Bewerbungen » He was 56.He had cancer and died Thursday at his h

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Bill Fralic Youth Derrick Shelby Jersey , the burly, bruising and athletic offensive lineman who starred for the Atlanta Falcons and was a three-time All-American at Pittsburgh, has died. ome in suburban Atlanta, the university said.Fralic was the first offensive lineman to finish in the top 10 in Heisman Trophy balloting — finishing eighth in 1983 and sixth in 1984. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1998. The school retired his No. 79 at halftime of his final home game in 1984.Pitt made Fralic part of its inaugural Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017, a class that included former teammate and Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino.“Bill Fralic is the best,” Joe Moore, who worked as Pitt’s offensive line coach during Fralic’s career, once said. “If you can find somebody better, bring him to me. I’ve been privileged to coach some good ones here, but none better than Bill Fralic. Those kind only pass through once.”Atlanta selected Fralic with the second overall pick in the 1985 draft. He spent nine seasons in the league, including eight as one of the few bright spots during a difficult period for the Falcons. He was named to the Pro Bowl four times and earned All-Pro honors in 1986 and 1987. The NFL placed him on its All-Decade Team for the 1980s even though Atlanta struggled during much of his career. The Falcons went 27-67-1 during Fralic’s first six seasons before finally reaching the playoffs in 1991.Current Atlanta owner Arthur Blank called Fralic a “cornerstone” of the franchise, adding “he was a beloved Falcon Stitched Wes Schweitzer Jersey , and we will always be grateful for the impact he made here in Atlanta.”Fralic attempted to serve as a whistleblower against what he considered rampant steroid use in the NFL. In 1989 he told the U.S. Senate Judiciary committee that “steroid use in football represents a vicious cycle” and estimated that 75 percent of offensive and defensive linemen and tight ends used the performance-enhancing drug. Former Vice President Joe Biden, then chairman of the committee, lauded Fralic’s candor.It was just another area of Fralic’s life where he stood out.“Our football fraternity lost a great one,” tweeted former NFL defensive lineman Tony Casillas, a teammate of Fralic’s from 1986-89 before later facing Fralic while playing for Dallas. “I had so much respect for this man.”Fralic grew up in suburban Pittsburgh, starring at Penn Hill High School before joining the hometown Panthers. Fralic never forgot his roots, footing the hotel bill for the Penn Hills football team last week when the Indians traveled to Hershey, Pennsylvania, to play in the Class 5 A state title game, which they won.“Bill Fralic was not only an all-time player at the University of Pittsburgh, but also an all-time human being,” Pitt football coach Pat Narduzzi said. “His generosity Youth Wes Schweitzer Jersey , support and concern for others was unmatched. For as hulking a figure as he was, Billy was even larger in his kindness and passion for others.”FOX Fantasy AutoForm a Racing Team, Compete for PrizesPlay Now! It’s early, but the Falcons fourth rounder says he thinks he’s a first-round worthy player."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Library FalcFans Podcast on The FalcoholicContact The FalcoholicFalcons StoriesScheduleRosterStatsYahoo Falcons NewsYahoo Falcons Team PageYahoo Falcons ReportYahoo Falcons Depth ChartYahoo Falcons TransactionsYahoo Falcons PhotosOdds About Masthead Community Guidelines StubHub ✕Kendall Sheffield joins Atlanta with swagger, an eye on proving himself New,58commentsIt’s early, but the Falcons fourth rounder says he thinks he’s a first-round worthy player. EDTShareTweetShareShareKendall Sheffield joins Atlanta with swagger, an eye on proving himself Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY SportsNew Falcons fourth rounder Kendall Sheffield is clearly a bit part of the team’s plans. They moved to get him, he fits the team’s preferences in terms of athleticism and length almost to a T, and Atlanta’s long-term picture at cornerback is fairly open. Given that the top three spots seem pretty well locked in, you’d expect Sheffield to mix in on special teams (perhaps as a returner), pick some snaps as the fourth or fifth cornerback Stitched Blidi Wreh-Wilson Jersey , and compete for a bigger role in 2020.Try telling Sheffield that, though. In a recent piece by Vaughn McClure, Sheffield made it clear that he’s itching for the opportunity to prove he never should’ve fallen all the way to the fourth round.This is the kind of bold claim some rookies make and can’t back, but Sheffield’s a particularly interesting case. You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who doesn’t think he can be terrific if everything clicks, though it never entirely did at Alabama (he transferred) or during his career at Ohio State. That’s largely because Sheffield is going to be by far the fastest cornerback on the field for Atlanta and showed during his senior season at Ohio State that he has good enough instincts to use that speed to match some of the league’s fastest receivers, and his height and leaping ability means there won’t be many balls he can’t contest. There’s work to do here in coverage and in terms of physicality, and he’s not exactly an interception machine just yet, but as McClure notes the Falcons were not the only team that thinks he can put it all together. Again, the depth chart looks fairly crowded unless Damontae Kazee returns to safety, but Dan Quinn’s going to find a way to get a defensive back he clearly fell in love with on the field. It’s still unlikely to happen in 2019, but no one should be particularly surprised if Sheffield blossoms into a very good starter with the playing time he needs.