Hard Knocks and the Green Bay Packers

HBO's Hard Knocks

So here we are in mid-May and another Green Bay Packers offseason so why not do one of those “made for the offseason” posts?  After all, not much is happening in the NFL unless you care about the air pressure in footballs or the fact that extra point tries will now take place from the 15-yard line.

As we draw nearer to this year’s training camps, one of the questions on the minds of football fans is which team will appear on this year’s edition of Hard Knocks, a series that HBO has been running for years.  It chronicles the training camp of the chosen team and showcases what life is like for both veterans, rookies and guys just trying to crack a roster.  Of course, some of the juiciest footage is when a player is called into the coach’s office and told to bring his playbook, as that means he’s likely about to get cut.

It’s that very scenario that has been widely speculated as to why the Packers prefer not to be featured on the show.  Head coach Mike McCarthy has expressed that those types of conversations aren’t for the camera.  General manager Ted Thompson has dealt with that conversation as a player before and can empathize with how difficult it is to begin with, let alone with a camera in your face.  Thompson was well into his career and had been through a tough camp when he was called into the office.  The coaching staff and management praised him, to the point where Thompson thought he was about to be told he was starting, only to learn that they were letting him go in favor of a younger draftee who had been holding out and recently signed.

We won’t see the Packers on this year’s version of the show, but as Packers fans, we crave any additional coverage and insight into the team.  That thirst is no greater than during the summertime and after six long months away from the gridiron action.  A chance to see some of the younger players, hear the conversations that we’re not privy to every day and see some familiar Wisconsin scenery.

So the question is:  would you or would you not prefer to see the Packers on Hard Knocks?  I have to admit, I feel like I’m stealing the format of Green & Gold Today, hosted by Jason Wilde and friend of No Huddle Radio, Bill Johnson.  But it’s a question at least worth discussing a bit.  Chime in with your take!

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Jason Perone is an independent sports blogger writing about the Packers on AllGreenBayPackers.com

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22 thoughts on “Hard Knocks and the Green Bay Packers

  1. Hard Knocks has become very watered down in recent years, IMO. It’s kind of the same thing over and over again: Team-approved behind-the-scenes footage mixed in with the awkwardness of players getting cut or veterans dealing with a serious injury.

    If I truly felt that Hard Knocks would show me something new or meaningful that I couldn’t get elsewhere about my favorite team, I’d be all for it. Otherwise, I’m find if the Packers don’t get used.

    I guess that’s a long-winded way of saying I don’t really care 🙂

    1. Agreed! It’s distracting and you know the head coach “isn’t in the mood for drama, Jason”

  2. I have a ravenous appetite for anything Packer related so I’d be in favor of it. Hearing the coaches talking candidly about the players leading into the cuts would be the most interesting to me. Being in the room with player when he is cut doesn’t add anything for me. I’d be OK with leaving that out.

  3. As much as Fans may like the Packers to be on Hard Knocks. It is a distractions for the Players. And honestly, I dont see the Packers ever having to worry about being on the show. Because the Teams that are or have been. The Dolphins, Browns, Bengals, and even the Cowboys. Are all Teams that have had struggling season, and seem to be in a constant rebuild mode.

  4. Easy choice for me, NO.
    There is zero competitive benefit, and many competitive negatives, to having Hard Knocks in your camp, and that’s exactly why Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy would never go for it, even if HBO omitted the player cuts, etc.

    MMc,TT, and MM are concerned with what is in the best interests of the individual players, the collective team, and the franchise at large, respectively, and not much else.

  5. No to this series as it would be a distraction to the entire team and to the fans. What I would be open too is the stories behinds the scenes of say all the female wives and girlfriends of the players and how they deal with life in question and transition as their boyfriends and husbands go thru training camp trying to make the roster. Focus on the women of the players and call it.. I don’t know.. Hard Knockers? Now that I would be ok with as it would bring in more women fans to the NFL.
    Ted

    1. Perhaps we could have some shots of Jen Steger’s. Sure she’s a Jets fan, Seminoles fan, really a fan of anyone willing to take her picture for that matter. I just thought of her due to Ted’s comment.

      As for Hard Knocks I’d say have to say no.

      1. I think it’s amazing that right after your comment about Jenn Sterger and photos is a comment from “william dickson.” Outstanding!

        Ah, Brett. We miss your crazy antics.

      2. I think it’s pretty clear knowing what we now know that nobody wanted to see Jen’s hard knockers more than Mr. Brett Favre. Gotta give him credit for trying even though he failed miserably. Brett gave his all while he was in New York.
        Ted

        1. We really are on a roll with this chain of puns…

          Interestingly, she got her implants removed a couple years back. So now they’re just knockers, not hard ones. We have to leave that part to ol’ Brett!

          1. lol.. man, that’s too bad she had them removed. Her career now is over without those Hamburger Helpers. Oh well.

            In all honesty Favre really screwed her big time by trying to contact her (have sex with her). She really was a victim in this simply by being an attractive women with large breasts and Favre should have at least apologized to her which we all know he never will. Just ask Aaron Rodgers. He’ll be waiting until hell freezes over to get his.
            Ted

  6. If I was going to be cut from a team, I’d rather have the moment captured forever on video, then have it happen behind closed doors. But that’s probably just me.

  7. I as a packer fan and share holder do not wish too see that. I have grown up with the team and they are part of the family. To see good men lose hope and have there dreams crushed is not enjoyable for me. I wish the media would back off a little and for goodness sake, ask them some interesting questions! When I watch the locker room interviews I think to my self, my 5 year old asks better questions to her cereal.

  8. Did you ever see true rape? This would be the exact same things to the players who were cut or will be cut. The moments of greatest intimacy and probably discomfort to be published in public? No. Never. Football should never become Jerry Springer show!

  9. please no…no way..Green Bay isn’t an exciting town for all these people who shoot the show anyway so they will vote that idea down….if it were ever to come up….the Eagles, now there’s an interesting team..

  10. No interest whatsoever in seeing the Packers – or any other team – on Hard Knocks.

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