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Greg Hardy makes impact on the field, but that's not the full story
Todd Archer, ESPN Staff Writer
ARLINGTON, Texas -- As Tom Brady made his way to the New England Patriots huddle between series, Greg Hardy stared at him, slowly turning as Brady closed from the sideline to the middle of the field.
“I have no clue what you’re talking about,” Hardy said postgame about the scene. “Any other questions?”
Hardy sacked Brady twice and hit him five other times in the Dallas Cowboys’ 30-6 loss to the Patriots. He finished with four tackles, a tackle for loss and a forced fumble in his first game since last year’s season opener with the Carolina Panthers.
But he could not give himself a good grade.
“F,” Hardy said. “We lost.”
Earlier he said, “I had a good day. It was a product of working hard Tuesday through Saturday.”
Hardy’s debut was met with criticism and cheers because of the incident that led to him missing 19 regular-season games over the last two years. Even though the charges were dismissed, he was initially suspended 10 games for violating the personal-conduct policy after he was accused of assaulting and threatening to kill an ex-girlfriend. The suspension was reduced on appeal to four games.
If there were internal conflicts for Cowboys fans about Hardy, they were drowned out by the cheer after his first sack of Brady, on the Patriots’ second series of the game. He forced a fumble on his second sack, but the Patriots recovered the loose ball.
It was the sixth multisack game of Hardy’s career and first since he closed the 2013 season with four sacks against Atlanta.
“He’s a good football player, and he works hard,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. “He had a really good training camp for us and did well in the preseason. He had a good week of practice, so it didn’t surprise me that he would have a really good impact in the game.”
Every move Hardy made was watched. In addition to saying he was unaware of his Brady stare-down, he was unaware of the “shush” gesture he made after the first sack. When he was shown on the digital board dancing between plays, the crowd roared. When he raised his arms before plays, asking for more crowd noise, the fans complied.
“It’s nothing like I’ve ever seen before,” Hardy said.
In the locker room after the game, cameras and reporters surrounded Hardy.
“I’m still excited,” Hardy said. “I’m excited to be in this locker room, looking at all you guys, looking at these pictures. Just the smell and the aroma. Not always, but today, it’s awesome.”
But with Hardy, it will never be solely about what he does on the field.
The Cowboys have never tried to deflect the reason why they signed Hardy: He makes them a better team. But after the game, owner and general manager Jerry Jones would not get into whether Hardy’s sacks validated the team’s decision to sign him even to a deal with no guaranteed money.
“They’re two different things,” Jones said. “It has been universally accepted that he’s an outstanding player. I think we haven’t seen that written anywhere that he was not a difference-maker. And on the other hand, where the other criticism is a totally different thing. It’s something we take very seriously, domestic violence. And unfortunately, he’s associated with that, and he needs to use every way he can to try and show where he is relative to his feelings about that. And the best way to do that is to take his success on the field and show ways that he’s contrite and sensitive about domestic violence.”
Hardy did not do that when he spoke for the first time last week, turning any questions about the incident into football answers. He was criticized for his “guns blazing” comment, considering weapons were part of the incident with his former girlfriend. He was criticized for invoking Gisele Bundchen, Brady’s wife, as well.
“If the perception is there, then you need to, in my experience -- not him -- but in my experience when you’re perceived that way, then you should address it,” Jones said.
Asked after the game about his comments that led to the criticism, Hardy said, “Any other questions?”
Todd Archer, ESPN Staff Writer
ARLINGTON, Texas -- As Tom Brady made his way to the New England Patriots huddle between series, Greg Hardy stared at him, slowly turning as Brady closed from the sideline to the middle of the field.
“I have no clue what you’re talking about,” Hardy said postgame about the scene. “Any other questions?”
Hardy sacked Brady twice and hit him five other times in the Dallas Cowboys’ 30-6 loss to the Patriots. He finished with four tackles, a tackle for loss and a forced fumble in his first game since last year’s season opener with the Carolina Panthers.
But he could not give himself a good grade.
“F,” Hardy said. “We lost.”
Earlier he said, “I had a good day. It was a product of working hard Tuesday through Saturday.”
Hardy’s debut was met with criticism and cheers because of the incident that led to him missing 19 regular-season games over the last two years. Even though the charges were dismissed, he was initially suspended 10 games for violating the personal-conduct policy after he was accused of assaulting and threatening to kill an ex-girlfriend. The suspension was reduced on appeal to four games.
If there were internal conflicts for Cowboys fans about Hardy, they were drowned out by the cheer after his first sack of Brady, on the Patriots’ second series of the game. He forced a fumble on his second sack, but the Patriots recovered the loose ball.
It was the sixth multisack game of Hardy’s career and first since he closed the 2013 season with four sacks against Atlanta.
“He’s a good football player, and he works hard,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. “He had a really good training camp for us and did well in the preseason. He had a good week of practice, so it didn’t surprise me that he would have a really good impact in the game.”
Every move Hardy made was watched. In addition to saying he was unaware of his Brady stare-down, he was unaware of the “shush” gesture he made after the first sack. When he was shown on the digital board dancing between plays, the crowd roared. When he raised his arms before plays, asking for more crowd noise, the fans complied.
“It’s nothing like I’ve ever seen before,” Hardy said.
In the locker room after the game, cameras and reporters surrounded Hardy.
“I’m still excited,” Hardy said. “I’m excited to be in this locker room, looking at all you guys, looking at these pictures. Just the smell and the aroma. Not always, but today, it’s awesome.”
But with Hardy, it will never be solely about what he does on the field.
The Cowboys have never tried to deflect the reason why they signed Hardy: He makes them a better team. But after the game, owner and general manager Jerry Jones would not get into whether Hardy’s sacks validated the team’s decision to sign him even to a deal with no guaranteed money.
“They’re two different things,” Jones said. “It has been universally accepted that he’s an outstanding player. I think we haven’t seen that written anywhere that he was not a difference-maker. And on the other hand, where the other criticism is a totally different thing. It’s something we take very seriously, domestic violence. And unfortunately, he’s associated with that, and he needs to use every way he can to try and show where he is relative to his feelings about that. And the best way to do that is to take his success on the field and show ways that he’s contrite and sensitive about domestic violence.”
Hardy did not do that when he spoke for the first time last week, turning any questions about the incident into football answers. He was criticized for his “guns blazing” comment, considering weapons were part of the incident with his former girlfriend. He was criticized for invoking Gisele Bundchen, Brady’s wife, as well.
“If the perception is there, then you need to, in my experience -- not him -- but in my experience when you’re perceived that way, then you should address it,” Jones said.
Asked after the game about his comments that led to the criticism, Hardy said, “Any other questions?”
