The Hard Knocks Thread

[NickelCity]

14 hours ago, Alphadawg7 said:

I can’t wait to go read the original thread when this was announced and everyone was saying it was going to be embarrassing and that the main story was going to be how bad the WRs are lmao

 

I am watching it, I enjoyed it, and I wish we weren't doing it. It seems like it's all risk. Sure the fans (like me) like it but I'm not sure it helps the team....

[T&C]

I found a replay on a random site... it didn't wow me much, seemed like some of it was staged.  6 out of 10 or so...

[Brand J]

30 minutes ago, NickelCity said:

 

I am watching it, I enjoyed it, and I wish we weren't doing it. It seems like it's all risk. Sure the fans (like me) like it but I'm not sure it helps the team....

The team hasn’t won a SB, much less been to the big game, so I’m not sure what risks the show poses…? Hard Knocks hasn’t been around SJF since Josh was drafted in 2018 and the results have been mostly the same every year. Maybe it’s good to shake things up. 

[Mango]

On 8/5/2025 at 9:57 PM, balln said:

Terry can we get a comment on the Sabres !?

 

I low-key thought that comment about "micromanaging" was him trying to talk about the Sabres.

 

Terry doesn't own the stadium. Sure he could walk through whenever he wants. But he also can't really micromanage it if he wanted.

 

That was Terry trying to tell the world "I'm not the person you think I am". 

 

There's no way anybody should trust a guy who built Kevyn Adams in their own image. 

[AlCowlingsTaxiService]

On 8/5/2025 at 10:08 PM, oldmanfan said:

Pretty cool.  Not sure I’d put little kids in a drifting car like that.  Loved the stuff about Tre.

Finally got around to watching it last night … it was good, but didn’t really reveal much. Only thing that jumped out was Dion needs to invest in some properly fitted helmets for his kids 

[Sierra Foothills]

On 8/5/2025 at 6:53 PM, Buffalo03 said:

Kind of a weak first episode. But it's only one. I expect it to get better once they get further into it

 

On 8/5/2025 at 6:53 PM, Bruffalo said:

I loved it, but honestly if I was a fan of another team I'd probably find it a bit boring.

 

I liked the storylines they focused on, especially Tre (but no surprise there). Excited to see the rest of the series. 

 

On 8/5/2025 at 6:56 PM, MWK said:

I don’t know what they were so worried about. It was entertaining, but a puff piece.

 

On 8/5/2025 at 8:09 PM, Brianmoorman4jesus said:

I didn’t think I was going to like us being on it but I enjoyed it.

 

19 hours ago, Process said:

As a Bills fan, I loved it, I could have watched another 5 hours. For others, I could see it being relatively boring compared to other years hard knocks. The bills have very little drama, pretty much zero battles for starting positions, and McDermott is going to give the show the absolute minimum.

 

Yes, I would describe the first episode as puffy and fluffy... like a pregnancy pillow... of course I love all things blue and red.

 

One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet is McDermott's opening remarks before the team's first practice... extremely cringeworthy... "you have my permission to fail?"

 

I know what he was trying to say but man, some people simply can't expound. If the producers were trying to put him in a good light, he must have given them zero to work with.

 

On 8/5/2025 at 6:57 PM, thronethinker said:

So will no wind in the new stadium take away a key advantage in the playoffs?

 

Two schools of thought on the subject of wind and QBs:

 

1) The QB with the stronger arm and tighter spiral has an advantage in high winds.

2) High winds level the playing field and take the advantage away from elite passers.

 

I'm more in school 2 than 1.

 

21 hours ago, Man with No Name said:

If you haven't seen it, look up "Andre Reed and his snake" 😅

 

18 hours ago, HappyDays said:

I Googled this on my work computer and HR just set an unplanned meeting with me. Earlier I Googled Hard Knocks but made a rather embarrassing typo on the second word. Anyways my HR rep must be a fan of the show. I'll let you know how the meeting goes.

 

I Googled Andre Reed + snake and they wanted me to sign up for an OnlyFans site called Kutztown Cuts.

 

18 hours ago, DCofNC said:

That narrator, he belongs on an animal planet documentary, almost as bad as Collinsworth.  Hire Mike Rowe or really anyone with some voice inflection please.

 

18 hours ago, jkeerie said:

I disagree.  Liev Schrieber does a nice job...and actually has done narration for the History channel as well.

 

For some reason I thought Liev Schrieber was a woman. Please tell me I'm wrong.

 

8 hours ago, Sojourner said:

Wasnt it down to eligibility why they ended up on it? Couple that with Josh being the reigning MVP, last year in the Ralph and Keon Coleman showing his personality in the pre and post draft processes, it was probably the easiest choice among the teams on offer. 

 

Good point. A surprise to me was that Keon wasn't one of the featured personalities in episode one. If I was a betting man that's where my money would have been.

 

[Sierra Foothills]

23 minutes ago, AlCowlingsTaxiService said:

Finally got around to watching it last night … it was good, but didn’t really reveal much. Only thing that jumped out was Dion needs to invest in some properly fitted helmets for his kids 

 

The Dion Dawkins/drift car as a "kids activity" aspect (deep sigh)... so much to unpack there so I won't.

 

[AlCowlingsTaxiService]

32 minutes ago, Sierra Foothills said:

For some reason I thought Liev Schrieber was a woman. Please tell me I'm wrong.

You clearly have never watched “Ray Donovan”

[Einstein]

42 minutes ago, Sierra Foothills said:

 

The Dion Dawkins/drift car as a "kids activity" aspect (deep sigh)... so much to unpack there so I won't.

 

Personally I dislike all the “at home” stuff with the players. I really don’t care about their hobbies. I want to see the football.

[nedboy7]

It’s amazing how people somehow find a way to complain about this of all things.  It’s like the #1 hobby of the fanbase.  

[QCity]

26 minutes ago, nedboy7 said:

It’s amazing how people somehow find a way to complain about this of all things.  It’s like the #1 hobby of the fanbase.  

 

There's a lot of old boomers yelling at clouds in these parts. There's been a Hard Knocks thread on this forum every year for the past decade+, and every year these whackos have been foretelling of the End Of The World if the Bills were ever selected.

 

And now that we're selected and it's absolutely glorious they just. can't. capitulate. and. admit. they're. wrong.

 

And it's hysterical.

 

But yeah, damn that Liev Schreiber and his crappy voice. I'm gonna run outside and wave my fist in the street. 😂

 

Edited August 7 by QCity

[billsfan89]

33 minutes ago, nedboy7 said:

It’s amazing how people somehow find a way to complain about this of all things.  It’s like the #1 hobby of the fanbase.  

 

Outside of adult content complaining is the top use for the internet? 

[DrDawkinstein]

The first episode is always the fluffy "intro" episode. 

 

While most of the audience are football fans, that isnt the only audience HBO is targeting. For the casuals, and even the non-Bills fans, the first episode is the "origin story" episode. They had to set the stage with the 4 losses of the 90s, and how Bills Mafia is the best fanbase, and Tre White's injury comeback/rejoining the team, and Josh is the MVP who just wants to win a SB, etc.

 

So for most Bills fans it would be a boring episode. They didnt tell us anything we didnt know.

 

It should get deeper into actual camp happenings over the next couple of weeks.

[BillsFan692]

1 hour ago, Sierra Foothills said:

 

The Dion Dawkins/drift car as a "kids activity" aspect (deep sigh)... so much to unpack there so I won't.

 

Seriously cringey stuff. Like why would you put your kids in that sort of risk I don't get that really and then when they grow up as teenagers they are going to want to drift in a fancy sports car it sounds like recipes for disaster one way or another. 

Also, I just don't like to watch these guys take risks even with their own bodies lol let alone the kids.

[Dunkirk Donski]

1 hour ago, nedboy7 said:

It’s amazing how people somehow find a way to complain about this of all things.  It’s like the #1 hobby of the fanbase.  

 

Complaining about complaining.  I see what you did there.

[Sierra Foothills]

1 hour ago, AlCowlingsTaxiService said:

You clearly have never watched “Ray Donovan”

 

Is she a woman?

 

42 minutes ago, QCity said:

There's a lot of old boomers yelling at clouds in these parts. There's been a Hard Knocks thread on this forum every year for the past decade+, and every year these whackos have been foretelling of the End Of The World if the Bills were ever selected.

 

And now that we're selected and it's absolutely glorious they just. can't. capitulate. and. admit. they're. wrong.

 

And it's hysterical.

 

But yeah, damn that Liev Schreiber and his crappy voice. I'm gonna run outside and wave my fist in the street. 😂

 

While you're yelling at YOUR cloud, would you mind getting off my lawn?  🙃

 

19 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

The first episode is always the fluffy "intro" episode. While most of the audience are football fans, that isnt the only audience HBO is targeting. For the casuals, and even the non-Bills fans, the first episode is the "origin story" episode. They had to set the stage with the 4 losses of the 90s, and how Bills Mafia is the best fanbase, and Tre White's injury comeback/rejoining the team, and Josh is the MVP who just wants to win a SB, etc.

 

So for most Bills fans it would be a boring episode. They didnt tell us anything we didnt know.

 

It should get deeper into actual camp happenings over the next couple of weeks.

 

Agreed. Episode one was like a perfectly-baked, French puff pastry shell with a piping hot filling of nothing.

 

And yes, the plot line was suspiciously similar to Navajo creation myth.

 

🙃

 

[Billy Claude]

9 hours ago, NickelCity said:

 

I am watching it, I enjoyed it, and I wish we weren't doing it. It seems like it's all risk. Sure the fans (like me) like it but I'm not sure it helps the team....

 

 

Most likely this was mentioned before but the Bills didn't have a choice.  Previous to this season any team that had made the playoffs the previous two seasons were allowed to decline.  This was why the most recent seasons were mostly the leagues sad sacks and why episode one has so much less drama.

[Brand J]

Hard Knocks commentary starts at 2:25

Edited August 7 by Brand J

[The Jokeman]

I don't want to reread the rest of the thread but anyone have any thoughts on the killer folding job by Mrs. Knox? lol

[Einstein]

1 hour ago, nedboy7 said:

It’s amazing how people somehow find a way to complain about this of all things.  It’s like the #1 hobby of the fanbase.  

 

And then others come on and complain that others are complaining, making the conversation even better.