FentayeJones Posted June 20, 2015 Share Posted June 20, 2015 If you were a young wide receiver just breaking into the NFL, it’d be hard to imagine a better place to grow than Flowery Branch. For starters, you’d have talented, sharp and experienced teammates in Roddy White and Julio Jones to help you along. You’d have a premier WR coach in Terry Robiskie. And, of course, you’d have Matt Ryan, one of the top quarterbacks in the league today.Justin Hardy is fortunate to be in this exact situation, and he isn’t taking it for granted. Rather, the fourth-round draft pick understands he’s in a favorable spot. So instead of talking a big game, acting brash or relying on prior knowledge, he’s taking advantage of all the surrounding wisdom.He’s asking questions about the playbook during down time. He’s letting Ryan coach him “until he can’t coach me anymore.” He’s keeping his head down, absorbing all the information he can.And his teammates have noticed."Justin Hardy has done a great job," Ryan said Tuesday. "He's really picked up things. And you can see him kind of every practice he goes out there, he gets a little more comfortable and he becomes a little more confident. His production for us this season is going to be important."Ricardo Allen, currently linked up at free safety, singled out Hardy last week, noting the rookie wideout “doesn’t say anything. All he does is come to work.” Jones expressed similar thoughts.“Great kid,” he said. “He listens well. He’s not one of those guys who comes in and thinks he knows everything … He’s taking coaching. We’re moving him around a lot; we’re challenging him every day. He’s doing a great job.”Jones, Allen and Ryan’s comments are in line with the general perception. By all accounts, Hardy enjoyed a successful minicamp, in which he made several notable catches and progressed steadily throughout the week. If he continues to develop at this pace, he could be a vital member of Atlanta’s offense in 2015.“My main thing is to be the best that I can be, as well as (make the other 31 teams) pay for missing out on me,” he said in May, adding he’s had a chip on his shoulder since he walked on at East Carolina. “Just trying to prove myself.”Along with his recent work, Hardy’s success at ECU is highly encouraging. There, he set an NCAA record by tallying 387 career catches — many of which came over the middle, where he’ll see plenty of time in Atlanta.The Falcons did a good job moving the chains in 2014 — they finished __ in third down conversion rate — and adding Hardy, who gained first downs on more than 70 percent of his senior receptions, should only make the offense more challenging to defend.“(The slot) is normally where I played in college,” said Hardy. “That’s just where I’m familiar with. The main goal I have as a player is to be the best I can be to help the team win.”http://www.atlantafalcons.com/news/blog/article-1/Rookie-WR-Hardy-Embracing-Role-of-Student/5b819f6d-600b-40ab-a36c-a6ae4f27b74a Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hashbrown3 Posted June 20, 2015 Share Posted June 20, 2015 I love the story lines this year. Ricardo Allen, Hardy, Jarrett... Oh man I am excited to see these young guys develop. I sure hope Collins ends up living up to his potential as well. What a spectacular draft. Not to mention if Coleman winds up heavily contributing and ripping off some terrifying runs... wowza, we'll have so many weapons to go into battle with that other teams will have some long days of trying to game plan against the new look falcons!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayOzOne Posted June 20, 2015 Share Posted June 20, 2015 I love the story lines this year. Ricardo Allen, Hardy, Jarrett... Oh man I am excited to see these young guys develop. I sure hope Collins ends up living up to his potential as well. What a spectacular draft. Not to mention if Coleman winds up heavily contributing and ripping off some terrifying runs... wowza, we'll have so many weapons to go into battle with that other teams will have some long days of trying to game plan against the new look falcons!!! And I'm greedy enough to hold out hope that we get some eventual contributions from Rodgers and King. If they even make the PS and then the 53 next season, this would easily be our best draft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MD-FalconFan13 Posted June 20, 2015 Share Posted June 20, 2015 This guy will prove folks wrong. Here's to not being able to wait until that happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atlfanstckndenver Posted June 20, 2015 Share Posted June 20, 2015 Have people doubted Hardy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lornoth Posted June 20, 2015 Share Posted June 20, 2015 Have people doubted Hardy?Some have called him the most overrated player in the entire draft, believe it or not.I love him though, the majority of success in the NFL is directly related to how much work you put in. When I heard that first story after he was drafted of him idolizing Rice and catching bricks as a hobby as a kid I knew he would be great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KRUNKuno Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 Did the article say we did a good job of moving the chains last year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FentayeJones Posted June 21, 2015 Author Share Posted June 21, 2015 Did the article say we did a good job of moving the chains last year?Believe it or not, the Falcons was one of the best 3d down teams in the league last year (top 10). Our problem was we couldn’t stop anybody. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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