The ever-intrepid reporter Michael Sanserino is our Colts beat reporter/columnist. Mike made it up the most recent Horses game against the Bills. As you all know, the best wideout -- I suppose this is where I'm required to insert 'arguably' -- in IU history now plays for Buffalo. But Hardy has been dinged up all through camp and, unfortunately, the Fort Wayne native didn't make it to Indy for the game. Mike gathered up some quotes on Hardy anywho, and here's what he found out.
Donte Whitner - Bills Safety "He looks pretty good. He's been hampered by a little hamstring. When James is in there, he's looking good, in there catching the football. He's a great asset to our team. We really need him to get healthy so he can come and experiencing things like this, even though it's a preseason game. ... James needs to be a part of this. He needs to be on the road with us to get the feel for NFL football on the road. But other than that, James has been looking good in practice and you can look for big things out of him this year."
"If they just decide to throw the football up and with his jumping ability, there's nothing you can really do against a guy like that - especially in the red zone, one on one. That's what we need. Last year we were near the bottom of the league in touchdowns, getting in the end zone. That's why we went and got James, so that when we get down there, hey, throw it up to 81. And that's what we're going to do."
"His weakness is sometimes he tends to play slow. And that's not saying he's slow or anything, it's just being a rookie and learning different defenses and different looks. In this league, they're going to throw everything at you. They're going to try to confuse you, try going to disguise coverage. ... Once you get those looks, you have to play fast. You have to trust what you see out there and get the job done. Don't second guess anything, just run the routes hard and catch the football."
Gibran Hamdan - Billls' third-string QB, former IU quarterback and baseball player "He's progressing well. It can be difficult for a young player. It's difficult for any young player in the NFL, but that's one position, receiver, that's really tough. There's just a lot of complex things that go into each offense. ... Obviously, he's a nice physical specimen."
"I think he comes out of his breaks really nicely. I think he's a solid receiver. It's just a matter of getting in the games and developing"
