Hard Knocks

[George Cantstandya]

(02-19-2020, 05:45 PM)JWW1971 Wrote: There is a reason certain teams will probably never appear on Hard Knocks, unless a team volunteers.
These are the rules when a team can be forced to take part


A team can't be selected if it was in the playoffs either of the last two seasons, if it has a first-year head coach or if it has been on the program at any point in the last 10 years.

The 5 teams that could be made to take part in 2020 are :-

• Pittsburgh Steelers
• Detroit Lions
• Jacksonville Jaguars
• Arizona Cardinals
• Denver Broncos
  

Teams like NE who regularly appear in the playoffs won't ever appear on the show

These rules were also in place to add variety.  From Wikipedia:

The San Francisco 49ers, Atlanta Falcons, Seattle Seahawks, Houston Texans, and Washington Redskins each declined to be the show's featured team for the 2013 season, while the Cincinnati Bengals accepted, marking their second appearance on the show. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell subsequently said that he wanted more teams to be featured on the series, on "some kind of formal rotation."

Personally I think the made the playoffs in the last two seasons as an exemption is kind of bogus.  If they were really interested in having more teams featured then that rule would not be in place.  I still believe that they had to put those rules in place because most teams are not interested in having their preseason filmed for a show that puts them under the microscope and looks to find some form of drama.  Look at when Hard Knocks featured the Browns in 2018 and what a shit show that was with the thing between Hue Jackson and Todd Haley.

(02-18-2020, 10:50 AM)Sled21 Wrote: If you listen to the coaches and players, it really isn't a distraction. There are already so many cameras there, the HK cameras, many of which are hidden, are forgotten about.

Sure maybe staff members and players featured say it isn't a distraction.  They are professionals paid by the NFL and their teams. So what should they say when asked how they feel about being on Hard Knocks?  I can tell you what they won't say, "I don't want any part of it."  Because then there is all the bad press to follow.  However Hard Knocks and the NFL has a reputation so far that they have to make rules to force teams to do it.

If Hard Knocks was so hot to gain interest in NFL teams, and not an invasive distraction, then GMs and owners would be lining up to be featured to attract more fans.  Instead there are rules to force teams to be on the show because teams declined.  So maybe it is indeed an unwanted distraction that just isn't openly discussed by team owners, GMs and the players for fear of bad press.

(02-18-2020, 10:50 AM)Sled21 Wrote: Besides that, the Bengals won the Division every time they were on the show, so I'm all for that distraction.

Correlation does not equal causation.  

Again even if the Bengals wanted to volunteer it seems the NFL wants to variety.  So look for the Cardinals or Streelers to be featured this year.