"Former Buffalo Bills running back Thurman Thomas was in town last week at the Gridiron Greats football camp at the University of West Georgia and shared his thoughts on the Falcons.

Thomas helped the Bills four consecutive AFC championships and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2007.

While the Falcons went 13-3 last season and held the No. 1 seed in the NFC entering the playoffs, Thomas was not too impressed. Also, he had a few tips for how to use Falcons running back Michael Turner.

"Honestly, I think the Falcons are still a long ways away," Thomas said. "Personally, I think they gave up too much for Julio Jones. They needed to tighten up their defense. That's what hurt them more than anything. Their defense let them down against Green Bay."

He made it clear that he likes Jones.

"Julio can turn out to be a awesome and great player," Thomas said. "But I just think they gave up too much for him. They are on the rise. They have a great young quarterback in Matt Ryan."

He believes the Falcons are riding Turner too hard.

"They need to start looking for another running back," Thomas said. "Michael Turner, when you carry that ball 300 times a year for a few years, it puts some wear and tear on your body. I think they need another running back to give him a break every now and again."

In his first four seasons in the league as LaDainian Tomlinson's backup in San Diego, Turner never had more than 80 carries in a season."