Monday ProCanes Report: Gore, Graham Dominate
The Monday Morning #ProCanes report will weed through all the NFL highlights and news to bring you the information you care about the most… what the former University of Miami Hurricanes did during the week prior. Hurricanes put on an offensive show in Week Eight of NFL action, as four different players combined to score six touchdowns. Jimmy Graham and Frank Gore each registered multiple scores in their teams’ respective victories, while Carolina tight end Greg Olsen ended any suspense early with a touchdown in Thursday night’s 31-13 romp over Tampa Bay. Not to be outdone, Giants safety Antrel Rolle had his best defensive performance of the season in New York’s 15-7 win over division rival Philadelphia.
Jimmy Graham (New Orleans Saints) – three catches, 37 yards, two touchdowns
The Saints’ fourth-year tight end was a question mark heading into Sunday’s matchup with Buffalo, but proved more than capable of dealing with his lingering foot injury in his team’s 35-17 win. Despite playing in just 18 snaps on the day, Graham recorded his third multi-touchdown game of the season, finishing with 37 yards and two scores in a blowout victory. The Goldsboro, N.C., native, who is playing with a partially torn plantar fascia, is tied for third in the NFL in touchdowns (eight) and is tied for ninth in receiving yards (630). He now has 33 touchdowns in 53 career games, and is just three touchdowns shy of matching his single-season high (11) set in 2011.
Video Highlights: #BeastMode | Stretching for a Score
Frank Gore (San Francisco 49ers) – 19 carries, 71 yards, two touchdowns
It doesn’t matter what continent he is playing on – Frank Gore will still find the endzone. The 49ers veteran running back registered the first stretch of back-to-back multi-touchdown games in his nine-year career, scoring twice in San Francisco’s 42-10 demolition of Jacksonville in London. Gore, who ranks third in the NFL in rushing yards through eight games (618 yards), carried the ball 19 times in the victory. With his 71-yard performance, Gore moved past both Earl Campbell and Shaun Alexander into 30th place in all-time rushing yards (9,457). As the franchise’s all-time leading rusher, Gore is just 11 rushing scores away from surpassing Joe Perry as the 49ers’ all-time leader in the category.
Video Highlights: Close-Range Plunge | 19-Yard Gashing TD
Antrel Rolle (New York Giants) – five tackles, one sack, one forced fumble, one interception
The Giants have won back-to-back games for the first time this season, and much of their recent success can be attributed to the play of veteran safety Antrel Rolle. The ninth-year defensive back, who ranks third on the team with 41 tackles this season, picked off the first pass of the day from quarterback Michael Vick en route to a 15-7 victory over divisional rival Philadelphia. It was the second straight week with an interception for Rolle, who also recorded a sack, a forced fumble and a pass defended. The Homestead, Fla., native has started 55 of 56 games since arriving in New York after five seasons with the Cardinals, and has recorded eight of his 20 career interceptions as a Giant.
Video Highlights: Sack-Caused Fumble | Getting Started Right
Greg Olsen (Carolina Panthers) – three catches, 21 yards, one touchdown
Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen scored the first touchdown of the week for #ProCanes, catching a pass from Cam Newton for a one-yard score to open the scoring against Tampa Bay in the first quarter. Olsen, another tight end battling a foot injury, was listed on the injury report heading into Thursday’s match, but managed to help guide his team to a 31-13 romp. The Panthers’ seventh-year star was targeted four times by Newton and caught three passes, including a wide open score while Newton was scrambling inside the red zone. The touchdown was just the second of the season for Olsen, who has 30 catches and 360 yards through eight weeks.
Video Highlights: Wide Open TD
TheUFootball.com #ProCanes Interview: Marcus Forston
(interview conducted by Max Strauss)
HurricaneSports.com: Are there any former Hurricanes teammates that you still speak with regularly? If so, who are they?
Marcus Forston: “Yes. I keep in touch with Sean Spence, DeMarcus Van Dyke, Davon Johnson, Brandon Harris, Allen Bailey, Olivier Vernon, Adewale Ojomo, Brandon Washington. I keep up basically with everyone I went to school with and the guys around the league. There are a lot of University of Miami players in the league, so whenever you play a different team, you always some guys on the other side.”
HS.com: What does it mean to be a part of #NFLU?
MF: “It’s great man. Instantly, I could be playing against a player that I played with, or a veteran that played before you. There are many alums that are in the NFL for a long time. It’s a brotherhood and a special feeling when you see a guy in the NFL that you went to the University of Miami with. The way we greet each other, when we see each other.”
HS.com: You are a teammate of Vince Wilfork and you both play on the defensive line. What’s it like to be a teammate and what’s it like to have two former Hurricanes in New England?
MF: “Oh man, he’s like a big brother to me. Like I said, we’re always together. He took me in, as soon as I came here, in terms of showing me the game, and how to be a professional on-and-off of the field. We have a great relationship and a strong bond right now.”
HS.com: How do you think being a Miami Hurricane has prepared you for life in the NFL?
MF: “The work ethic and the toughness. I came from a program that has those two things, and you are always going to have them because you’re training with Andreu Swasey, week in and week out. Just something knowing that hard work always pays off. Just working hard and being tough mentally and physically, those are things that I learned and something that was instilled in me, coming from there.”
