Adam Schefter has inside information that the New York Jets have no desire to give NFL Films and HBO inside access for Hard Knocks.
For the first time in the history of Hard Knocks, the NFL is forcing a team to do the show, that team is the Jets. Schefter was on ESPN’s Get Up this week talking about the Jets portrayed hesitancy about doing Hard Knocks and the NFL insider didn’t do much to dispel the notion.
“Hard Knocks will not be the same because they’re not going to be given the same access,” Schefter told Mike Greenberg and the rest of Get Up’s crew. “The Jets don’t believe it’s humane to show players being released, so it would surprise me if we see them this summer.
“This is a partnership, this is a relationship, and the Jets are not interested in being partners with NFL Films no matter what they say. They’re going to go in there because it is, as Aaron Rodgers says, ‘being forced down their throats.’ But the Jets are not going to provide the level of cooperation that the Lions provided last year or that other teams have provided in other years.”
Quite the teaser! After much hype surrounding the Jets involvement in the docuseries, HBO and the NFL probably didn’t appreciate Schefter basically warning the audience that they shouldn’t expect too much from the latest season of Hard Knocks. I would be willing to guarantee Schefter’s assessment of the Jets willingness to embrace the extra cameras would have sounded very different if Hard Knocks was an ESPN entity.
The Jets have made it abundantly clear that they did not want to be featured on Hard Knocks, preferring if NFL Films and HBO sent their cameras to another team’s training camp. But one of the reasons they’re being forced into Hard Knocks is the addition of Aaron Rodgers, the polarizing quarterback who rarely shies away from a microphone. With the addition of Rodgers, and without meeting the criteria for any of the offered opt-outs, the Jets were the obvious choice for Hard Knocks, despite their hesitance.
Even knowing the Jets will be reluctant to give HBO and NFL Films much more than the minimum amount of access at training camp, the general intrigue surrounding Rodgers and the Jets should make this one of the highest rated seasons of Hard Knocks ever. Hopefully this year’s Jets can find a way to embrace it just as Rex Ryan’s Jets did when they were featured in 2010.
[Get Up]
