Sharing the blame

Responses from Tuesday’s story chat send a clear message – fans are tiring of a less than wide open offense. Blame has been distributed to a host of individuals, ranging from offensive coordinator Larry Kueck, to head coach Mark Snyder, to quarterback Bernard Morris and finally to athletic director Bob Marcum. My take is that athletic defensive fronts from West Virginia, Kansas State and Tennessee factored into early struggles. Should the offense not open up next week against Central Florida, criticism is more than warranted. Again, I appreciate the feedback both on the story chats and blogs and encourage more of the same. If you have questions, feel free.

Opening up the offense

Marshall football fans have spoken and they want a much more open offense. It’s going to happen next week against Central Florida, which serves as nothing less than a make or break showdown. There’s something to be said for saving something for league play, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see a more diverse – and vertical – attack against the Golden Knights. It should be a special night, especially with continued promotion of the “We Are Marshall” movie scheduled (perhaps a special guest will make an appearance?). What are your early thoughts on Marshall-UCF?

Feeding off the feedback

First off, I appreciate all of the feedback both on this blog and our new story chat feature. Feel free to respond to both and we can develop a nice back-and-forth on Thundering Herd football. Speaking of which, it’s obvious that the No. 1 topic of discussion this week concerns Marshall’s lack of a vertical passing game. The offensive line’s inability to protect Bernard Morris was a factor last week at Kansas State, but it’s clear that the offense has to at least take shots downfield, regardless of the results. Protection again will be an issue this week at Tennessee, but the Herd will attempt to stretch the field against a revamped Vols secondary.

Private movie screening a success

Here’s some early advice for the scores of Marshall fans planning to watch the ‘We Are Marshall’ movie – stuff your pockets, purses, etc. with Kleenex. A private screening was conducted for university officials and others close to the story of Marshall’s 1970 football plane crash and all indications are that this movie crew delivered. One viewer admitted to losing it “10, 12 times.” I had a chance to speak with director McG and writer Jamie Linden Thursday night and each was moved by the response. There always was a sense that everyone involved was going to do right by this story, but it’s safe to say that McG, Linden and the entire crew have exceeded expectations. Congratulations. Thundering Herd fans, by the way, can view a ‘We Are Marshall’ trailer on the Edwards Stadium videoboard during halftime of today’s home opener against Hofstra. The trailer, released Thursday, already is burning up the Internet. Feel free to share your thoughts on the trailer here.

Marshall fans, you make the call

The general theme surrounding Marshall football the past two days features anger. There’s been no moping, no mulligrubs (Marshall coach Mark Snyder introduced that word to me on Monday) during two practices since the Thundering Herd’s 42-10 loss at West Virginia. Instead, coaches and players are carrying a chip on their shoulder during workouts after admittedly falling short in a much-hyped rivalry game. Here, however, is the question. With Marshall off to an 0-1 start, what do Thundering Herd fans think of the remainder of the season? Is a winning record and bowl berth realistic? Feel free to respond here.