Give Me A Job: NFL Edition

A lot was lost during the NFL lockout in the summer of 2011, namely weeks of training camp and free agency, fan support for players and owners, and even a deferred release of the new Madden video game. But perhaps the most grueling loss was the brief cancellation of the television show Hard Knocks. The HBO series chronicles the 4-5 weeks of training camp for one NFL team before the upcoming season begins. Although I don’t watch much reality television, I've very much enjoyed the series about the behind-the-scenes workings of NFL training camp. Because last season’s training camp was so rushed, the executives in charge of the show felt they should take a year off and start anew in 2012. Thankfully, the show is back this season with the Miami Dolphins as the centerpiece team.

A key facet of the show is the process by which players are cut/released. Each week, coaches cut several signed/un-signed players, and whoever is left at the end of the preseason makes the team (or at least the practice squad).  Hard Knocks highlighted that reality very quickly this season in the first episode, showing guard Derek Dennis being cut before he even got to put his pads on. The producers do a very good job at profiling as many of these players as possible so viewers can get attached to their motivations and backstories. However, they don’t exclusively emphasize rookies and players hoping to make the team. A few highlights of the first episode include the quarterback battle between Matt Moore, David Garrard, and Ryan Tannehill, the coaching style of first-time head coach Joe Philbin, and the struggles of high school basketball player turned tight end Les Brown.

But probably the most intriguing and entertaining character of the first episode was oft-quoted NFL pariah Chad “don’t call me Ochocinco anymore” Johnson. In the span of one episode, Johnson cursed out the media at a press conference, played FIFA with Reggie Bush, barged in on a coaches-only meeting, and explained how he met his wife on Twitter. Unfortunately for us, Chad was cut by the Dolphins yesterday after being arrested for alleged domestic violence against his wife, Evelyn Lozada. Stay tuned to see how Hard Knocks documents his release in upcoming episodes.

Like the popular documentary series 30 for 30, Hard Knocks does a fantastic job of dramatizing the true stories in sports. I highly recommend this show to any sports fan, regardless if the NFL is your favorite sport. Luckily for us, with four weeks still to go, the show has only just begun.