Turner, Wolfe flourish when opportunity knocks
Falcons running back Michael Turner finished his career at Northern Illinois with a school-record 4,941 rushing yards, 13th best in NCAA history.
But Turner's NIU record stood for just three years, until it was surpassed by the Bears' Garrett Wolfe, who finished his career in 2006 with 5,164 yards rushing yards. Wolfe's 5,983 all-purpose yards fell just short of Turner's 6,038. Wolfe said there were similar reasons for their success, even though they're drastically different players. Wolfe is 5-feet-7, 186 pounds, while Turner is 5-10 and 244, at least.
"It was the opportunity," Wolfe said. "We both got the chance to play, and we both had the chance to carry the ball a lot. That helped us become better football players. When Michael got to the NFL, he had to take a back seat to LaDainian (Tomlinson). Now that Michael's got his own show, he'll be able to do well down in Atlanta."
Turner leads the NFL with 543 rushing yards in his first season since signing with the Falcons as an unrestricted free agent. Wolfe said Turner is just the latest example of an NIU player making it big in the NFL, even though the DeKalb school isn't highly regarded as a football factory.
"We had a lot of good running backs before myself and Michael," Wolfe said. "And we've got (Colts offensive tackle) Ryan Diem, and (wide receiver) Justin McCareins down in Tennessee. There are guys across the league that played at NIU and have played well in this league. Michael's doing the university very proud."
Catching on: Devin Hester had just 5 catches for 40 yards in the first four games, but he tied his career best with 5 receptions last week for 66 yards and has played more snaps in the past two games than ever before.
"I think he's just become more comfortable," said Bears quarterback Kyle Orton. "There are really no issues with the small stuff; lining up, knowing the route. Once you get that part of the game down, now you're just playing off feel, and that's what he's best at doing."
But Hester hasn't been nearly as effective returning kicks this season as he was in his first two. He's averaging just 5.4 yards on punt returns, about a third of last year's 15.5-yard average and well below his career average of 14.1
Timing will tell: Offensive coordinator Ron Turner credits the increase in practice reps and playing time for Kyle Orton's improved accuracy on deep balls.
"He needs reps," Turner said. "He needs to play. He needs to get the timing and get in sync with the receivers. He's throwing to different guys, and it's different in games than it is in practice so it takes some time to get that feeling. We're very confident with Kyle's deep passing accuracy, and he has improved over the years. But I don't think he's improved drastically from where it was a few weeks ago. I think it's a matter of the timing (being) a little better.
Injury update: Defensive tackle Tommie Harris was removed from the injury report after finally going through a full practice, although it was on a typically light Friday. He is expected to play Sunday.
Wide receiver Brandon Lloyd (knee) did not practice Friday and is listed as doubtful, but he will not play Sunday. Defensive tackle Anthony Adams returned to practice on a limited basis and is questionable, as are linebacker Nick Roach and cornerback Nate Vasher, who went through a full practice.
Punter Brad Maynard was rested Friday but is expected to play Sunday, although he was listed as probable, along with defensive tackle Marcus Harrison (knee), who was limited in practice.