Michael Turner said the best way to make sure he returns to the 100-yards per game form he showed in the first two weeks of the season is for the Atlanta Falcons to have a better start on Sunday at Seattle.
The running back had only nine yards rushing in the first half of last week's 16-13 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Falcons, who usually stress their running game, all but gave up on him in the second half, when they trailed 13-3 at half time and leaned more heavily on the arm of Matt Ryan, the quarterback, and the passing game.
Turner had only four carries for 11 yards in the second half to finish with 20 yards rushing, his low total since December 2009 against the New York Jets, when he was limited by an injury and had one carry for seven yards. "It just turns out that way sometimes in a game," Turner said.
"Playing from behind, the fastest way to come back is by throwing the football.
"Hopefully this week we get ahead and don't have to be one dimensional."
Turner is coming off a 2010 Pro Bowl season in which he had 1,371 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns. He had a strong start to the 2011 season with 100 yards in the Falcons' opening loss to the Chicago Bears, and followed that with 114 yards and a touchdown in a win over the Philadelphia Eagles.
Atlanta have emphasised running the ball and stopping the run in four seasons under Mike Smith, the coach, during which time the Falcons have been almost unbeatable, posting an 18-3 record, when Turner has rushed for at least 100 yards.
"We probably didn't run effectively enough in the first half to keep going with it and so we went to the pass game and I thought Matt did a fairly good job of distributing the ball," Smith said.
The Falcons made Julio Jones, the wide receiver, the No 6 overall pick in this year's NFL draft. Jones has joined Roddy White, the Pro Bowl receiver, and Tony Gonzalez, the tight end, to make the Falcons' passing game more dangerous.
"I wouldn't say we have more emphasis on the pass," Ovie Mughelli, the fullback, said.
"I would just say when we do pass we have more weapons. Smith knows to open up that pass game, you've got to get that run game started.
"We think we have weapons out there on either side, run or pass. We want to be able to use both, especially the run game, with Michael Turner, whenever we can."
Ryan passed for 300 or more yards in only one game as the Falcons went 13-3 in 2010.
He already has two 300-yard games this year - both in losses - while spending more time in no-huddle formations.
Smith said the numbers are not proof of a dramatic change in the team's offensive philosophy.
Decisions to run or pass from the no-huddle formation are based on "how people are defending you. Most of the looks we got were looks for us to throw the football, and that's why we were throwing the football more in the second half," Smith said.
Turner said he was not worried about losing carries in the no-huddle plays. "It's just the looks that the defences have given us and Matt has done a great job of getting us into some great plays for us to be successful," he said.
More passes also mean more opportunities for opposing defences to hit Ryan, who has been sacked 13 times. Tampa Bay had four sacks.
Turner said the Falcons' offence has not found its identity.
"No, we definitely have to tune some things up, obviously," he said.
"We're just going to keep focusing and keep trying to gel as a unit and move on."
@ For more on the NFL 2011/12 season visit thenational.ae/topics
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
England ODI squad
Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday (UAE kick-off times)
Borussia Dortmund v Paderborn (11.30pm)
Saturday
Bayer Leverkusen v SC Freiburg (6.30pm)
Werder Bremen v Schalke (6.30pm)
Union Berlin v Borussia Monchengladbach (6.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Wolfsburg (6.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldof v Bayern Munich (6.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Cologne (9.30pm)
Sunday
Augsburg v Hertha Berlin (6.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Mainz (9pm)
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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Results
2pm Handicap (PA) Dh85,000 1,800m
Winner AF Al Baher, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer).
2.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh75,000 1,400m
Winner Alla Mahlak, Fabrice Veron, Rashed Bouresly.
3pm Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 1,400m
Winner Davy Lamp, Adrie de Vries, Rashed Bouresly.
3.30pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 1,400m
Winner Ode To Autumn, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
4pm Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 1,950m
Winner Arch Gold, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
4.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh75,000 1,800m
Winner Meqdam, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
5pm Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 1,800m
Winner Native Appeal, Sam Hitchcott, Doug Watson.
5.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh75,000 1,400m
Winner Amani Pico, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar
The%20specs
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PROFILE BOX
Company name: Overwrite.ai
Founder: Ayman Alashkar
Started: Established in 2020
Based: Dubai International Financial Centre, Dubai
Sector: PropTech
Initial investment: Self-funded by founder
Funding stage: Seed funding, in talks with angel investors
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Series info
Test series schedule 1st Test, Abu Dhabi: Sri Lanka won by 21 runs; 2nd Test, Dubai: Play starts at 2pm, Friday-Tuesday
ODI series schedule 1st ODI, Dubai: October 13; 2nd ODI, Abu Dhabi: October 16; 3rd ODI, Abu Dhabi: October 18; 4th ODI, Sharjah: October 20; 5th ODI, Sharjah: October 23
T20 series schedule 1st T20, Abu Dhabi: October 26; 2nd T20, Abu Dhabi: October 27; 3rd T20, Lahore: October 29
Tickets Available at www.q-tickets.com
Stat Fourteen Fourteen of the past 15 Test matches in the UAE have been decided on the final day. Both of the previous two Tests at Dubai International Stadium have been settled in the last session. Pakistan won with less than an hour to go against West Indies last year. Against England in 2015, there were just three balls left.
Key battle - Azhar Ali v Rangana Herath Herath may not quite be as flash as Muttiah Muralitharan, his former spin-twin who ended his career by taking his 800th wicket with his final delivery in Tests. He still has a decent sense of an ending, though. He won the Abu Dhabi match for his side with 11 wickets, the last of which was his 400th in Tests. It was not the first time he has owned Pakistan, either. A quarter of all his Test victims have been Pakistani. If Pakistan are going to avoid a first ever series defeat in the UAE, Azhar, their senior batsman, needs to stand up and show the way to blunt Herath.
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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