ESPN : Buffalo 'ideal place for Hardy'

[BuffaloBisco]

Thought this was interesting, thought I'd share...sorry if it's been posted

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/draft08/columns/story?columnist=chadiha_jeffri&id=3371140

7. James Hardy, WR, Buffalo Bills
The Bills needed to find a big receiver, and Hardy (6-6, 217 pounds) should make them happy. It's true that rookie receivers have a hard time adjusting to life in the NFL, but Hardy has the benefit of joining an offense that already has an accomplished deep threat in Lee Evans. All Hardy has to do is become comfortable as an intermediate receiver who can make the tough catches in traffic. On an offense that already features a second-year quarterback (Trent Edwards) and a second-year running back (Marshawn Lynch), he'll have a chance to grow into a valuable component.

[marshawn2th3house]

thats great to hear, i sure hope hes an impact player as a rookie

[Zeus Lizard]

Guess you missed the news conference...The Bills (as reported by the draft experts on the Buffalo Bills message board) had an atrocious draft...

[Battle941]

Nice find Bisco :thumbsup:

Can't wait to see what this guy can do for us. He will simply TOWER over every defender. Love it.

[Bermuda1Fan]

Yea i was surprised we didN'T take kelly in the second but i am happy with hardy..6"6 CAN'T GO WRONG

[Billsfourlife]

I agree Buffalo is the perfect place for Hardy. Not a bigger red zone threat in the draft IMO which is exactly what we were lacking.

[buffalo G]

nice.....and true, Hardy will make , or should, an easier transistion by not
having the pressure of being number one and learn.
hope lee is the man here, and shows him the ropes.

[AthensThunder]

nice.....and true, Hardy will make , or should, an easier transistion by not
having the pressure of being number one and learn.
hope lee is the man here, and shows him the ropes.
Since Evans is going to be asking a billion three dollars to stay here,what in the world would give you the idea he would show anybody "the ropes"

[hammerhead]

I agree Buffalo is the perfect place for Hardy. Not a bigger red zone threat in the draft IMO which is exactly what we were lacking.

I agree. I am a big Malcom Kelly fan, but his knees and attitude are both questionable and at 6' 5 Hardy is hard to miss in the red zone. I really like the selection of Hardy. He has been to the endzone a lot in his career and just watching some of the highlights he caught many with defenders right on him.

It's hard to imagine the Bills doing better with their first two picks.

[Billsboy]

Thought this was interesting, thought I'd share...sorry if it's been posted

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/draft08/columns/story?columnist=chadiha_jeffri&id=3371140

7. James Hardy, WR, Buffalo Bills
The Bills needed to find a big receiver, and Hardy (6-6, 217 pounds) should make them happy. It's true that rookie receivers have a hard time adjusting to life in the NFL, but Hardy has the benefit of joining an offense that already has an accomplished deep threat in Lee Evans. All Hardy has to do is become comfortable as an intermediate receiver who can make the tough catches in traffic. On an offense that already features a second-year quarterback (Trent Edwards) and a second-year running back (Marshawn Lynch), he'll have a chance to grow into a valuable component.

WOW! ESPN ACTUALLY gave us credit for something. About time.

[BongOOO]

I love the Hardy pick. Was jumping for joy when he fell to us at 41. That being said, I think one thing that is going to hurt him this year is the change to the push out rule. This year, being pushed out does not mean you get the completion. You have to get your feet down. This means that those great jump balls he would win in the back corner of the end zone will now probably be a lot of push outs. He'll jump to the roof of the stadium to get the ball, and the MUCH smaller DB will just push him out before his feet hit the ground. I'm really bummed about that rule change just as we get our big receiver.

[ThankEvans83]

Yeah, Hardy is a very good fit here. Didn't Hardy tell DJ to draft him because he was what we needed? Very good pick.

[rodneykm]

Hardy should, at least in year 2, make life much easier for Lee Evans.

Thought that will get shot down. Would it be wise to bring Eric Moulds back to help with the young guys at WR or is that kind of thing over rated?

[salofixx]

one thing I find a little wierd is 6'6' 215 lbs ??


I play corner and I am 6'1 200 Ilbs. that guy is gonna need to bulk it up a bit to compete in the NFL. that extra 5 inches over me should account for more than 15 pounds.



if they do that he will be a monster, otherwise i fear injury.

[Billsboy]

Hardy should, at least in year 2, make life much easier for Lee Evans.

Thought that will get shot down. Would it be wise to bring Eric Moulds back to help with the young guys at WR or is that kind of thing over rated?

Not year 2. He's GOING to start from day 1. Who are you saying is going to be our #2 WR? Reed, no. Parrish, no. Johnson, no. IT'S HARDY!

[ThankEvans83]

one thing I find a little wierd is 6'6' 215 lbs ??


I play corner and I am 6'1 200 Ilbs. that guy is gonna need to bulk it up a bit to compete in the NFL. that extra 5 inches over me should account for more than 15 pounds.



if they do that he will be a monster, otherwise i fear injury.

Cool. Where do you play CB?

[buffalo G]

Since Evans is going to be asking a billion three dollars to stay here,what in the world would give you the idea he would show anybody "the ropes"

Humm, I guess your right, Your saying Lee is going to be a locker room
distraction and on a on field vendetta against the new kids...

had'nt looked at it like that, I usually think positive , but, thanks for clearing that up!
sounds like a " chad " to me, too.

[Buffalo AL]

one thing I find a little wierd is 6'6' 215 lbs ??


I play corner and I am 6'1 200 Ilbs. that guy is gonna need to bulk it up a bit to compete in the NFL. that extra 5 inches over me should account for more than 15 pounds.



if they do that he will be a monster, otherwise i fear injury.

If he did that he wouldnt be able to run a 4.47 40yd dash... Besides how much does Randy Moss weigh?

[lifelongBill]

I love the Hardy pick. Was jumping for joy when he fell to us at 41. That being said, I think one thing that is going to hurt him this year is the change to the push out rule. This year, being pushed out does not mean you get the completion. You have to get your feet down. This means that those great jump balls he would win in the back corner of the end zone will now probably be a lot of push outs. He'll jump to the roof of the stadium to get the ball, and the MUCH smaller DB will just push him out before his feet hit the ground. I'm really bummed about that rule change just as we get our big receiver.

You miss understand the rule change. If he was going out of the endzone or sideline and gets pushed and doesn't get his feet down it is incomplete. Now if he is leaping straight up and the defender shoves him out or carries him out it is still a catch.

[Marshawn-2-the-housee]

i really hope he can turn out a productive season along with a great post-season

[BillsFan]

This is something I have been saying for the longest time. It is not like when Buffalo was looking to draft a WR, that the guy would have to be the focal point of our offense.

Hardy is more of a compliment with amazing potential. The guy will have responsability, but not anywhere near that of being the only target on the offense. Lynch, Evans, Parrish, Reed, Action Jackson, and Edwards all should have this offense banging on all cylinders.

[Thurman#1]

You miss understand the rule change. If he was going out of the endzone or sideline and gets pushed and doesn't get his feet down it is incomplete. Now if he is leaping straight up and the defender shoves him out or carries him out it is still a catch.


Lifelong Bill, you've got that a bit backwards.

It USED TO BE that if you landed out of bounds but the ref thought that the reason you landed out was that the DB pushed you, it was a completion.

NOW, it doesn't matter why you land out of bounds, ilf you land out of bounds, it is an incompletion. The only exception is if the guy actually catches the WR and carries him out of bounds, which would still be a completion. But if the DB's contact, a strong hit, tackle or whatever, drives the WR out of bounds, it will be an incomplete pass.

Check it out if you don't believe me.

However, these plays are an issue maybe once every three or four games. It is a very uncommon play. It's not worth worrying about.

[GottaBillieve]

love the pick, Hardy will be a fan fav in no time...

[AthensThunder]

Humm, I guess your right, Your saying Lee is going to be a locker room
distraction and on a on field vendetta against the new kids...

had'nt looked at it like that, I usually think positive , but, thanks for clearing that up!
sounds like a " chad " to me, too.
All I am saying is that Evans will have no incentive to teach or mentor any other reciver.To make his asking salary seem "reasonable" he must have good numbers and it would help if the other recivers were not seen as valuable.
I don't think he will be a locker room distraction as this will not inhance his value to the team or to any other potential team.

[FreeSafety36]

one thing I find a little wierd is 6'6' 215 lbs ??


I play corner and I am 6'1 200 Ilbs. that guy is gonna need to bulk it up a bit to compete in the NFL. that extra 5 inches over me should account for more than 15 pounds.



if they do that he will be a monster, otherwise i fear injury.

actually, his weight is right where it should be for a WR at his height.

A crude but easy to remember formula for athletes is about 2 1/2 pounds per inch for athletes (Obviously different when you're talking about linemen).

At your height of 73 inches, and your weight of 200 pounds (pretty big for a CB btw), you weigh approximately 2.73 pounds per inch.

At Hardy's height of 78 inches and weight of 217 pounds, he weighs approximately 2.78 pounds per inch.

[lonebuffaloinpatsland]

Guess you missed the news conference...The Bills (as reported by the draft experts on the Buffalo Bills message board) had an atrocious draft...

well i guess u dont watch much tv but the experts said the bills had a good draft looking after there needs cmon now mcklevin is the best Cb in the draft and hardy is a wr that was under the radar plus devin thomas was a one yr wonder and all the other top wrsare sketchy hardy fits good in hea we neede a red zone threath and we got it hes not so much a speed reciver but physical like terell owens and lee evans is like steve smith.

[God Father]

actually, his weight is right where it should be for a WR at his height.

A crude but easy to remember formula for athletes is about 2 1/2 pounds per inch for athletes (Obviously different when you're talking about linemen).

At your height of 73 inches, and your weight of 200 pounds (pretty big for a CB btw), you weigh approximately 2.73 pounds per inch.

At Hardy's height of 78 inches and weight of 217 pounds, he weighs approximately 2.78 pounds per inch.

Ha Ha you make a very good point. I thought he looked alittle thin in the highlights but i never looked at it the way you put it. Don't you think he'll naturally put on a little weight just by being in the NFL? I mean during college you're obviously doing more than just football. Now football is going to be his career so I would think he'll be working out more and practicing more getting bigger and stronger. Same goes for our number 1 pick. Would you guys agree with me?

[ksafe29]

That's good, cuz Hardy is the ideal receiver for Buffalo!

[BillsFan]

I still can not get over the fact that the guy is 6'6" ran a 4.47 40... I hate the 40 and what it stand for... But I mean Calvin Johnson is a bit heavier but 4.37 is a step faster at best.

I feel like Hardy has so much talent it should be very funny if this kis dedicates him self.

[witness21]

You don't even have to compare him to Calvin Johnson...CJ isn't human. I'm sure hardy ran faster than Plaxico and Plaxico is a beast!

[CUHATIN23]

I think Hardy will come in and be a impact player in year 1 with the Bills and make a run for offensive rookie of the year. I can see this happening.