A Hard Knocks History

The New York Jets will be the next team to appear on Hard Knocks. Apparently, they were forced to do it. That’s no surprise as few teams ever want the intrusion. No teams wanted it this year. If the NFL was going to force a team to do the show, I wish that they’d gone another route. I love the show but I can’t stomach the thought of seeing or listening to Aaron Rodgers for even a moment. I wish that he’d scamper off to a dark space and retire. Anyway, we get Rodgers and the Jets weekly this summer. Thinking about that unfortunate situation got me thinking about the past seasons of Hard Knocks. It got me thinking about the teams that have done the show and those that have dodged it. 

 

A Hard Knocks History

2001: Baltimore Ravens

2002: Dallas Cowboys

2007: Kansas City Chiefs

2008: Dallas Cowboys

2009: Cincinnati Bengals

2010: New York Jets

2011: No show due to the lockout. 

2012: Miami Dolphins

2013: Cincinnati Bengals

In October of 2013, the league came up with a formula to get around a situation in which no team wanted to do the show. Expanding and putting eyes on “the shield” is far more important than a team getting ready for the season. Three factors would exempt teams: 

1. Having a new head coach.

2. Making the playoffs in either of the last two seasons.

3. Submitting to the show in the last ten years.

Until this year, a team always agreed to do the show.

Back to the list:

2014: Atlanta Falcons

2015: Houston Texans

2016: Los Angeles Rams

2017: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

2018: Cleveland Browns

2019: Oakland Raiders

2020: Los Angeles Rams & Los Angeles Chargers

2021: Dallas Cowboys

2022: Detroit Lions

2023: New York Jets

The last two seasons there have also been in-season editions of Hard Knocks:

2021: Indianapolis Colts

2022: Arizona Cardinals

That’s 18 years of Hard Knocks. 18 intrusions into a team’s preparation for the season. Two more intrusions while a team is playing the season.

Team Appearances:

3: Dallas Cowboys

2: Cincinnati Bengals

2: New York Jets

2: Los Angeles Rams

1: Baltimore Ravens

1: Kansas City Chiefs

1: Miami Dolphins

1: Atlanta Falcons

1: Houston Texans

1: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

1: Cleveland Browns

1: Oakland Raiders

1: Los Angeles Chargers

1: Detroit Lions

1: Indianapolis Colts (in-season)

1: Arizona Cardinals (in-season)

14 teams have done Hard Knocks. Throw in the two that did the in-season version and half of the teams in the league have cooperated with NFL Films and HBO. 

I’ve enjoyed every season of the show. While I’d personally love to get an inside look at training camp of the Minnesota Vikings I never want to see the team on Hard Knocks. I know that the NFL Films crews are great at what they do but I simply don’t want the intrusion into their preparations for a season.