Hard Knocks And The Bucs
February 17th, 2017
We should know by the end of March if the Bucs will be on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” this summer.
The Bucs, once again, are eligible to be the featured team. To be ineligible, a team must have appeared once in the past decade or have a first-year head coach, or have been in the playoffs once in the past two seasons.
For the few who don’t know, Hard Knocks is an NFL reality show produced by NFL Films that takes viewers behind the scenes during a training camp.
Of course, the constipated scaredy-cats and paranoid crowd will scream “distractions!” as if Hard Knocks is some sort of plague.
Nonsense!
It would take one helluva sales job to convince Joe any “distraction” in August is going to hurt a team in December.
Joe has spoken to NFL coaches whose teams were featured on “Hard Knocks.” Joe was told after the second day, no one notices the NFL Films cameras. The second day!
Nearly half the teams featured on “Hard Knocks” made the playoffs that season. Here is the history:
2001: Baltimore (10-6) lost in divisional round.
2002: Dallas (5-11).
2004: Jacksonville (9-7).
2007: Kansas City (4-12).
2008: Dallas (9-7).
2009: Cincinnati (10-6) lost in wild card round.
2010: New York Jets (11-5) lost in AFC title game.
2012: Miami (7-9).
2013: Cincinnati (11-5) lost in wild card round.
2014: Atlanta (6-10).
2015: Houston (9-7) lost in wild card round.
2016: Los Angeles (4-12).
Given hose results, Team Glazer ought to be willing to cut HBO a check to get on “Hard Knocks.”
Anyway, Amy Parlapiano of SI.com listed her favorite teams for “Hard Knocks” this summer and at No. 2 she has the Bucs.
It is safe to say we will likely never have a Hard Knocks coach who will live up to Rex Ryan’s standout performance from a few years ago, and it is perhaps even safer to say that second-year coach Dirk Koetter will not be telling his team to “go eat a goddamn snack.” Still, last season’s Rams had Jeff Fisher at the helm, and he’s not exactly someone who brings words like “entertaining” and “hilarious” to mind, so Koetter would probably be fine. Like the Titans, the Bucs fell just short of the playoffs this year and appear to be a team on the rise. They have plenty of characters to hone in on, from their charismatic and polarizing star-in-the-making at QB to a major weapon in Mike Evans to a second-year pass rusher with his own troubled past in Noah Spence, to an under-the-radar but solid offensive guard Ali Marpet who breaks the mold in his own way. Plus—and yes, I realize what I’m about to do is make the case for a compelling storyline involving a kicker—they could devote a good amount of time to the trials and tribulations of second-round pick Roberto Aguayo, who will be seeking redemption after an awful rookie year.
Joe believes Parlapiano is overlooking a key storyline here and that is ageless Brent Grimes and his colorful, entertaining and engaging wife Miko. That’s almost a show in and of itself, if Miko were willing to participate.
Joe is almost convinced the team chosen will be the bungling Bears.
Why? The Bears have a massive audience. There’s a reason they are always on Monday Night Football. In TV, it isn’t about what’s right, it’s about eyeballs. There is nothing remotely compelling about the Bears but it doesn’t matter because their fanbase is so massive.
But Joe is still of the mind drama and personality sell, and that’s why the Bucs have a real shot at “Hard Knocks.”
Bring it on!
February 17th, 2017 at 2:45 am
N-O
February 17th, 2017 at 3:58 am
I would love to see that kind of inside access to our Bucs. Bring it on!
February 17th, 2017 at 5:54 am
She clearly knows nothing about Koetter. I’m not saying he’d be as wacky as Rex, but he can certainly be entertaining in his own right. He might not tell them to “eat a godd*mn snack,” but he might tell them to “speak softly and carry a big motherf*cking stick.”
After listening to Ali and Donovan on their radio show, they need to be on tv. Their dynamic is great. In fact, the entire o-line is full of great personalities. Also, the country needs to see the real Jameis. Few people do because he plays for such a small market team that hasn’t made much noise for a decade. They’re missing out.
I’m all in favor of them being on the show, is basically what I’m trying to say.
February 17th, 2017 at 6:05 am
By and large this team has sucked some serious azz since firing Chucky. We need to get on HBO Hard Knocks because we are a team on the rise and lore exposure would only help the Bucs.
To any player that says they don’t want to on hard knocks, I respect that, but I’d say go the playoffs and we won’t go on it. Get 10 sacks and we won’t be in hard knocks. Catch 10 TDs. Etc.
February 17th, 2017 at 6:17 am
Would love for them to be on it , what a great look we would get at the team
February 17th, 2017 at 6:21 am
If it happens it would be the first time I watch Hard Knocks lol
February 17th, 2017 at 6:40 am
Smitty & Koetter went 6- 10 on 2014 after the show.
Aguayo doesn’t need this.
Let’s not try to fix what is not broken. We are good…. no thank you!
Enjoy Chicago Bears with “The Quarterback of The Future!”
February 17th, 2017 at 6:49 am
If Glennon goes to the Bears and so does Hard Knocks, the MGM will blame Hard Knocks for his 2017 poor performance.
Quiet Glennon in the spot light…..hmmm. I don’t think Glennon would look forward to start his new contract with a team on Hard Knocks.
February 17th, 2017 at 7:04 am
I would love it. And before I even read that the Bucs would be second on her list, I am thinking what a perfect team we have for this. And I had not even considered Miko!! This would be fun.
February 17th, 2017 at 7:24 am
The Bears have been the most boring team in the league for most of my life. Watching them is like watching baseball.
Bucs on Hard Knocks? Do it. Bacardi and Cola. Do it. Do it.
February 17th, 2017 at 7:37 am
Yes! Bring On the cameras! It would be fascinating seeing what goes on “behind the scenes” at One Buc!
February 17th, 2017 at 8:11 am
Having so little nationally televised games over the past few seasons, not too many peeps have seen us play.
I don’t know if I want to subject the rest of America to those uniforms.
February 17th, 2017 at 8:27 am
Would love it!
February 17th, 2017 at 9:02 am
What the eff….Jameis hasn’t been polarizing since the draft. He’s been exemplary and I haven’t heard any negative stories…even the settlement story was brief and irrelevant. He would be one of the stars for sure…but as others have pointed out there are a lot of possibilities and there’s always Miko.
But I agree with Joe. The #3 TV market simply outranks the #13th.
February 17th, 2017 at 9:27 am
“To be ineligible, a team must have appeared once in the past decade or have a first-year head coach, or have been in the playoffs once in the past two seasons.”
…….
I am sorry but How exactly are we eligible???
February 17th, 2017 at 9:29 am
AHHHH “ineligible”
NVM…………too early for me I guess
February 17th, 2017 at 9:46 am
I’m for it since I believe this is our year for big success.
And the Bucs have proven they don’t choke in Super Bowls…
February 17th, 2017 at 9:48 am
It is Friday! 🙂
February 17th, 2017 at 12:58 pm
No thank you.
February 17th, 2017 at 1:25 pm
no thanks…
There’s a reason why NFL teams don’t wanna be in line to be on this show. J0e says it’s not a distraction. I don’t know who his sources are, but I’m sure they were selected to support his point of view. My guess is, if you polled them anonymously across the league, the overwhelming response would range somewhere between NO and HELL NO.
Can a team recover if it is a distraction? Of course… but the Bucs are in the midst of this culture shift with a young team, and I don’t think we should want anything to potentially mess with it.
Plus, the whole sports-reality TV genre is bring as foek.
February 17th, 2017 at 1:46 pm
Yeah it’s a no for me too.
February 17th, 2017 at 2:24 pm
I have to admit that it would be fun to watch the behind the scenes stuff. Tmax would have a heyday with GMC kissing babies and helping up teammates!!! LOL!
February 17th, 2017 at 3:03 pm
Not for it! we need to let our team learn and grow up together, without the NFL eye always watching.
I am in the same boat JoeyPoppems, If it happens this would be my first time wanting to watch it. I have always had better things to do.
Go Bucs!
February 17th, 2017 at 4:21 pm
Bucs would be better / more compelling TV, Bears would catch a little more attention.
February 17th, 2017 at 7:35 pm
I say YES! More Bucs, the better for me. Let’s show the country our players!
February 17th, 2017 at 9:33 pm
“the country needs to see the real Jameis”
That’s actually a positive point I hadn’t thought of. We are all so far past Winston’s “past” – because we see so much of him doing and saying all the right things for the last 2 years straight. But the Bucs have not had that much national coverage in the last 2 years and there are probably still quite a few people out there in other parts of the country who have some type of negative perception of Jameis because of all the bad press (I call it character assassination) around the false allegation against him by the #cleatchaser.
February 18th, 2017 at 11:38 am
Nooooooo, please! Bucs are on the verge of something special and this kind of attention now is just stupid. Let the world come to know the Bucs and stars like JW & Evans and support cast because of their upcoming successes, not by peeking in to the Bucs training camp like some kind of peeping toms!