have been different, although rookie second-round draft pick Matt Forte has been a valuable addition. Forte currently ranks eighth in rushing yards with 383.

"Growing up and watching the Bears every week, my family wanted me to be a Bear and everything like that, but I knew I couldn't control that and what they wanted to do," Turner said. "By far (the Falcons) were the most aggressive team that really wanted me. They stayed with it. I stayed a couple of days extra than originally planned to get the deal done.

"Everybody has been down on this franchise, but I didn't care. I was open minded about coming here. You can't predict the NFL, so you can't predict when a team is ready to make a turnaround."

Seven running backs were chosen in the first two rounds of April's NFL draft, but the Falcons were able to make an effective offensive overhaul by signing Turner as a free agent and drafting former Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan with the third overall pick.

Ryan, who has started every game for Atlanta, ranks 11th in the NFC in passer rating, but has tossed just 3 interceptions in 131 attempts.

First-year Falcons coach Mike Smith felt confident that Turner was a better option than any of the running backs available in the draft, particularly after studying video of every one of Turner's 274 carries with the Chargers.

"We wanted a guy who can run the ball between the tackles and also have the speed to take it the distance," Smith said. "We thought Michael Turner fit that bill. We felt Michael had not had a whole lot of wear and tear on his body in his first five years in the league.

"He's a guy that we feel like will get stronger as the game goes on. He's a physical specimen in terms of lower-body strength. I think through the first five games, we've seen that. He's running hard and breaking tackles at the end of the game just as he does in the beginning."

Last week in the Falcons' 27-24 victory at Green Bay, Turner (26 carries, 121 yards) posted his third 100-yard game of the season. The Bears currently rank fourth in the league in rush defense and the closest anyone has come to a 100-yard day this season was Carolina's Jonathan Stewart, who finished with 77 yards on 14 carries.

"It's still early," Turner said. "I just happen to be leading (the league) right now. We've only played five games, at least 11 more to go. I'm taking it one game at a time."