NFL will make Hard Knocks announcement during Thursday Night Football
The NFL will make an announcement about the popular HBO show Hard Knocks during halftime of Thursday’s game between the New York Giants and Washington Football Team, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. A video put out on the NFL Films social media pages confirmed the report and gave hints about what the news might include.
Among other things, the video promises the next location and time of the next Hard Knocks series, which has covered a different NFL training camp starting in 2001. The show has followed NFL stars and the best stories on the 75-man roster as the team looks to cut players before the start of the regular season.
NFL’s Hard Knocks has featured 13 different teams over the years and the Dallas Cowboys lead all teams with three different appearances. Other teams to make multiple appearances include the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams.
Criticism on the current format
With speculation about the news running rampant, many have debated whether this could be the end of Hard Knocks, at least in its current format. NBC Sports gave a scathing review of what the NFL show has become on Tuesday.
“It had its time. Its time is over,” the review wrote. “The most compelling scenes — players learning that they’re being cut — are now omitted, because we never should have had a front-row seat for such sensitive exchanges.
“There’s simply no reason to do it. It’s not interesting, it’s definitely not must-see TV. It’s become forgettable and irrelevant, and the league’s broader interests would be better served if it simply went away.”
Speculation about the news
Based on the wording of the video, and emphasis placed on the word “when,” some change to the current format is expected, rather than the end altogether. NBC Sports speculates that the announcement from the NFL could involve a new in-season version of Hard Knocks, similar to the former Amazon series All or Nothing.
With the recent changes in the preseason schedule, which moved from four games to three games could be among the many reasons to move the program out of the current slot.
Another key factor that could lead to the shift is the timeline on cuts. Formerly, teams would gradually cut down the roster over the course of several weeks, making for a de facto segment on the program each episode. Now, the NFL allows teams to move straight from 75 to 53 on one day heading into the regular season.