Where is Michael Turner?

 After having a down season in 2012 with the Atlanta Falcon, Michael the "Burner" Turner was released after the team came up short in the NFC Championship game to the San Francisco 49ers. Turner who rushed double digit touchdowns in the last five seasons, while having over 1,300 rushing yards in three of the five season, ended the 2012 season with just over 3.5 yards per carry and 800 yards rushing. The Falcons obviously upgraded with future Hall of fame running back, Steven Jackson but I still have concerns as to why no other teams have been looking at Turner. 

 I'm not surprised that the Falcons let him go after the season, because I know that he is an aging back and they felt as if he wasn't the same back as when he got there, but I am very shocked that it's August, it's teams out there that have very big questions that need to be answered on the offensive side of the ball. For instance, the New York Jets might have the biggest question mark on offense, their projected starting running back, Chris Ivory, is still having injury concerns and after that the depth at running back seems to be a very sub-par group. Why not bring in Turner? He's a tough down hill runner and a bruiser out of the back field, maybe he can add some true toughness to the offense. Also, the Chargers have some issues in an offense that seems to be very quiet this season, Ryan Mattews is a good running back, however, he has been injured every season since being drafted. Why not bring Turner back to the place he got his start at? 

 Before the start of the season, I would really like to see a team bring Turner in and give him a chance to make the roster. I believe he is very capable of making an impact on a team from day one! He is a smart and very tough back, the "Burner" has some energy in the tank still and he could help a team possibly play in to January, and if on the right team maybe February. Some possible teams that I could see him land on in the 2013 season are: Indianapolis, San Diego, and the New York Jets. 

The Colts have 'Luck' on their side in 2013.

 In 2011, the Indianapolis Colts suffered a major setback, when they announced that quarterback Peyton Manning was going to be out for the entire season due to a serious neck injury that he would need surgery for. That season they had replaced their Franchise quarterback with former Houston Texans back-up, Dan Orlovsky who went 2-3 in the five games that he started, Curtis Painter who went 0-8, and they brought in veteran, Kerry Collins who went 0-3 in his short run as a starter. The Colts finished the season on miserable note, they went just 2-14. 2011 was the first time the Colts had finished with less than 10 wins since 2001, when they went just 6-10. One good thing did come from that season though, in April, the Colts got the number one pick in the NFL draft, with that selection they took the Stanford all-american and Heisman runner-up, Andrew Luck.

 In the 2012 season, with Peyton Manning being released from the team that he helped to build a legacy with and signing with the Denver Broncos, Rookie Andrew Luck, appeared to have some big cleats to fill in Indy. Peyton Manning carried that team to two Super Bowls(won 1), is a four time league MVP and made the playoffs almost every season after his rookie season, Luck had to come strong in his rookie campaign. In his first game as an NFL pro, Luck passed for 309 yards with one touchdown and three interception to go with it and a loss. He finished just 2-3 in his first five games, one of the losses came against the New York Jets, which was one of the worst teams in the league in 2012, which was a blowout score of 35-9. It seemed to be trouble early on in Indy.

 After week six, Luck showed why he was the number one draft pick. In weeks 7-17 Luck and the Colts only had two losses, and in the last 3 games Luck has five passing touchdowns and no interceptions. The Colts fans showed a tremendous amount of respect to Andrew Luck since the day that he was drafted, there were a lot of people who felt like they should have drafted Robert Griffin III out of Baylor, but after Luck took a team that was 2-14 in 2011, and seemed to be rebuilding and made them into a playoff team (11-5) just one year later, I guess it's safe to say the Colts organization made the right pick.

 Now that his rookie season is over, he's made the playoffs and passed for an impressive amount of 4,373 yards, Luck proves to be a promising young leader for Indianapolis and he has shown that he can win at the next level. I like almost every part of his game when I watch him play, he just really needs to improve on decision making and not take so many risks down field. He did pass for 23 touchdowns his rookie season but he also had 18 interceptions, that's pretty high ! But Colts fans can now cheer again, they are in a division that should be obtainable with the Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars still seeming to be rebuilding, the only challenge seems to be a very good Houston Texans team that can't seem to live up to their potential in big games. Peyton Manning will and should forever be remembered as a Colt, but he is now the past and Luck, well he is the present and the future for Indy and I see nothing but improvement from this young quarterback.