NFL Host rips Aaron Rodgers' Jets as franchise braces Hard Knocks appearance - "They are complete fools"
Mike Francesa believes being on “Hard Knocks” won’t do good for the squad, especially with quarterback Aaron Rodgers building chemistry with his teammates.
The veteran sports media personality said on his eponymous podcast on the BetRivers Network:
“If you have decided to open your training camp and your development time this year to ‘Hard Knocks,’ they are complete fools. That is the worst thing they can do right now.”
The New York Jets are one of the teams that cannot refuse the Hard Knocks limelight this offseason. New York’s AFC squad was the subject of Hard Knocks’ 2010 edition.
The Chicago Bears, New Orleans Saints, and Washington Commanders have the same non-refusal status.
The show’s producers have criteria for teams that cannot refuse. Aside from not being featured over the past decade, they shouldn’t have a coaching change and haven’t made the playoffs in the last two seasons.
Last month, Jets head coach Robert Saleh addressed the possibility of appearing in the Live Schreiber-narrated program:
“I know there are several teams that would love for ‘Hard Knocks’ to be in their building. We’re just not one of them.”
However, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio pointed out that the Jets might be forced to participate in Hard Knocks this offseason.
Francesca vented out more frustration by saying:
“If the Jets are thinking about [‘Hard Knocks’] in this season, with what they are hoping to accomplish, with what they are going to deal with in terms of attention, this is already, to me, a colossal mistake by ownership, general manager, head coach, whoever had input into this.”
The former WFAN radio legend also argued that having more media mileage is the last thing they need after trading for a high-profile quarterback like Aaron Rodgers.
Francesa added:
“It is as bad of a decision as they could possibly make, and it scares me going forward that they will continue to make mistakes. Because you know what? I don’t know yet whether the Jets, or especially the coaching staff is ready for what it means to have Aaron Rodgers in the building. This would already be a step that tells me that they don’t.”
Even Jets fans agree with Francesa, thinking Hard Knocks is more of an annoyance than a benefit.
Will Aaron Rodgers participate in his first “Hard Knocks?”
Hard Knocks is HBO’s reality sports documentary program featuring an NFL team’s ups and downs through training camp. It started in 2001 with the Baltimore Ravens as the first franchise under the microscope.
HBO did not produce the show from 2003 to 2006. It returned in 2007 with the Kansas City Chiefs as the featured squad.
In 2011, no team committed due to the player lockout. Instead, they produced Hard Knocks: A Decade of NFL Training Camps.
NFL Films signed a multi-year extension with HBO to produce the show two years later. In 2020, the show featured two teams at once for the first time: the Rams and the Chargers of Los Angeles.
The Indianapolis Colts became the focus of the show’s first in-season edition in 2021. The Arizona Cardinals followed suit a year later.
Meanwhile, the Green Bay Packers haven’t been in the show throughout Aaron Rodgers’ 18-season tenure. Conversely, the Dallas Cowboys have been featured thrice, while the Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals appeared two times each.
Coincidentally, Packers president Mark Murphy said the New York Jets on the 2023 Hard Knocks “should be very entertaining.” Aside from Aaron Rodgers, Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb, and Adrian Amos transferred from Green Bay to New York.