Last night, HBO released the second episode this season of Hard Knocks. The first episode seemed focused on showing the world Aaron Rodgers is a good guy. This one felt like they finally got into the meat and potatoes of this season.
The episode opened with a mentalist named Oz Pearlman. Apparently, mentalists are like the Diet Coke of magicians. It’s the exact same end result as a magician, but they have a slightly different recipe, and they call it something different. Either way, Aaron Rodgers had his mind blown without the use of psychedelics, and the segment was pretty cool.
The episode then got into actual football. This week, Quinnen Williams finally got some love. The guy has been one of the funniest players in the league since before he was drafted. Last night, the world saw his unprecedented combination of talent and personality. The man was bragging to Aaron Rodgers about having ten sacks in their joint practice with the Panthers. He was shown a bunch throughout the episode, and it didn’t disappoint.
The episode then moved into some traditional Hard Knocks coverage, showing the coaches getting angry in meeting rooms. Anyone who has ever played football past the age of nine is familiar with this part of the sport. Robert Saleh gave a pretty emotional speech calling out his offensive line. He basically called them all soft, and questioned their will to win. Having been on the wrong end of some of those hurtful speeches from coaches, I feel their pain as much as I laugh at it.
The episode ended with the Jets playing their second preseason game against the Panthers. I don’t like describing preseason like real football games, but the Jets absolutely squashed the Panthers. I wish there was a little bit of drama throughout the game, but athletes tend to be a little funnier when they are winning. Things went so smoothly Zach Wilson even played a clean football game.
I think this season is extinguishing the Hard Knocks hate. For some reason, a large part of the public has seemed to shift to the opinion that Hard Knocks has jumped the shark. The novelty of it may have worn off a little since Shannon Sharpe was asking for restitution on the Ravens, but behind the scenes of an NFL team will always be fascinating. The Jets have proven that two weeks in a row.
