The Bears didn’t want to do Hard Knocks. And it showed.
The first episode of the latest season of preseason Hard Knocks was basically worthless. And that probably made the Bears very happy.
Maybe it was boring because most of offseason Hard Knocks with the Giants was so compelling. It was good for us, not ideal for the Giants; the show revealed way too much about the inner workings of an NFL front office during its most critical aspects of the non-playing season.
With Bears chairman George McCaskey consistently taking the position that he has no interest in having the Bears participate in Hard Knocks, seeing the reaction to New York’s turn on the newly-hatched offseason Hard Knocks surely made him insist on even greater care to be exercised in the selection of snippets for the first installment. And it likely will continue, through the final one.
In all, only two things stood out for me personally.
First, the final moments (if you make it that long) confirm the suspicion that the NFL knew the Hall of Fame game was over and done the moment they cleared the field due to weather, but they delayed the formal announcement because ESPN/ABC (especially ABC) needed to fill time until the top of the 11:00 hour.
“It’s ten-fifty,” line judge Jeff Seeman tells Bears coach Matt Eberflus. “They just wanted to give ESPN some more time or whatever, but . . . it’s gonna wrap up.”
Second, my fellow West Virginian Tyson Bagent needs to do some more research about who he shares a birthday with (June 8), beyond Kayne West.
The whole shared-birthday thing sparked the best (and really only) laugh of the episode. Bagent asks quarterback Brett Rypien if he shares a birthday with anyone.
“O.J. Simpson and Tom Hanks,” Rypien says.
Replies Bagent: “I would say it in that order, too.”
I’ll probably keep watching Hard Knocks in the usual order the episodes are released. But I’m not expecting much. And if I don’t get much, George McCaskey will be very happy.