James Hardy Analysis

[In space no one can hear]

From Rotoworld.Com:

 

Second Round WR's

 

pick 41. James Hardy: Red zone threat (two touchdowns) has struggled to gain separation anywhere else on the field. 9 catches for 87 yards. Hasn't taken advantage of injuries around him.

Outlook: Now behind seventh-round rookie Steve Johnson, there are serious doubts about Hardy's development. I wasn't optimistic about Hardy before the draft, so perhaps I'm biased, but nothing has changed my mind.

 

pick 42. Eddie Royal: At the time, people thought this pick was a stretch and that Royal would only be a return specialist. Extremely polished for a rookie, Royal is the perfect fit opposite Brandon Marshall as a possession receiver with ability to produce at any pass level. 56 receptions 659 yards and four TDs. Top-15 fantasy wideout.

Outlook: Playing with Marshall and Cutler should keep Royal a top-20 fantasy wideout for a long time, especially in PPR leagues. A massive steal in dynasty leagues.

 

Royal should would look good in Buffalo(of course he would need someone to throw him the ball)

[TheBlackMamba]

eddie royal would not look good here. he is the same the same type of receiver lee evans and roscoe parish are. he is a small burner with the ability to hit the long ball at anytime. if u read that more carefully u would see that it says "perfect fit oppsosite Brandon Marshall", who is 6'4 and 220 lbs. What we need is that Brandon Marshall type of receiver thats a "perfect fit opposite Lee Evans"

[murra]

From Rotoworld.Com:

 

Second Round WR's

 

pick 41. James Hardy: Red zone threat (two touchdowns) has struggled to gain separation anywhere else on the field. 9 catches for 87 yards. Hasn't taken advantage of injuries around him.

Outlook: Now behind seventh-round rookie Steve Johnson, there are serious doubts about Hardy's development. I wasn't optimistic about Hardy before the draft, so perhaps I'm biased, but nothing has changed my mind.

 

pick 42. Eddie Royal: At the time, people thought this pick was a stretch and that Royal would only be a return specialist. Extremely polished for a rookie, Royal is the perfect fit opposite Brandon Marshall as a possession receiver with ability to produce at any pass level. 56 receptions 659 yards and four TDs. Top-15 fantasy wideout.

Outlook: Playing with Marshall and Cutler should keep Royal a top-20 fantasy wideout for a long time, especially in PPR leagues. A massive steal in dynasty leagues.

 

Royal should would look good in Buffalo(of course he would need someone to throw him the ball)

 

You can always look at a draft in hindsight. We didn't think much of Royal, and he wasn't what we were looking for. Regardless, Royal's production is more a product of the (all of the sudden) pass happy Cutler-run Broncos offense. The kid's throwing for 400 a game. If he Trent was throwing 400 a game I doubt Hardy would have 87 receiving yards.

 

Please stop with this draft analysis crap after 10 games.

[Lt. Dan's Revenge]

You can always look at a draft in hindsight. We didn't think much of Royal, and he wasn't what we were looking for. Regardless, Royal's production is more a product of the (all of the sudden) pass happy Cutler-run Broncos offense. The kid's throwing for 400 a game. If he Trent was throwing 400 a game I doubt Hardy would have 87 receiving yards.

 

Please stop with this draft analysis crap after 10 games.

 

Amen! Particularly with wideouts, who almost always take a couple of years to adjust to the NFL. And that goes for many of the good/great ones that have come in the league in the past.

[DanInUticaTampa]

there is nothing wrong with analyzing a players good/bad attibutes that he has shown so far. it is not like the article was saying he is a bust or a winner. calling a player a bust is def not something you can do in the first season. but you can still take notes on his progress. It is just saying how it is, with the exception of royal looking good here. Like someone said, he is too much like evans and we needed the tall red zone threat. Hardy needs a lot of development and he needs to show some backbone. he looks scared to fight for a lot of his catches, and his drops. but if he can develope, he is just what we needed for our redzone. not royal.

[Big Hurt]

He is a rookie. He played like a rookie. I don't see anything wrong with how he is playing. Maybe Royal has better stats, but it is more of an exception. How about Malcolm Kelly, Devin Thomas, Mario Manningham, and Limas Sweed? Did anyone look up their stats?

[SuperKillerRobots]

eddie royal would not look good here. he is the same the same type of receiver lee evans and roscoe parish are. he is a small burner with the ability to hit the long ball at anytime. if u read that more carefully u would see that it says "perfect fit oppsosite Brandon Marshall", who is 6'4 and 220 lbs. What we need is that Brandon Marshall type of receiver thats a "perfect fit opposite Lee Evans"

 

Good call Dr. It's funny how in the offseason everyone looks at measurables of players and prospects and how they should fit together and then when the season comes, the 5'10" or 11" guy looks like he's 6'4" and a perfect compliment to the rest of our under 6' WR corps.

[bluv]

All of this overanalysis is a bunch of bull! Put Royal on the Bills and Hardy on the Broncos and you might as well call Eddie Robert Jr! He wouldn't have anymore production than Hardy as we have no offensive identity or a QB who can conssitenly find open targets against ALL types of defenses. Who knows if Hardy played with a strong armed QB like Cutler who isn't afraid to throw the ball down the field and take advantage of his height and athletic ability? Then some would be acting like we shouldn't have pick another smurf WR and that they knew Hardy was a big-time player and yada yadda!

 

Bottom line: you need at a bare minimum is a system with an identity and a QB capable of running that system; then maybe you can try to fit in pieces to the puzzle. WIthout those two then you are just trying for whatever and hoping! As far as WR's go, just get some who can get open; doesn't matter what the measurables are! The Mark brothers being less than 6 feet didn't stop Dan from throwing for all those yards!

[Stevie Ray]

All of this overanalysis is a bunch of bull! Put Royal on the Bills and Hardy on the Broncos and you might as well call Eddie Robert Jr! He wouldn't have anymore production than Hardy as we have no offensive identity or a QB who can conssitenly find open targets against ALL types of defenses. Who knows if Hardy played with a strong armed QB like Cutler who isn't afraid to throw the ball down the field and take advantage of his height and athletic ability? Then some would be acting like we shouldn't have pick another smurf WR and that they knew Hardy was a big-time player and yada yadda!

 

Bottom line: you need at a bare minimum is a system with an identity and a QB capable of running that system; then maybe you can try to fit in pieces to the puzzle. WIthout those two then you are just trying for whatever and hoping! As far as WR's go, just get some who can get open; doesn't matter what the measurables are! The Mark brothers being less than 6 feet didn't stop Dan from throwing for all those yards!

 

Posts like these are absolutely REFRESHING to read, especially after all the other crap being posted on this board!

[Fewell733]

A comparison to the other "big" receivers we were considering is probably more appropriate.

 

Devin Thomas - 7 catches, 77 yards, 0 touchdowns

 

Malcolm Kelly - hasn't seen action yet

 

Limas Sweed - 6 catches, 64 yards, 0 touchdowns

[Fan in Chicago]

I guess a side point that the article is making is that a 7th round rookie appears to be ahead of the 2nd round rookie on the depth chart.

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

Wasn't Andre Reed also a 7th rounder? Granted there were more draft rounds back then.

[Pete]

Wasn't Andre Reed also a 7th rounder? Granted there were more draft rounds back then.

4th rounder I believe from Kutztown State. I think we took a WR in the third before him

[drnykterstein]

You can always look at a draft in hindsight. We didn't think much of Royal, and he wasn't what we were looking for. Regardless, Royal's production is more a product of the (all of the sudden) pass happy Cutler-run Broncos offense. The kid's throwing for 400 a game. If he Trent was throwing 400 a game I doubt Hardy would have 87 receiving yards.

 

Please stop with this draft analysis crap after 10 games.

 

I just think we didn't need a speed reciever. We needed someone to spread out the red zone. Hardy has done just that. We only wanted him for the TD's, not the yardage in before the red zone.

 

Hardy is doing exactly what we drafted him to do. He's a good pick.

[Orton's Arm]

I guess a side point that the article is making is that a 7th round rookie appears to be ahead of the 2nd round rookie on the depth chart.

That's a fair point. But in Steve Johnson, we may well have gotten a much better football player than you'd typically expect from the seventh round. Add in the fact that Johnson played in a more sophisticated college offense than did Hardy (and is thus more NFL-ready), and there you go.

 

There is a potential problem for Hardy though. If all the Bills' receivers were healthy, the best WR combination they could put on the field would be Evans, Reed, and Johnson. Evans is a proven WR, and Reed has quietly become an effective slot WR. It would be very difficult for Hardy to unseat either of those two.

 

The problem for Hardy is that while he may eventually become a good WR, he clearly isn't one right now. If his learning process takes too long, Johnson may secure one of the top three WR positions. If Johnson becomes a known commodity, if he proves to be a solid player, do you honestly think this coaching staff would send him to the bench in favor of a comparatively unknown Hardy?

 

Hardy had better hurry up and learn fast. Because once Johnson gets entrenched in one of the top three WR positions, he could be very difficult for Hardy to push past.

[Paup 1995MVP]

Stevie Johnson could very well be one of our top 3 receivers next year. And that could be a very good thing. Lets hope that James Hardy is also one of the top 3. Because so far he looks like an absolute STIFF. Don't say that he needs time to develop. The guy has done jack for us so far, and we have needed him to produce. For whatever reason though doesn't it seem like guys who play offense for us just don't play well? It just seems like the coaching staff is bringing the entire offense down, and not utilizing each individual's talents.

 

What I want to know is why the hell is our offense as bad as last years? I did not think that was possible, but it has really become a reality.

[Mikie2times]

From Rotoworld.Com:

 

Second Round WR's

 

pick 41. James Hardy: Red zone threat (two touchdowns) has struggled to gain separation anywhere else on the field. 9 catches for 87 yards. Hasn't taken advantage of injuries around him.

Outlook: Now behind seventh-round rookie Steve Johnson, there are serious doubts about Hardy's development. I wasn't optimistic about Hardy before the draft, so perhaps I'm biased, but nothing has changed my mind.

 

I posted the same thing a few weeks ago and got slammed by people just like many have done about this guys article.

 

We all get it people, it takes WR's more time to develop. Problem is time won't create the athleticism to gain separation. It is so incredibly obvious Hardy lacks athleticism. He can't make cuts, he can't accelerate, and he can't out run people. Hardy will be out of football in 4 years or less.

[Thurman#1]

You can always look at a draft in hindsight. We didn't think much of Royal, and he wasn't what we were looking for. Regardless, Royal's production is more a product of the (all of the sudden) pass happy Cutler-run Broncos offense. The kid's throwing for 400 a game. If he Trent was throwing 400 a game I doubt Hardy would have 87 receiving yards.

 

Please stop with this draft analysis crap after 10 games.

 

 

 

There's nothing wrong with draft analysis after ten games as long as you don't assume that the final answer is now in. As long as you understand that things can easily change, looking at how things have gone so far is fine.

 

And one thing you really can figure out about recievers is that one or two really WILL be a success in the NFL, barring catastrophic injury. Royal and DeSean Jackson were great picks, and won't be failures. Virtually everybody else, we're still waiting on. They, including Hardy and Stevie Johnson, could go either way.

[Thurman#1]

All of this overanalysis is a bunch of bull! Put Royal on the Bills and Hardy on the Broncos and you might as well call Eddie Robert Jr! He wouldn't have anymore production than Hardy as we have no offensive identity or a QB who can conssitenly find open targets against ALL types of defenses. Who knows if Hardy played with a strong armed QB like Cutler who isn't afraid to throw the ball down the field and take advantage of his height and athletic ability? Then some would be acting like we shouldn't have pick another smurf WR and that they knew Hardy was a big-time player and yada yadda!

 

Bottom line: you need at a bare minimum is a system with an identity and a QB capable of running that system; then maybe you can try to fit in pieces to the puzzle. WIthout those two then you are just trying for whatever and hoping! As far as WR's go, just get some who can get open; doesn't matter what the measurables are! The Mark brothers being less than 6 feet didn't stop Dan from throwing for all those yards!

 

 

 

Don't kid yourself. Royal already understands the pro game. And he's proven to be an excellent route runner. Already. Hardy doesn't understand the pro game and is a lousy route runner. These things could change, and you have to hope they do.

 

But put Royal on the Bills, especially with these injuries, and he probably would already have quadrupled Hardy's stats.

[Thurman#1]

I just think we didn't need a speed reciever. We needed someone to spread out the red zone. Hardy has done just that. We only wanted him for the TD's, not the yardage in before the red zone.

 

Hardy is doing exactly what we drafted him to do. He's a good pick.

 

 

I'm speechless.