James Hardy on Sirius NFL Radio

[thewildrabbit]

Not only do college WR's not run pro style routes,the DB's in college don't play press coverage and not many are of NFL quality.

 

So consequently it is very difficult for scouts to judge WR's,one of the most difficult positions to evaluate.

 

Hardy was a monster in college, it may take a year or two to fully develop him but he should be very good once he finally gets it all down.

[afcfan1]

I am listening to the Late Hits replay this morning and they just had a great interview with James Hardy. Obviously they asked him about the jersey topic and he said the front office just asked him to change and that he didn't care at all. He said he picked 81 because it was Randy Moss' number and that hes going to make a name for himself with his play not his number.

 

They asked him about his "tough" first year and his response was refreshing. He basically explained how none of the routes he ran in Indiana are used in our offense and that is just took him some time to learn dozens of new routes on top of an NFL playbook. He sounded very focused and eager to become an impact player. It was also very clear to me he wasn't "dumb", he sounds like a smart kid and no doubt has the drive to be a very good football player.

 

Anyways, it definitely quelled some of my fears about Hardy. As bad as it may look for him, with Lee Evans and T.O. next to him every day I can't imagine a more beneficial situation for him at this point. As of now I'm still a James Hardy believer.

 

Are you friggin kidding with this line..."with Lee Evans and T.O. next to him every day I can't imagine a more beneficial situation for him at this point". Nothing like having a locker room killing, skills declining, loud mouth WR mentoring your young players.

[Simon]

He basically explained how none of the routes he ran in Indiana are used in our offense and that is just took him some time to learn dozens of new routes

 

college WR's (do) not run pro style routes

 

I'd be really interested to hear about these new routes in the NFL that aren't used in college and nobody runs until they become a pro.

[Nanker]

I'd be really interested to hear about these new routes in the NFL that aren't used in college and nobody runs until they become a pro.

Exactly.

James Hardy = Shawn Bradley.

It's up to HIM to prove his doubters wrong, and when it comes to him and all of the current Bills roster, I'm from Missouri.

No links provided. Do your own friggin' research.

[BillsCelticsAngelsBama]

I missed the interview. Did he mention how he's been treating his Dad lately ?

[San Jose Bills Fan]

I'm not really knowledgeable about this stuff Simon but I know that the Hoosier coach, Bill Lynch is one of the spread offense coaches in college football.

 

I think an insane number of colleges (i.e.-Michigan's hire of Rich Rodriguez) have gone to the spread in recent years. A good example of the spread effectiveness is the University of Florida and quarterback Tim Tebow. Mike Leach is another guru at Texas Tech. It sounds very similar to the run and shoot offense popularized by Mouse Davis and used effectively in the USFL and college football. Basically a shotgun offense with four wide receivers. The run and shoot also never became a staple of the NFL game for the same reason: the quarterback can easily get "killed."

 

For the last few years I've heard lots of pro scouts quoted as saying how difficult it is to evaluate receivers today because so many play in a spread offense, a system used sparingly by NFL teams.

 

Like I said, I couldn't explain it to you but I have a notion of what James Hardy was talking about...totally different offensive theory. Hope this helps.

[Simon]

For the last few years I've heard lots of pro scouts quoted as saying how difficult it is to evaluate receivers today because so many play in a spread offense, a system used sparingly by NFL teams.

 

I don't see how this has anything to do with the bizarre notion (at least imo) that they have to learn new routes when they reach the NFL. It's not like they come into the league and suddenly learn of the existence of the Z-out and the skinny post. Their route trees are no different in the NFL than they were in college, or HS for that matter.

If it's more difficult to evaluate them in spread offenses (which I don't necessarily dispute) it's more likely due to the fact that they're rarely pressed, their competition is inferior and they're usually working in the kind space they won't see in the NFL.

Insinuating somebody is struggling because they're just learning to run post-corners and chair routes that they've never run before strikes me as extremely silly.

[VOR]

Are you friggin kidding with this line..."with Lee Evans and T.O. next to him every day I can't imagine a more beneficial situation for him at this point". Nothing like having a locker room killing, skills declining, loud mouth WR mentoring your young players.

If having 69 catches for 1,052 (15.2 YPC) and 10 TD's while his starting QB missed 3 full games is "skills declining," I'm gonna love me some TO!

[drinkTHEkoolaid]

sounds good, thats refreshing to hear about Hardy, i guess he isnt DOOMED just yet

[GaryPinC]

Sometime last season TBD linked an Indiana news article talking with Hardy. (sorry, I don't feel like trying to dig up the link, it may not work anyways) He was saying that at Indiana the coaches just had them run basic routes and there was no adjustments by the receivers. Don't remember exact quotes, but it sounded like even in running an out or curl they were told to run it the same way regardless of the defense. Seems crazy considering that I was a backup TE at a podunk HS and they at least taught us to take it inside or out based on the defensive coverage.

 

But Hardy was saying he had to learn the different nuances of adjusting each pattern to coverage while also trying to learn the offense. I'm hoping that's what he was referring to, not that he was trying to learn completely new routes.

[In-A-Gadda-Levitre]

Sometime last season TBD linked an Indiana news article talking with Hardy. (sorry, I don't feel like trying to dig up the link, it may not work anyways) He was saying that at Indiana the coaches just had them run basic routes and there was no adjustments by the receivers. Don't remember exact quotes, but it sounded like even in running an out or curl they were told to run it the same way regardless of the defense. Seems crazy considering that I was a backup TE at a podunk HS and they at least taught us to take it inside or out based on the defensive coverage.

 

But Hardy was saying he had to learn the different nuances of adjusting each pattern to coverage while also trying to learn the offense. I'm hoping that's what he was referring to, not that he was trying to learn completely new routes.

this looks like it..

 

but he sure didn't say that they didn't make adjustments in college. In some ways (saying your school didn't run a pro offense) could be construed as a cop out, but JH should get the rookie benefit of the doubt.

 

As he adjusts to being an NFL receiver, he’s learning more schemes, how to read defenses on the run and routes he never learned as a Hoosier.

 

“Certain universities you get taught exactly how to be a pro, you get taught from the scheme to the routes that you run, and at Indiana, we didn’t learn all that type of stuff so everything is really just a new beginning for me coming here,” Hardy said. “I’m just trying to get adjusted and catch up as fast as I can.

[GripnRip]

Are you friggin kidding with this line..."with Lee Evans and T.O. next to him every day I can't imagine a more beneficial situation for him at this point". Nothing like having a locker room killing, skills declining, loud mouth WR mentoring your young players.

 

T.O. is not "mentoring" anyone, you used that word not me. It was clear from the interview Hardy doesn't need(or want) a mentor, hes needs skilled people around him to show him how to be an NFL receiver. Evans and T.O are two of the best receivers in the league.

 

If I am a young receiver in the league, I am soaking up everything T.O. says and does that pertains to the football field. Regardless of his off the field antics(which I disapprove of just as much as anyone here), he is an all-time great and has model work ethic and preparation.

[Mr. WEO]

T.O. is not "mentoring" anyone, you used that word not me. It was clear from the interview Hardy doesn't need(or want) a mentor, hes needs skilled people around him to show him how to be an NFL receiver. Evans and T.O are two of the best receivers in the league.

 

If I am a young receiver in the league, I am soaking up everything T.O. says and does that pertains to the football field. Regardless of his off the field antics(which I disapprove of just as much as anyone here), he is an all-time great and has model work ethic and preparation.

 

Yes, let's hope that Hardy "soaks up" all that "work ethic" that "pertains to the football field", like cussing out your QB, your OC and your HC right there on the field when you don't get your touches. Or after you drop more balls than any WR in the league--you can just scream at everyone else.

 

Hey, Hardy can bring his gun to the sidelines and show TO what he can do in such situations!

[VOR]

Yes, let's hope that Hardy "soaks up" all that "work ethic" that "pertains to the football field", like cussing out your QB, your OC and your HC right there on the field when you don't get your touches. Or after you drop more balls than any WR in the league--you can just scream at everyone else.

 

Hey, Hardy can bring his gun to the sidelines and show TO what he can do in such situations!

Better yet, let's trade a first for Boldin and give him a ton of money just to show Hardy how to be a ahole and interfere with your OC during the most important drive in the franchise's history, and then leave without celebrating afterwards. And Boldin won't have to teach Hardy about missing games during the season.

[Mr. WEO]

Better yet, let's trade a first for Boldin and give him a ton of money just to show Hardy how to be a ahole and interfere with your OC during the most important drive in the franchise's history, and then leave without celebrating afterwards. And Boldin won't have to teach Hardy about missing games during the season.

 

Boldin won't ever be cited for "leaving without celebrating" in Buffalo.

 

Boldin's face was destroyed during the season. He had reconstructive surgery and hustled back to help out his team, missing only 2 games.

 

TO, on the other hand, faked a suicide attempt.

 

Good point, bro.

[VOR]

Boldin won't ever be cited for "leaving without celebrating" in Buffalo.

 

Boldin's face was destroyed during the season. He had reconstructive surgery and hustled back to help out his team, missing only 2 games.

 

TO, on the other hand, faked a suicide attempt.

 

Good point, bro.

TO "faked a suicide attempt?" Really? And even if he did, was he cited for it? Was Hardy cited for the incident with dear old dad last year?

 

Your attempts to portray yourself as a Bills fan are failing miserably, Mr. WEO. And if you truly are one, it might be best for your mental health if you find a new favorite team.

[afcfan1]

T.O. is not "mentoring" anyone, you used that word not me. It was clear from the interview Hardy doesn't need(or want) a mentor, hes needs skilled people around him to show him how to be an NFL receiver. Evans and T.O are two of the best receivers in the league.

 

If I am a young receiver in the league, I am soaking up everything T.O. says and does that pertains to the football field. Regardless of his off the field antics(which I disapprove of just as much as anyone here), he is an all-time great and has model work ethic and preparation.

 

That's where you are so off base. His off field antics aren't a problem. It is his on field antics that are the issue. So you want him to learn to complain whenever balls aren't coming his way, you want him to throw his qb under the bus whenever he can, you want him to learn how to divide the locker room against one another. The guy is, and has always been a cancer. You are a fool if you think having TO on the Bills is a good thing. They have nobody on their team to keep him in line. He is going to tear this locker room apart, and you don't even need to be semi-intelligent to see this.

[Koufax]

I think that as teams have to draw up gameplans for both Evans and TO, while both of these guys will thrive, there is probably the most room for improvement from Hardy and Roscoe, each of which have slightly unusual talents (really big vs. crazy quick) and could be used very interestingly in three and four wide sets.

 

While I think boring but good Josh Reed is still ahead of them for now and will stay that in a vanilla style offense, I could really see Roscoe getting some (sorry for the cliche) Welker room underneath, and I could see the ability for Hardy to be consistently in mismatches using his size, when the top two targets TO and Evans are drawing the main attention and best defensive players. Will be tough since Evans and TO will want the touches and not enjoy being decoys, so I don't see the alternates like Hardy getting a lot of quantity like a Welker does, but there is a lot of room for quality and mismatches.

 

Who benefits the most from this and from TO? I still think it is Lynch, who suddenly sees more space and can actually get some of his yards before engaging beast mode.

[VOR]

Despite what some people may have you believe, you really can't change someone's behavior once they've reach a certain age. Hardy is no more likely to start creating lockerroom problems like TO than he is to start working-out on his driveway, just like none of TO's WR teammates started acting like him. However he is likely to learn how to play the position of WR better.

[BuffaloBill]

I am listening to the Late Hits replay this morning and they just had a great interview with James Hardy. Obviously they asked him about the jersey topic and he said the front office just asked him to change and that he didn't care at all. He said he picked 81 because it was Randy Moss' number and that hes going to make a name for himself with his play not his number.

 

They asked him about his "tough" first year and his response was refreshing. He basically explained how none of the routes he ran in Indiana are used in our offense and that is just took him some time to learn dozens of new routes on top of an NFL playbook. He sounded very focused and eager to become an impact player. It was also very clear to me he wasn't "dumb", he sounds like a smart kid and no doubt has the drive to be a very good football player.

 

Anyways, it definitely quelled some of my fears about Hardy. As bad as it may look for him, with Lee Evans and T.O. next to him every day I can't imagine a more beneficial situation for him at this point. As of now I'm still a James Hardy believer.

 

Thank you ... let's hope he progresses this year.