Chiefs Mecole Hardman reflects on 2021, talks Chiefs’ future on ESPN’s ‘First Take’ - Page 2

Reroka · 03:04 PM

Kansas City Chiefs WR Mecole Hardman made an appearance on ESPN’s “First Take” on Thursday. He had an opportunity to reflect on some things that happened to the Chiefs’ offense during the 2022 NFL season, share an outlook for the future and talk about the upcoming Super Bowl LVI matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals.

Stephen A. Smith was pretty blunt with his first line of questioning: “What the hell happened in the AFC championship game?”

Hardman feels that the offense should carry the blame for the loss to the Bengals in the AFC title game.

“Listen, we started off great,” Hardman responded. “The first half was cool. Then, in the second half, we just didn’t score. (We) put out defense in bad situations and you know that high-powered offense in Cincinnati, you can’t stop them forever. So, I think it was just on (offense) we had to score in the second half and we didn’t.”

Smith continued to ask about the offense. He wondered why the team didn’t look as explosive at times in 2021 as they had in years past. Hardman felt a lot of it had to do with the way that defenses have adjusted when playing against Kansas City.

“I think it comes with defenses changing their schemes up,” Hardman said. “Just giving different looks, figuring things out that they give us problems. I think Tampa Bay kind of started that last year in the Super Bowl with the kind of defense that they played. I think it was like the adjustment factor of like trying to figure out the different looks and all the different things that defenses were throwing at us. There were times when we just couldn’t get anything going, but when we started figuring things out that’s when we started rolling. As you know, we were on an eight-game winning streak. That’s when things started rolling in once we started figuring everything out.”

Molly Qerim asked Hardman about the future and what the Chiefs need to do to get themselves back on the right track in 2022.

“First, we’ve got to figure out the team, make sure we get the right pieces back,” Hardman said. “We’ve got a couple of guys we need to sign, a couple of guys we need to extend and everything. After that we get all the pieces together, just get to training camp and get right. It shouldn’t be too hard. We know how to do what we’ve got to do and just take it one game at a time.”

As for the upcoming matchup in Super Bowl LVI, Hardman was a bit conflicted. On one hand, he wants to root for the AFC conference, but on the other hand, his UGA ties make it hard to root against Rams QB Matthew Stafford. In the end, he relied on an old football adage to make his pick.

“They say defense wins championships and LA definitely has a dominant defense.”

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/mecole-...194025583.html
Link to story with video.

ARROW2 · 02-10-2022, 09:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kman34

At least he didn’t say it was rigged…

No NFL player is going to go on TV and say that even if true. He said what he was supposed to say and what any of us would say in that situation. Enjoy the "entertainment" on Sunday

**BigRedChief** · 02-10-2022, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kevrunner

Not sure how accurate this is:

Hardman was reportedly upset over a lack of targets, according to CBS Sports NFL lead field reporter Tracy Wolfson. At that point, Hill had nine targets to Hardman's three, and the latter expressed his frustration to members of the Kansas City Chiefs' coaching staff.

The film doesn’t lie. He does have a point. He was wide open on several plays with Mahomes looking his direction and he didn’t get the ball thrown his way.

Fishels · 02-10-2022, 11:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ARROW2

No NFL player is going to go on TV and say that even if true(except Antonio Brown) He said what he was supposed to say and what any of us would say in that situation. Enjoy the "entertainment" on Sunday

Fixed it for you

Flying High D · 02-11-2022, 06:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chiefforlife

Actually, Hardman was open quite a bit. He probably has a point here.

I get Patrick trusts Hill but if its not working, there was another WR open?

Didn’t seem to carry much weight in that game.

**BigRedChief** · 03-08-2022, 10:57 PM

Idk why y’all be hating on me when it comes to football lol, y’all do realize I have to wait behind the best TE and WR in the game
— Mecole Hardman Jr. (@MecoleHardman4) March 8, 2022

staylor26 · 03-08-2022, 10:59 PM

Just keep getting better Mecole. You finally proved down the stretch that you belong, just keep grinding.

BWillie · 03-08-2022, 11:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

Idk why y’all be hating on me when it comes to football lol, y’all do realize I have to wait behind the best TE and WR in the game
— Mecole Hardman Jr. (@MecoleHardman4) March 8, 2022

Sounds like a guy who isn't going to be too happy when we bring in a real WR2.

Sure-Oz · 03-09-2022, 12:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

Idk why y’all be hating on me when it comes to football lol, y’all do realize I have to wait behind the best TE and WR in the game
— Mecole Hardman Jr. (@MecoleHardman4) March 8, 2022

Probably should stay quiet. Dude should've feasted with them both getting the attention. His speed is the only reason he's still on the team

ChiefsFanatic · 03-09-2022, 04:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sure-Oz

Probably should stay quiet. Dude should've feasted with them both getting the attention. His speed is the only reason he's still on the team

I think you are gonna be disappointed when that legit WR#2 gets 55 catches for 600 yards.

Kelce and Hill get the ball because they are the best at getting open. Period. I very much want a legit second receiver, but that legit receiver will only be better situationally, not statistically.

Sent from my GM1915 using Tapatalk

TEX · 03-09-2022, 04:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChiefsFanatic

I think you are gonna be disappointed when that legit WR#2 gets 55 catches for 600 yards.

Kelce and Hill get the ball because they are the best at getting open. Period. I very much want a legit second receiver, but that legit receiver will only be better situationally, not statistically.

Sent from my GM1915 using Tapatalk

But that, in itself, will be big.

ChiefsFanatic · 03-09-2022, 06:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TEX

But that, in itself, will be big.

I agree. But, anyone thinking that we are going to have a #2 with close to 1,000 yards is going to be unhappy.

Kelce is a first ballot HOF player and Hill is on the path to being a HOF player. Mahomes is going to continue to make them the focal point of the offense, because their level of talent and success.

At this point, there may only be a couple of receivers in the league that could pull targets away from them, and they are all #1 receivers.

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irafreak · 03-09-2022, 08:30 AM

I'd like andy to find another Kareem hunt and use him. I think that would be more productive than a high paid #2. Takes pressure off mahomes as well.

OKchiefs · 03-09-2022, 08:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChiefsFanatic

I think you are gonna be disappointed when that legit WR#2 gets 55 catches for 600 yards.

Kelce and Hill get the ball because they are the best at getting open. Period. I very much want a legit second receiver, but that legit receiver will only be better situationally, not statistically.

Sent from my GM1915 using Tapatalk

If a gadget receiver like Hardman can get nearly 700 yards, why would a legitimate #2 receiver not be able to get more than that? 800-900 doesn’t seem like a huge stretch.

DJ's left nut · 03-09-2022, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by staylor26

Just keep getting better Mecole. You finally proved down the stretch that you belong, just keep grinding.

Yup.

Hardman was a genuine asset over the last 1/3 of the season and into the playoffs. Part of it was Reid giving up on making him a true X and part of it was Hardman just getting a little better.

In the end I hate 'playing the slice' with guys, but for some that's just the only way to get anything out of him. That appears to be the case with Mecole.

And if so - that's fine. That's why a high-end #2 isn't a huge concern of mine. It's just targets that Hardman will lose going forward and I think Hardman, when used properly, is a damn efficient weapon.

In today's NFL, efficiency is the name of the game on offense. And Hardman can make significant contributions in that regard.

DJ's left nut · 03-09-2022, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChiefsFanatic

I think you are gonna be disappointed when that legit WR#2 gets 55 catches for 600 yards.

Kelce and Hill get the ball because they are the best at getting open. Period. I very much want a legit second receiver, but that legit receiver will only be better situationally, not statistically.

Sent from my GM1915 using Tapatalk

Over the last 2 seasons Hill has had essentially 300 targets w/ a 67% catch rate at 8.6 yards/target.

Travis Kelce has had 280 targets w/ a 71% catch rate and 9.1 yards/target.

So those guys are averaging nearly 9 targets/gm and 6.5 receptions/gm for about 80 yards/gm between them over 60+ games in the last 2 seasons.

Jesus folks - how much more do you think you can realistically coax out of those two?

At some point the math just is what the math is. Adding a top end #2 wideout isn't going to suddenly have those guys averaging 9 receptions and 110 yards/gm on an 80% catch rate. There are only so many targets and human falability and the maelstrom of the NFL will put a cap on what they can do.

The offense isn't a problem, even as presently constructed.

02-10-2022, 03:03 PM
Reroka Veteran Join Date: Dec 2018 Casino cash: $4700400	Mecole Hardman reflects on 2021, talks Chiefs’ future on ESPN’s ‘First Take’ Kansas City Chiefs WR Mecole Hardman made an appearance on ESPN’s “First Take” on Thursday. He had an opportunity to reflect on some things that happened to the Chiefs’ offense during the 2022 NFL season, share an outlook for the future and talk about the upcoming Super Bowl LVI matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals. Stephen A. Smith was pretty blunt with his first line of questioning: “What the hell happened in the AFC championship game?” Hardman feels that the offense should carry the blame for the loss to the Bengals in the AFC title game. “Listen, we started off great,” Hardman responded. “The first half was cool. Then, in the second half, we just didn’t score. (We) put out defense in bad situations and you know that high-powered offense in Cincinnati, you can’t stop them forever. So, I think it was just on (offense) we had to score in the second half and we didn’t.” Smith continued to ask about the offense. He wondered why the team didn’t look as explosive at times in 2021 as they had in years past. Hardman felt a lot of it had to do with the way that defenses have adjusted when playing against Kansas City. “I think it comes with defenses changing their schemes up,” Hardman said. “Just giving different looks, figuring things out that they give us problems. I think Tampa Bay kind of started that last year in the Super Bowl with the kind of defense that they played. I think it was like the adjustment factor of like trying to figure out the different looks and all the different things that defenses were throwing at us. There were times when we just couldn’t get anything going, but when we started figuring things out that’s when we started rolling. As you know, we were on an eight-game winning streak. That’s when things started rolling in once we started figuring everything out.” Molly Qerim asked Hardman about the future and what the Chiefs need to do to get themselves back on the right track in 2022. “First, we’ve got to figure out the team, make sure we get the right pieces back,” Hardman said. “We’ve got a couple of guys we need to sign, a couple of guys we need to extend and everything. After that we get all the pieces together, just get to training camp and get right. It shouldn’t be too hard. We know how to do what we’ve got to do and just take it one game at a time.” As for the upcoming matchup in Super Bowl LVI, Hardman was a bit conflicted. On one hand, he wants to root for the AFC conference, but on the other hand, his UGA ties make it hard to root against Rams QB Matthew Stafford. In the end, he relied on an old football adage to make his pick. “They say defense wins championships and LA definitely has a dominant defense.” https://www.yahoo.com/sports/mecole-...194025583.html Link to story with video. Last edited by Reroka; 02-10-2022 at 03:04 PM.. Reason: Link to story
Posts: 2,433

03-08-2022, 10:57 PM	#20
BigRedChief Has a particular set of skills Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: On the water Casino cash: $-771038 VARSITY	Idk why y’all be hating on me when it comes to football lol, y’all do realize I have to wait behind the best TE and WR in the game — Mecole Hardman Jr. (@MecoleHardman4) March 8, 2022 __________________ Mahomes is not a game manager. Release the Kraken.
Posts: 81,329

03-08-2022, 10:59 PM	#21
staylor26 In Search of a Life Join Date: Oct 2007 Casino cash: $-2100960	Just keep getting better Mecole. You finally proved down the stretch that you belong, just keep grinding.
Posts: 52,912	1 0

03-09-2022, 08:30 AM	#27
irafreak Veteran Join Date: Jan 2022 Casino cash: $-9399500	I'd like andy to find another Kareem hunt and use him. I think that would be more productive than a high paid #2. Takes pressure off mahomes as well.
Posts: 3,093