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Hard Knocks Candidates Announced: Bills & Raiders Hottest Names?

By George Stockburger

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With the end of the NFL season, many exciting series of events begin to occur. One of those in the NFL’s media department is the selection for the preseason documentary “Hard Knocks” which follows an NFL team as they prepare for the regular season. If no team requests to be featured on Hard Knocks, the NFL brings down the hammer on one franchise and sends in the camera crews.

Now that we know which teams won’t be going to the playoffs, we can narrow down the franchises eligible to be selected for Hard Knocks. Here are the requirements for a team to be eligible for the show.

  • If that team doesn’t have a new head coach,
  • Hasn’t been to the playoffs in the last two years
  • Hasn’t been on Hard Knocks in the last 10 years.

Those rules would leave the Bills, Bears, Jaguars, Buccaneers, Raiders, Chargers, Rams and Saints as the eight teams eligible. The Saints may still get out of being on the show if Head Coach Sean Payton is traded.

Here are the teams the NFL Mocks crew believe should be featured:

Sayre Bedinger: I would love to see the Jaguars. That is one of the top up-and-coming offensive units in the league with money to spend defensively. They could be on the upswing here any moment, and getting to see Blake Bortles, Allen Robinson/Hurns, Julius Thomas, and whoever else they bring in as they sort of come along in the NFL would be really interesting to me.

Rodney Stokes: I’d like to see the Bucs with Winston in his second year.

Feb 20, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Florida State Seminoles quarterback Jameis Winston does a radio interview during the 2015 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 20, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Florida State Seminoles quarterback Jameis Winston does a radio interview during the 2015 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /

Eric Robinson: Let’s see: Outgoing coach? Check. Productive running back with a chip on his shoulder? Check. Dual threat QB who’s coming into his own? Check. Reckless fan base? Check. Give me the Buffalo Bills. Let’s face it. The league loves when Rex speaks his mind. Hard Knocks would be a gold mine for hot takes with Buffalo.

Shawn Spencer: Rex Ryan, Richie Incognito and IK Enemkpali make the Bills by far the most entertaining option.

David Holmes: My top three would be 1. Jaguars 2. Buccaneers 3. Raiders

Brady Lunt: Hard Knocks seems to have a love for all things Rex Ryan, while Ryan seems to enjoy all things Hard Knocks. With some of the headlines coming out of Buffalo this season, including those mentioned by both Shawn and Eric, it’s hard to imagine they’d go anywhere else. 

Personally, there are a couple of teams that immediately stand out. First one is obviously the Bills. Rex Ryan was a hit when the show went to New York a couple of years ago and he loves the camera. Throw in personalities like LeSean McCoy and you’re golden. Not to mention the possibility of a quarterback competition in Buffalo. They would have to be the first choice.

Second is the Oakland Raiders. They have a young team with a ton of up and coming stars such as Derek Carr and Amari Cooper. Not to mention the possibility they move to Los Angeles.

Finally, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would be a strong contender. Showing off Jameis Winston’s development and guys like Mike Evans and Gerald McCoy would be very intriguing for NFL fans.

So at this point it will be a wait and see game. The league and it’s TV partner for the show HBO will announce their decision in the coming months and one team will get to be featured throughout the entire preseason.

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