The Kracken and the Kitchen

[BulletBob]

I'm listening to Talkin Cowboys right now, and Nate Newton is really hyping up the return of Greg Hardy. He says that even if Hardy only gets 10-15 plays this week, he will change the entire complexion of the defense: you will see Lawrence and Crawford elevate their games because of all the attention he commands, and he will wreak havoc all along the line. His flexibility also opens up a bunch of options for d-line personnel packages.

Now, I watched Hardy through the pre-season and what footage was available in training camp.

Could it be that ol' Nate is over-hyping this guy?

Won't it take a couple of games for the Kraken to knock off the rust and get to full speed?

Are we expecting too much of him right out of the chute?

I'm looking forward to seeing him play as much as the rest of us, but I'm a bit concerned that we might be setting our collective expectations too high.

 

[trickblue]

He will need to knock some rust off, but teams are going to have to alter their game plan a bit with him being in there...

 

[xvendettax914]

No denying hardys skill. We instantly become more formidable with him on the line. Rust or not. The second he is ignored he will make you pay. His character and attitude will also be a competitive boost.

 

[TheBigEasy]

He will need to knock some rust off, but teams are going to have to alter their game plan a bit with him being in there...

Rust? If he was a guy that touched the ball, ran routes or had to read defenses...agreed. However, he has one job and one he is very good at...kill Brady. Don't feed your dog for 3 days and see if he is rusty with his eating habits. Just don't want him to eat too fast and will need to take a nap before his next meal.

 

[Idgit]

Hardy makes an immediate impact, because he's going to demand blocking attention and free somebody else up.

That said, I think part of Hardy's success comes in how relentless he is over the course of a whole game. He's one of those Terminator types who just grinds you into submission. Which is why his teammates love him so much and maybe why his impact didn't show up as much in preseason where snaps were at a minimum.

I hope he's in shape, because it would be just like this season for him to come in and overwork and pull a hammy or get some damn soft-tissue injury or other that hampers him for 4-5 more games. But really, he's only had a month off of football, and I'm sure he's been working hard in the background. He's that type of guy. We're going to need him and McClain and Lee firing on all cylinders if we're going to have any hope of keeping this one close in the 4th quarter.

 

[cowboyuptx]

I think it's too much hype. As I've stated previously, in Carolina, Hardy had another double-digit sack guy at the other DE position in Charles Johnson. His supporting cast on the DL and on defense in general was probably better with those Panther teams on which he thrived. When I see him on tape, I see a really good player that plays hard, but I do not see a truly elite DE. That said, he will be a big improvement over who we have now, and his presence should also soon help reflect our depth at DE.

 

[TheBigEasy]

I think it's too much hype. As I've stated previously, in Carolina, Hardy had another double-digit sack guy at the other DE position in Charles Johnson. His supporting cast on the DL and on defense in general was probably better with those Panther teams on which he thrived. When I see him on tape, I see a really good player that plays hard, but I do not see a truly elite DE. That said, he will be a big improvement over who we have now, and his presence should also soon help reflect our depth at DE.

Don't doubt Gregory....please.

 

[remdak]

Hardy makes an immediate impact, because he's going to demand blocking attention and free somebody else up.

That said, I think part of Hardy's success comes in how relentless he is over the course of a whole game. He's one of those Terminator types who just grinds you into submission. Which is why his teammates love him so much and maybe why his impact didn't show up as much in preseason where snaps were at a minimum.

I hope he's in shape, because it would be just like this season for him to come in and overwork and pull a hammy or get some damn soft-tissue injury or other that hampers him for 4-5 more games. But really, he's only had a month off of football, and I'm sure he's been working hard in the background. He's that type of guy. We're going to need him and McClain and Lee firing on all cylinders if we're going to have any hope of keeping this one close in the 4th quarter.

Yeah, just the fact that offenses will have to pay attention to him will be a plus for the rest of the line. It's the same thing as getting Dez back on offense. Until either one proves they can't play, the will command attention.

 

[CrownCowboy]

As soon as Hardy comes out of the tunnel with his painted up face and his beast mode attitude it will be infectious to the whole defense and with Rolando back in the middle it will make this defense way more physical.

Just those two players bring a physicality to this defense that will make an immediate impact.

 

[sideon]

I'm listening to Talkin Cowboys right now, and Nate Newton is really hyping up the return of Greg Hardy. He says that even if Hardy only gets 10-15 plays this week, he will change the entire complexion of the defense: you will see Lawrence and Crawford elevate their games because of all the attention he commands, and he will wreak havoc all along the line. His flexibility also opens up a bunch of options for d-line personnel packages.

Now, I watched Hardy through the pre-season and what footage was available in training camp.

Could it be that ol' Nate is over-hyping this guy?

Won't it take a couple of games for the Kraken to knock off the rust and get to full speed?

Are we expecting too much of him right out of the chute?

I'm looking forward to seeing him play as much as the rest of us, but I'm a bit concerned that we might be setting our collective expectations too high.

If you watched him during the preseason then you must've seen how even after a year off he was still quick as ever.

 

[xwalker]

I'm listening to Talkin Cowboys right now, and Nate Newton is really hyping up the return of Greg Hardy. He says that even if Hardy only gets 10-15 plays this week, he will change the entire complexion of the defense: you will see Lawrence and Crawford elevate their games because of all the attention he commands, and he will wreak havoc all along the line. His flexibility also opens up a bunch of options for d-line personnel packages.

Now, I watched Hardy through the pre-season and what footage was available in training camp.

Could it be that ol' Nate is over-hyping this guy?

Won't it take a couple of games for the Kraken to knock off the rust and get to full speed?

Are we expecting too much of him right out of the chute?

I'm looking forward to seeing him play as much as the rest of us, but I'm a bit concerned that we might be setting our collective expectations too high.

No. I expect Hardy to break Brady in half. It might be time for Brady to develop Hardy-itus similar to defensive players that developed Allen-itus prior to playing against Larry Allen.

 

[LittleD]

Hardy's return will matter over the next several weeks but, Brady gets the ball out at about 2 seconds so
that leaves little time for the rush to get to him or even bother him. With our problems in the backfield, I
look for the Cowboys to get rather pasted this weekend.

 

[conner01]

Hardy makes an immediate impact, because he's going to demand blocking attention and free somebody else up.

That said, I think part of Hardy's success comes in how relentless he is over the course of a whole game. He's one of those Terminator types who just grinds you into submission. Which is why his teammates love him so much and maybe why his impact didn't show up as much in preseason where snaps were at a minimum.

I hope he's in shape, because it would be just like this season for him to come in and overwork and pull a hammy or get some damn soft-tissue injury or other that hampers him for 4-5 more games. But really, he's only had a month off of football, and I'm sure he's been working hard in the background. He's that type of guy. We're going to need him and McClain and Lee firing on all cylinders if we're going to have any hope of keeping this one close in the 4th quarter.

I agree
He will impact what the oline does immediately
But no matter how in shape he is, being in football shape is much different
Not so much about rust but conditioning
He did get lots of reps in camp which helps but I assume his real impact will come after a couple games when he can play more reps
The grind of blocking him all day is where his real impact comes
Now we needs Gregory back to rotate and get some dang pass rush going

 

[Doc50]

Hardy's brand of football is disruptive and contagious. I would expect Lawrence to be much more effective with him in.

RoMac's ability to bring punishment will also elevate the play of the entire D, and change some offensive strategies.

Would be shocking for Garrett to beat Belichick, but after that we should have a reasonable chance in every game.

 

[popp1234]

If you watched him during the preseason then you must've seen how even after a year off he was still quick as ever.

Also, I heard that Hardy works on what he perceives as his weaknesses in preseason practice and games, instead of what he knows he can do well (his strengths). Interesting.

 

[burmafrd]

I think it's too much hype. As I've stated previously, in Carolina, Hardy had another double-digit sack guy at the other DE position in Charles Johnson. His supporting cast on the DL and on defense in general was probably better with those Panther teams on which he thrived. When I see him on tape, I see a really good player that plays hard, but I do not see a truly elite DE. That said, he will be a big improvement over who we have now, and his presence should also soon help reflect our depth at DE.

and you are wrong.

 

[Idgit]

I agree
He will impact what the oline does immediately
But no matter how in shape he is, being in football shape is much different
Not so much about rust but conditioning
He did get lots of reps in camp which helps but I assume his real impact will come after a couple games when he can play more reps
The grind of blocking him all day is where his real impact comes
Now we needs Gregory back to rotate and get some dang pass rush going

Yeah, he'll be more effective coming out of the bye and going forward from there.

That said, I actually am excited to see this defense with Lee, McClain, Hardy, and Gregory all in. That's a lot of impact players to add to the front 7 almost all at once. If those LBs can just manage to stay in the lineup for a couple of weeks. It's *got* to have a big impact on how we play, overall.

 

[4lifecowboy]

I think the first couple of games his attitude and aggressiveness will be more impact full to the defensive line than his physical impact.

 

[gimmesix]

I'm listening to Talkin Cowboys right now, and Nate Newton is really hyping up the return of Greg Hardy. He says that even if Hardy only gets 10-15 plays this week, he will change the entire complexion of the defense: you will see Lawrence and Crawford elevate their games because of all the attention he commands, and he will wreak havoc all along the line. His flexibility also opens up a bunch of options for d-line personnel packages.

Now, I watched Hardy through the pre-season and what footage was available in training camp.

Could it be that ol' Nate is over-hyping this guy?

Won't it take a couple of games for the Kraken to knock off the rust and get to full speed?

Are we expecting too much of him right out of the chute?

I'm looking forward to seeing him play as much as the rest of us, but I'm a bit concerned that we might be setting our collective expectations too high.

I expect him to make a difference. I don't know if it will result in him getting any sacks but he's a physical player who knows how to get after a quarterback. That doesn't go away.

I also don't think the preseason Hardy is what we'll see. There were some articles about how Hardy uses training camp/preseason to experiment with moves. Now, that doesn't mean there won't be times that his rust shows, but his presence will be felt.

 

[jazzcat22]

Hardy's return will matter over the next several weeks but, Brady gets the ball out at about 2 seconds so
that leaves little time for the rush to get to him or even bother him. With our problems in the backfield, I
look for the Cowboys to get rather pasted this weekend.

Then our coverage better play well, making Brady hold onto the ball an extra second or so. Jam the receivers at the LOS, play physical. Put Jones on Gronk and blanket him.