Why Michael Turner Is the Most Overrated Running Back In The NFL

I'm sick of hearing about Michael Turner. He is already the NFL's leading rusher and being proclaimed one of the best backs in the league now that he's been liberated from LT's shadow. 

But he's not!!! 

He's so overrated I can't stand it!

As I said in one of my other articles, rush yards gained by a running back is one of the most deceiving stats in football. That's all Turner has going for himself—rushing yards.  But that's mostly not what being a great running back is about.

Being a good running back means having a good yards per carry average, which provides more consistency.  It doesn't matter if a back breaks off a 75-yard run if that's all he does that day. His team needs more out of him than that!

To make matters worse, his team only gets a field goal three plays after his great run. What a big help that long run was!

What Turner doesn't have is much talent or running skills.

His best performance came against the Lions, whose rush defense ranks last in the NFL at 5.6 yards allowed per carry. 

In that game he rushed for 220 yards 22 carries. But he had a 66-yard run. Take 66 yards and a carry away from his stats and you get a 7.33 yards per carry average. I'll admit that that's insane.  But again, he was running against the freakin' Lions! Their rush defense is AWFUL!!!

Against the Bucs (whose run defense is ranked 8th in the NFL in yards allowed per carry) in Week two, Turner gave us a more realistic glimpse of what he can do.

He picked up 42 yards on 14 carries—an average of three yards per carry.  He hardly did anything as he tried to run on a great rush defense.

In Week three against the Bears, Turner gained 104 yards on 23 carries.  But he reeled off a 38-yard run.  Take 38 yards and a carry away from his stats and you get...66 yards on 22 carries...another yards per carry average of three. Turns out he wasn't as good as it looked there...

In Week four against the Panthers, Turner managed 56 yards on 18 carries—a yards per carry average of just over three.

So far this season we know that...Turner can run on bad teams. 

That's about it.

Sure, you can tell me that Turner is starting slow and will get better as the season goes on.  "He was good in San Diego," you could argue.  Yes, he was good in San Diego, but he had an amazing offensive line that did everything for him. 

You can see from his stats this season that he can't do anything without a good offensive line or a bad run defense on the other side of the line of scrimmage.

Michael Turner is clearly the most overrated running back in the NFL.