Jets selected for ‘Hard Knocks’ against their wishes
By trading for Aaron Rodgers, the Jets acquired an unwanted appearance on “Hard Knocks” in the deal.
The Jets have been selected to be featured on the annual NFL Films and HBO documentary series, which takes its audience behind the scenes of one team during training camp, The Post confirmed.
No official announcement has been made, but ESPN first reported the news.
The appearance comes against head coach Robert Saleh’s wishes, who publicly urged “Hard Knocks” to look elsewhere.
The concerns that most NFL teams share are that all-access filming will be too revealing and will cause too many distractions.
But is that the case?
“Within a couple days, you almost forget that they are there, which is really something I never thought I’d say,” Mike Tannenbaum, who was the Jets general manager when they were last spotlighted by “Hard Knocks” in 2010, told The Post.
Tannenbaum said the Jets turned down a request to be featured in 2009 but reconsidered in 2010, after he received positive reviews from then-Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome about noticing a spike in competitiveness when his team was on the show years earlier.
“Players know they are being filmed and it’s a very popular show,” said Tannenbaum, an ESPN analyst and founder of the football website The 33rd Team. “Because of it, you get better practices out of it.”
No teams volunteered for “Hard Knocks,” as the Lions did last year, and the Jets were one of four the NFL could force into participating. Cameras will roll when camp opens July 19.
“Whoever said it is a distraction, it’s nonsense,” said ESPN analyst Damien Woody, an offensive lineman on the 2010 Jets. “ ‘We’re on ‘Hard Knocks’ being broadcast to the national public, I want to project myself in the best light,’ is how myself and a lot of other players thought about it.”
“Hard Knocks” traditionally begins airing in August and has filled the 10 p.m. Tuesday time slot annually since 2012.
Though Saleh said last month, “I know there’s several teams that would love for ‘Hard Knocks’ to be in their building, but we’re just not one of them,” the hard truth is few teams could offer such juicy subplots as the Jets.
Rodgers is an open-book personality with an axe to grind against the Packers. Reigning offensive and defensive rookies of the year Garrett Wilson and Sauce Gardner, respectively, offer young star power. General manager Joe Douglas and Saleh face the pressure to win now to avoid the hot seat.
Defensive tackle Quinnen Williams is unhappy about his contract, a parallel to Darrelle Revis’ holdout, which brought drama to the 2010 episodes.
“They have an all-time great quarterback in the biggest market,” Tannenbaum said. “I don’t think anyone can be surprised.”
Eleven of the previous 18 teams to appear on “Hard Knocks” missed the playoffs that season. The Jets were one of the few teams that had success, reaching the 2010 AFC Championship game.
“The Jets have their ‘One Jets Drive’ [web series] that’s basically an in-house version of ‘Hard Knocks,’ so this shouldn’t be a big deal,” Woody said. “I’m a big believer in, ‘You make your own luck.’ If you are a good team, you make it happen.”
Team officials reportedly are allowed to preview episodes before they air and to appeal for the removal of scenes on certain grounds. It will be interesting to judge whether the Jets fully open their doors to cameras or if filming looks more limited because of forced participation.
“The Jets have a lot of really cool personalities on their team,” Woody said. “There’s so many benefits that come out of it. Casual fans tune in and you have an opportunity to tell your story. I look at it as a win-win. If you are scared to embrace that, I just think you are not a competitor.”
Tannenbaum’s advice to Douglas and Saleh is to “conduct business as usual.” He was initially concerned about filming private interactions, such as releasing players.
“Not only is the audience the country, it’s also subsequent seasons,” Tannenbaum said. “They have to handle that part extremely elegantly — and NFL Films is unbelievably professional. I never felt any compunction or strangeness from it. Those are really difficult conversations and to see them on national TV is unusual, to say the least, but they did a great job with that.”
