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NHR | Gut Punch - RIP Franco Harris

I am sure my older Herd brethren have already had this experience, and I am sure my younger brethren will have the unfortunate experience in the coming years, but boy does it suck to experience the death of your heroes.

Growing up, a child of the 70s and 80s, I had two professional teams I followed, and a third because I was captivated by this weird offense. And, with kids being as fickle as they can be, it was not that unusual for kids to follow three or four teams from a specific sport. I have followed the Packers since consciousness - simply because it was a birth right and the Old Man grew up a Lombardi Packer fan a generation before. But, I also needed a team - one in the AFC and one that had a pulse. My cousin was an older brother that I did not have and was a Steelers fan - and since they were televised at least 8-10 times per year on NBC at 1pm, it was easy to latch on to that bandwagon. Later, I needed a 4pm team - and Air Coryell and the San Diego Chargers filled the bill.

Franco Harris was one of the visual images of my childhood. The Steelers became the Team of the 70s, winning four Super Bowls in six seasons. A running back that was 6'2" and 230 lbs with deceptive quickness and speed, a prototypical running back for the 70s into the 80s, Harris's abilities made him into one of the most popular Steelers - as evidenced by Franco's Italian Army. Harris became part of a distinctive one-two punch in the Steeler backfield with Vietnam War veteran Rocky Blier, a teammate that he needed to share carries and opportunities with to exploit all their talents. And although the Steeler offense could be dynamic with Bradshaw throwing to Swann, Stallworth, JT Smith, and Bennie Cunningham, there was no question that the running toughness of Harris and Blier was the engine that made the Steeler offense go.

Unfortunately, Harris was incorrectly tagged as being a "soft" running back because of his intelligence - when contact was almost inevitable, Harris found a way to get down and/or out of bounds to avoid big hits and collisions. That intelligence that extended his playing career beyond that of the great runners before him (Jim Brown, Gale Sayers, Jim Taylor) was used as a cudgel to demean his career and his playing style, esp. as he creeped closer to eclipsing Jim Brown on the running list. As great as Brown was - arguably the greatest - Brown had a powerful and influential voice and often used it to slam later stars like Harris as "not tough". In 1983 or so, Brown used his position and the bully pulpit of Sports Illustrated to demean Harris and his stats. Despite those efforts, Harris remained above the criticism and simply plowed forward.

Off the field, Harris was a beloved ex-Steeler and Pennsylvanian. His commitment to serving the state and his communities is well chronicled and remembered (as Steeler Coach Mike Tomlin coincidentally discussed yesterday). Harris was quite involved with community improvement, esp. with an interest in helping the youth achieve. Harris was always available to help - using his fame and popularity to create opportunities for others.

Football was the first sport I fell in love with (quickly followed by all the others, of course), and the Steelers were my backdrop. The cards; the bed sheets; the mini helmets; the stickers. And in this region, Steeler swag was everywhere (sorry to Bengal and Brown fans). Bradshaw, Harris, Swann, Stallworth, Mean Joe, LC, Lambert, Ham, Shell and Blount. But for a couple of injuries, the Steelers might have won six championships in a row and would be the undisputed dynasty of NFL football. It is such an odd coincidence that he dies on the eve of the 50th Anniversary of the Immaculate Reception. As ESPN and NFL Films grew in importance, Super Bowl Sunday (and later, Super Bowl Weekend) in which the 30-min or 60-min versions of those four Super Bowls became part of the pre-game festivities and grew the myth of the black-and-gold. And it is still a joy to watch those clips and reminisce. Pittsburgh-Oakland; Pittsburgh-Miami; Pittsburgh-Dallas -- all were must see tv before that became NBC's Thursday Night mantra.

I cooled on the Steelers esp. after the poor treatment of Bradshaw at the tail end of his career and the dumping of Harris - but those Steelers are a considerable part of my childhood; wonderful memories.

RIP, Franco.

FDA admits the vaccine has caused some issues

The FDA is now admitting there are issues with the vaccine. Between this study and the effect on the elderly and others on the impact on the heart on young people why in the hell are there agencies still running around trying to shame and coerce people to take more shots till we can get additional info. Maybe it is time to hit the pulse button on this I say.

https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https://www...ine-linked-to-blood-clotting-fda_4930377.html
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NEW OFFER Transfer OL

Marshall has offered former Dartmouth OL Michael Flores.

Flores’ brother John Paul (UVA) was also been offered by Marshall earlier this week.


PFF Defensive Grades, Myrtle Beach Bowl: Marshall 28, Connecticut 14

Behind another strong collective effort by the defense that included a pick-six that was returned for a score by Damion Barber to go along with two additional interceptions and 13 quarterback hurries, the Marshall Thundering Herd pitched a first half shutout and took a 28-0 advantage before coasting home to a 28-14 victory in the Myrtle Beach Bowl.

The defense's performance is highlighted below in the latest PFF grades!

DEFENSIVE LINE

From a PFF standpoint, the defensive line rotation continued to kill it as Marshall's effective pressure was evident in the defensive line's performance -- which was the best of all three position groups.

Not surprisingly, Damion Barber, with a strong 93.9 PFF grade based off of his 34-yard interception return for a touchdown, graded out the highest of all of the defensive linemen. Barber was in on two tackles (one solo, one assisted) and had a batted pass in 17 snaps.

Immanuel Bush's 74.9 PFF grade and Esisas Carpenter's 67.9 mark were next on the defensive front. Bush posted two tackles and a quarterback hurry while Carpenter notched a tackle as the pair played 24 and seven snaps, respectively.

Anthony Watts (67.3 PFF), Owen Porter (66.3 PFF), Elijah Alston (65.8 PFF) and Koby Cumberlander (64.8 PFF) all posted solid grades as well, with Watts notching two tackles, two quarterback hurries and a tackle for loss, Porter posting six tackles and a tackle for a loss, Alston collecting a tackle and a quarterback hit and Cumberlander notching three tackles and four quarterback hurries.

Sam Burton (59.5 PFF), Isaiah Gibson (57.3 PFF) and Ty'Qaze Leggs (51.5 PFF) combined for four tackles, a sack, two quarterback hurries and a quarterback hit to round out the deep defensive line's efforts.

LINEBACKERS:

Charlie Gray, who posted five tackles -- all solo -- led Marshall's linebacking core with a 68.1 PFF grade while Eli Neal, who led the Thundering Herd with 10 tackles, a quarterback hurry and a quarterback hit, notched a 67.8 PFF grade. Abraham Beauplan's four tackles and 65.9 PFF rounded out the performance from the linebackers.

DEFENSIVE BACKS:

Andre Sam, who was one of only two players to play all 71 snaps in the Thundering Herd's two touchdown victory over the Huskies, posted seven tackles and a pass breakup to post the best grade of the entire secondary at a 73.6 PFF, while Joshua Bowers' 72.8 PFF and a 70.4 mark from Steven Gilmore -- who didn't allow a single reception in four passes thrown his way and made two tackles to boot -- joined up with Sam's performance to head up the back end.

Kerion Martin continued to build on a strong campaign for Marshall, making a pair of solo tackles in the secondary for a 68.4 PFF rating, while Daytione Smith continued to play well in extended reps as a freshman, notching a 67.7 PFF as a result of notching a pair of quarterback hurries to go along with a tackle.

D'Yoni Hill and Jacobie Henderson posted grades of 60.7 and 60.5 in their one snap on the field while Micah Abraham made two tackles and allowed just one catch in four balls thrown his way for 37 yards for a 59.5 PFF grade. Isaiah Norman's 55.7 PFF grade -- behind a pair of tackles and a quarterback hurry -- rounded out the secondary.

PlayerTotal Def. GradeRun DefenseTacklePass RushCoverage
Damion Barber93.957.272.865.869.2
Immanuel Bush74.976.673.161.4No Grade
Andre Sam73.680.483.166.766.3
Joshua Bowers72.860.0No GradeNo Grade71.4
Steven Gilmore70.458.176.7No Grade72.5
Kerion Martin68.467.277.7No Grade66.2
Charlie Gray68.187.531.857.052.3
Esisas Carpenter67.967.469.758.3No Grade
Eli Neal67.878.065.955.862.0
Daytione Smith67.753.146.4No Grade71.0
Anthony Watts67.264.169.765.6No Grade
Owen Porter66.380.578.651.751.6
Abraham Beauplan65.969.282.265.159.4
Elijah Alston65.566.272.259.8No Grade
Koby Cumberlander64.870.076.354.762.9
D'Yoni Hill60.7No GradeNo GradeNo Grade60.0
Jacobie Henderson60.5No GradeNo GradeNo Grade60.0
Sam Burton59.557.475.761.460.0
Micah Abraham59.045.629.555.863.8
Isaiah Gibson57.358.669.756.3No Grade
Isaiah Norman55.766.039.159.550.4
TyQaze Leggs51.150.872.465.2No Grade

DefenseRun DefenseTacklingPass RushCoverage
78.182.168.459.280.5
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NEW OFFER Transfer OL

Marshall has offered former Southeast Missouri OL Phillip Wilder.

Wilder has 3 years of eligibility left.

Debra Boughton on The Drive

SIAM; This is a week late, but If anyone finds time I suggest listening to last Wednesdays episode of The Drive with Paul Swann. He had Debra Boughton on who went over a bunch of cool stuff that herself and Spears are planning to do to better our athletics.

A few tidbits from the show..

-Our new scoreboards are 100% privately funded, and an announcement will be coming out about that. I was under the impression Learfield pays for them in exchange for Ad revenue - but that's not the case.
-There is a plan for the endzone in the works, and one of the big ideas is to put in a year round restaurant. A capital campaign will be announced.
-New HVAC system is coming to The Cam.
-This was a little teaser, but when asked about the 5 year plan for the basketball facility she mentioned The City of Huntington and Marshall both acknowledging the growth coming in terms events and possibly needing to expand with it. Could there be a plan for a new arena in which Marshall and Huntington share, or a complete Cam remodel. I don't know, but she kind of was alluding to it.
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