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James Hardy vs Redskins


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I've seen lots of criticism of James Hardy for two plays he didn't make against the 'Skins. The first was his supposed failure to break off his pattern due to being the hot read on a blitz. The down and distance was 3rd and 6 at the Washington 8. He was CLEARLY lined up one on one, wide left with a slot receiver to his right.

 

The Redskins blitzed, Hardy made for the end zone and Trent threw the ball at the first down marker expecting Hardy to run a stop or an out (it was hard to tell). Now I don't pretend to be an expert but if a guy is lined up one on one in the red zone and that guy is James Hardy and he's out wide with the corner on an island, what's the point of breaking off the pattern? Just get the ball out and into his vicinity. He's one on one in the end zone! It's a 50/50 proposition at worst. The coaches/players have to know what rules are appropriate to which situations.

 

How many times did Cris Carter or Harold Carmichael break off patterns in that situation? We drafted James for this exact situation and now you want him to break off the pattern? What if the DB jumps the play (he knows his teammates are blitzing) and takes it 100 yards the other way?

 

So everyone is like the rookie made a mistake. Was it considered a mistake because it was? Was he criticized by his coaches or teammates for that play? Or maybe was it that many people digest whatever Theismann and Patrick (or whomever) say without question?

 

The other play was his drop. I watched the game in HD on a 42" screen. The game was tivo'd and I watched that play over and over. The NFL Network coverage only had one camera angle. James himself said that he should have caught the ball however the ball was thrown very hard at short range and was high. As he was crossing right to left the ball popped through his hands and ended up behind him almost as if the ball was also thrown hard, high and behind. Yes it was a drop but hardly an egregious one.

 

Most of all I love the guy as a football player and his upside looks enormous. It's going to be lots of fun watching his career, especially relative to Limas Sweed, Malcolm Kelly, Devin Thomas, Jordy Nelson and others. I think the pick is looking excellent right now.

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I've seen lots of criticism of James Hardy for two plays he didn't make against the 'Skins. The first was his supposed failure to break off his pattern due to being the hot read on a blitz. The down and distance was 3rd and 6 at the Washington 8. He was CLEARLY lined up one on one, wide left with a slot receiver to his right.

 

The Redskins blitzed, Hardy made for the end zone and Trent threw the ball at the first down marker expecting Hardy to run a stop or an out (it was hard to tell). Now I don't pretend to be an expert but if a guy is lined up one on one in the red zone and that guy is James Hardy and he's out wide with the corner on an island, what's the point of breaking off the pattern? Just get the ball out and into his vicinity. He's one on one in the end zone! It's a 50/50 proposition at worst. The coaches/players have to know what rules are appropriate to which situations.

 

How many times did Cris Carter or Harold Carmichael break off patterns in that situation? We drafted James for this exact situation and now you want him to break off the pattern? What if the DB jumps the play (he knows his teammates are blitzing) and takes it 100 yards the other way?

 

So everyone is like the rookie made a mistake. Was it considered a mistake because it was? Was he criticized by his coaches or teammates for that play? Or maybe was it that many people digest whatever Theismann and Patrick (or whomever) say without question?

 

The other play was his drop. I watched the game in HD on a 42" screen. The game was tivo'd and I watched that play over and over. The NFL Network coverage only had one camera angle. James himself said that he should have caught the ball however the ball was thrown very hard at short range and was high. As he was crossing right to left the ball popped through his hands and ended up behind him almost as if the ball was also thrown hard, high and behind. Yes it was a drop but hardly an egregious one.

 

Most of all I love the guy as a football player and his upside looks enormous. It's going to be lots of fun watching his career, especially relative to Limas Sweed, Malcolm Kelly, Devin Thomas, Jordy Nelson and others. I think the pick is looking excellent right now.

On the first play I entirely disagree with you. Edwards had to throw the ball away because Hardy didn't pick up the hot read. He had to throw the ball away (more/less to where Hardy should've been) or he would've been sacked long before Hardy had crossed the goal line and turned around to look for the ball. Lee Evans slapped Hardy on the helmet "reminding" him that he made a mistake. I've never played any organized football, but have watched enough to have a pretty good feel for the game in general. On the play in question, it was a "hot read". Lynch had gone in motion, so it was an empty backfield. The "hot read" for Hardy was to recognize that the LBs were blitzing, meaning he and Evans were left 1-1 on the two DBs on that side. Hardy should've recognized the blitz and broken off his route to more/less where Edwards threw the ball. With 6 people rushing against 5, there's no way to complete the type of endzone pass you describe. Any QB would get sacked long before that happened.

 

As for the drop, I don't consider it to be a big deal. One factor that might not have been mentioned is that Losman probably had more zip on that ball compared to Edwards, who Hardy has probably spent most of his time practicing with.

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I'm more concerned about him knowing the offense generally. Early in the game it was pretty obvious that he wasn't sure where he was supposed to line up - it resulted in at least one penalty and a burned time out. That's something that he's gonna have to nail down through study. I'm confident he will.

 

The drop didn't bother me too much - as he said afterwards he had really concentrated on his cut, and it seemed he just didn't look up for the ball soon enough. I doubt he'll make that mistake again.

 

The hot read goes back to the first issue - learning and understanding the offense, as well as the experience to recognize what the defense is doing.

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Just get the ball out and into his vicinity. He's one on one in the end zone! It's a 50/50 proposition at worst. The coaches/players have to know what rules are appropriate to which situations.

It was a PERFECTLY thrown ball.

 

Let's see whether or not this is true when, as they usually will be, are not perfectly thrown.

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The other play was his drop. I watched the game in HD on a 42" screen. The game was tivo'd and I watched that play over and over. The NFL Network coverage only had one camera angle. James himself said that he should have caught the ball however the ball was thrown very hard at short range and was high. As he was crossing right to left the ball popped through his hands and ended up behind him almost as if the ball was also thrown hard, high and behind. Yes it was a drop but hardly an egregious one.

 

Most of all I love the guy as a football player and his upside looks enormous. It's going to be lots of fun watching his career, especially relative to Limas Sweed, Malcolm Kelly, Devin Thomas, Jordy Nelson and others. I think the pick is looking excellent right now.

Hardy stated that he snapped his turn too hard and felt a tweak in his ankle which caused him to turn slower than he would have normally. That split second combined with the velocity of the pass, caused him to miss the ball. Is it a good excuse? Probably not, but I also don't think drop balls will be an on going issue with him. I am very excited about his potential.

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