MIAMI -- If the Dallas Cowboys’ next game means anything extra to Greg Hardy, he wasn’t saying after the Cowboys beat the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.
He repeated the “next game” message in just about every answer he gave. Well, the next game is against the Carolina Panthers, Hardy’s former team.
“Just a nameless, faceless opponent,” Hardy said. “Next game. Got to stay focused.”
Does he have friends on the team?
“Which team?” he said.
The Panthers.
“Nameless, faceless opponents,” Hardy said, referring to the message Jason Garrett used for each opponent.
Hardy was drafted by the Panthers in the sixth round in 2010. He was named to the Pro Bowl in 2013 when he recorded 15 sacks. He had 27 sacks in his final 32 games with the Panthers, but last season he missed 15 games because of a domestic-violence arrest that led to him being placed on the commissioner’s exempt list and suspended for the first four games this season.
How does he keep the Panthers as a nameless, faceless opponent?
“Just stay in the game with my teammates,” Hardy said. “Got a great bunch of guys. And focus on the next game.”
Hardy was credited with two tackles and half a sack Sunday, and the Cowboys had three sacks of Ryan Tannehill. Hardy has 4.5 sacks in six games since returning from a suspension.
“We feel like [the pass rush] has gotten better since training camp,” Hardy said. “Every day we get better and we work on that next game. It sounds simple. It sounds redundant. It sounds like I’m joking, but it’s really not. It’s a process. Do your history. Go back and look. That’s how I’ve always done it from before. Just the next game.”
