birdz4i Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Vaughn McClure, ESPN Staff Writer It wouldn't be a surprise to see Justin Hardy make his Atlanta Falcons debut this Sunday.The rookie wide receiver, a fourth-round draft pick out of East Carolina, was inactive for the first seven games. Hardy vowed to remain patient and just digest the playbook until his opportunity presented itself. Well, a hamstring strain suffered by fellow receiver Leonard Hankerson might provide such an opportunity.Hankerson won't practice Wednesday and could miss a couple of games as a result of his lingering injury. If such is the case, it seems only logical for the Falcons to ease Hardy into the lineup at home against Tampa Bay, particularly with wide receiver/return specialist Devin Hester currently on short-term injured reserve with turf toe.Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan has been a fan of Hardy all along and spoke up in favor of the rookie once again Tuesday during his weekly 680 The Fan radio appearance."I think he's a guy who has improved," Ryan said of Hardy. "Obviously, we'll see where [Hankerson] is at in term of getting healthy. But at some point this season, I really believe Justin's going to make an impact for our football team. And I'm excited about that. I look forward to what he can bring for us on the offensive side of the ball."Of course, Ryan will rely first on top receiver Julio Jones. Veteran Roddy White, who desired more touches, has as many catches in the last two games (six) as he did in the first four. And first-year Falcon Nick Williams, who had three catches for 43 yards in this past week's 10-7 win over the Tennessee Titans, continues to impress the coaches with his competiveness. But there should be room for Hardy to get a least a few looks on offense if Hankerson is indeed out against the Buccaneers.Hardy has a huge supporter in Ruffin McNeill, East Carolina's sixth-year head coach. McNeill frequently speaks with Hardy and said he offered no advice to his former player about how to handle being inactive."I asked him for advice because he didn't need any from me. He already knew. He's already been through it," McNeill said of his former walk-on, scout-team quarterback. "Nobody believed in him out of high school. Fayetteville State was the only one. After the first fall camp here, I said, 'That boy right there is going to be very good.' Great player. Great kid. Great family. He's waited for his turn before."And people don't realize he's not mad right now. He's watching and learning from Julio and everybody else. Once he gets in there, Matt Ryan is going to love him. Julio's going to love him because they can't double team him anymore."McNeill watched Hardy, who wore No. 2 at East Carolina, go on to set the current NCAA FBS record for career receptions with 387."He's still 'Deuce' to me," McNeill said. "If I call you by your number, that means you're pretty legit."That catch like that boy from the Giants (Odell Beckham Jr.) made, Deuce did that in practice like four years ago. He did that in a game a year and a half ago. I got catches from him in practice where one was behind his back. He didn't say nothing, either. He just caught it like he was supposed to do it, and when back to the huddle. That's just how Deuce is."Those skills should be on display to the rest of the league sooner than later.http://espn.go.com/blog/atlanta-falcons/post/_/id/17003/falcons-matt-ryan-ready-to-see-rookie-wide-receiver-justin-hardy-make-impact Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raysnill1 Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 I really hope he pans out, that'll be a HUGE plus for us going forward Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mega Flare Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 But will he make a bigger impact than Mike Cox? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxatlanta Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Addition by subtraction with Hank. Until we start using him correctly at least(no throws over the middle). Targeting Roddy and Hardy when teams double Julio should be obvious. Want less ints by #2? Start by not throwing into double/triple coverage and targeting the best matchups instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rightsaidfred Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 But will he make a bigger impact than Mike Cox? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Don™ Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 "And people don't realize he's not mad right now. He's watching and learning from Julio and everybody else. Once he gets in there, Matt Ryan is going to love him. Julio's going to love him because they can't double team him anymore."Very true. You can see him constantly cheering on his teammates from the sidelines. I think he's going to make an impact...eventually Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gritz Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 With Hankerson out and Nick Williams possibly being out also I don't know of a better week for Hardy to see some playing time.If he doesn't get in this week I don't expect to see him this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesus Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Hankerson has a one year deal. Williams is a one year deal. Roddy can be let go without much of an impact. Hester is on the way out. Resign Williams, make Hardy KR and #2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFatboi Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 With Hankerson out and Nick Williams possibly being out also I don't know of a better week for Hardy to see some playing time.If he doesn't get in this week I don't expect to see him this year.Is Nick really hurt? I thought that was a blunder or mistaken identity? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoungHeezy Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Is Nick really hurt? I thought that was a blunder or mistaken identity?Looks to be a hamstring Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Talon Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Falcons app just said hamstring Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gritz Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Is Nick really hurt? I thought that was a blunder or mistaken identity?Yeah, I watched Quinn's presser today. Williams didn't practice today because of his hamstring. Gotta get Hardy on the field. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFatboi Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Yeah, I watched Quinn's presser today. Williams didn't practice today because of his hamstring. Gotta get Hardy on the field.Wow. What is the deal with all the hammy's around the league?? I guess we get our first look at Hardy. I knew it was a good thing to carry 7 wr's. Somebody said there was no way we'd carry seven wr's before cuts and I told them I believed we would. They were just too dynamic. Talent everywhere. We've got to have the deepest wr talent. We have a good collection of big fast guys and little quick guys. That's what Belichik utilizes. I like both Nick's and Hardy's toughness. Even weems. He's cut from that same cloth. Looks to be a hamstringWow. Smh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFatboi Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Hankerson has a one year deal. Williams is a one year deal. Roddy can be let go without much of an impact. Hester is on the way out. Resign Williams, make Hardy KR and #2.Dev can stay. He's still impactful in both return game and offense. If they let Roddy go they better get another big guy. Williams isn't an outside got. Hardy MAAAAY be able to be #2 if he has the Steve Smith toughness. I don't know yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gritz Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Wow. What is the deal with all the hammy's around the league?? I guess we get our first look at Hardy. I knew it was a good thing to carry 7 wr's. Somebody said there was no way we'd carry seven wr's before cuts and I told them I believed we would. They were just too dynamic. Talent everywhere. We've got to have the deepest wr talent. We have a good collection of big fast guys and little quick guys. That's what Belichik utilizes. I like both Nick's and Hardy's toughness. Even weems. He's cut from that same cloth.Wow. SmhWeems might be THE toughest player on the Atlanta Falcons roster. If I had to pick one guy on the team to have my back it would probably be him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tldr Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Roddy needs to move to slot. Like fitz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
falconstwopercentsized Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Weems might be THE toughest player on the Atlanta Falcons roster. If I had to pick one guy on the team to have my back it would probably be him.Yeah but he's close to old Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PokerSteve Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Hardy has extraordinary talent. From what we've learned in this article, he's also a man with patience and humility. To me that sounds like a solid foundation upon which to build a great career, especially in tandem with Matt Ryan, Julio and Roddy. And he'll be working within schemes created by one of the brightest young offensive minds in football under the tutelage of Dan Quinn, the human fireball, defensive guru and motivational HC. I think the kid is going to be a Dirty Bird star. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFatboi Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Weems might be THE toughest player on the Atlanta Falcons roster. If I had to pick one guy on the team to have my back it would probably be him.Absolutely. Great teammate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metatron360 Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 I live in Puerto Rico after leaving ga 6 years ago. I recently met east Carolinas qb Shane can't remember his last name. We hung out together for about 10 days of a small island here named culebra. Shane was down about getting cut from the bears so he was seeking away time. Really good kid by the way. Big guy. Shane was aware Justin was drafted by us and he said he was definitely going to make an impact for our team. One day I wiki Shane and he held all time yards with east Carolina with Justin as his main target. Felt bad for both guys but Shane impeticularly looking at his performance vs 2 other qbs drafted high from east Carolina. We actually had one of those qbs on our team leftwich. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
falconstwopercentsized Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Borica! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordtobigbird Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Hardy is going to make an instant impact, his talent is undeniable. Can't wait to see him play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HouseofEuphoria Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 Anybody got Hardy on thier fantasy team, rotting on the bench?Put that mofo in....trust me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HASHBROWN3 Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 Love to see him get in and turn some heads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Csdabest Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 Omg this turned me on sooo badly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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