On April 24th, approximately one month after Greg Hardy had signed with the Dallas Cowboys, the trolls came a calling. They crawled out of every woodpile and out from under every rock around. Yep, mainly talking about you, Eagles lovers.
Greg Hardy appeared in headlines as bad as his reputation saying that he caused locker room brawls and altercations in practice. But the truth was that Hardy had actually just verbally challenged Davon Coleman to start putting some damn effort into his drills. This probably wasn’t a bad thing, in fact, it just may have been the spark Coleman needed to light his fire.
Coleman went undrafted in 2014, not because of a lack of talent, but because he lacked the desire and work ethic. Coleman signed with the Cowboys on May 13th, 2014 as an undrafted rookie, and showed enough promise in training camp to eventually suit up against the 49ers in week one, becoming the first rookie to start at defensive tackle for the Cowboys since Guy Reese in 1962.
Coleman’s up and down play, accompanied by a strained calf, led to his eventual release on November 22. He would later rejoin the Cowboys and finished out the year on the practice squad.
Coleman started 2015 the same way that he ended 2014–the happy go lucky guy that would showcase his talent here and there, but still wouldn’t put forth full effort on each and every play. But, then the altercation with Hardy happened, and it may have flipped a switch.
In no way do I claim to be an NFL scout or talent evaluator, but Coleman has just looked different. Does it still appear that Coleman has been lackadaisical on some plays? Yes. But, does it appear to happen as often? No.
Hardy plays and practices with passion. It kind of makes you wonder if he has taken on the role of big brother to Coleman.
We don’t see what goes on beyond the doors of the Cowboys locker room, or what happens during team meetings, but it’s kind of hard to believe that one altercation lit a fire under Coleman. So, could it be something else? If it is, it didn’t work last year.
Is Coleman fighting for a spot on the 53 man roster? Yes. Will he continue to show the coaching staff that he belongs? Possibly, but that is all on him. Whether or not Hardy took Coleman under his wing may never be known. But so far in 2015, since the altercation with Hardy occurred, Coleman has become a more consistent player. So it just makes one wonder, has Greg Hardy taken Davon Coleman under his wing?
What do you think? Has the arrival of Greg Hardy lit Coleman’s fire?
