As highly touted as Michael Turner was as LaDainian Tomlinson’s backup in San Diego, nobody was quite sure what to make of him in a starting role with the Falcons. Well, his Week 1 performance was surely a positive sign as he broke Atlanta’s single-game franchise rushing record with 22 carries for 220 yards and two touchdowns.

Explosion has been a strong suit for Turner, who averaged 5.5 yards per carry in four seasons with the Chargers. He torched the Detroit Lions defense for a 66-yard touchdown on his fifth carry of the game, then later scored from 10 yards out as Atlanta ran up a 21-0 lead in the first quarter.

At 5-foot-10 and 244 pounds, Turner has that “cannonball” quality, where he’s hard to pick up in the backfield and even harder to bring to the ground because of his strength and power. The Lions can attest to that after surrendering a combined 310 yards to Turner and backfield mate Jerious Norwood on Sunday.

Fantasy Spin
With no track record as a starter, Turner settled in as a mid-fourth round draft choice by fantasy owners looking to fill out their starting backfields. While no owner is expecting 200-plus yards a week, it seems pretty safe to look for Turner to register five or six 100-yard efforts and make a good push for 1,300 yards.