Hard knocks

Crendist the dentist

Anyone know any way to watch hard knocks this year? Could be wrong but looks like sky aren't showing it this year

The real mccoy 91

https://twitter.com/SkySportsNFL/status/1293228983069347840?s=19

Crendist the dentist

Cheers. Can't imagine the special news will be that special though

ScrubsfanChris

The real mccoy 91 wrote: »

https://twitter.com/SkySportsNFL/status/1293228983069347840?s=19

Dedicated Sky sports NFL channel, 5 year deal. Big whoop.

The real mccoy 91

Yeah a big hulabaloo for very little change bar a few more shows been broadcast here. Hard knocks starting Saturday night think it's at 10 on sky sports action but may be wrong on the time and channel

Double C

NFL films just posted the first episode on YouTube

https://youtu.be/wq5vHxY8kdU

jack presley

Anyone listen to the post-show podcast last year? I'll give it a go this year I think. Have the latest episode downloaded and will give it a listen after I get around to watching the episode.

jack presley

The real mccoy 91 wrote: »

Yeah a big hulabaloo for very little change bar a few more shows been broadcast here. Hard knocks starting Saturday night think it's at 10 on sky sports action but may be wrong on the time and channel

I heard that said on Sky Sports News today but it's not showing up in the planner yet.

Kev8360

Understandably there is a lot about the covid protocols in the first episode - I wish though they had stayed with 1 team this year as jumping between both camps you see less of the details and plots with players trying to make the team. It was weird seeing players cut without any previous details on them.

Makes me care less about who gets cut... except for the TE the chargers dropped who I thought was going to lose it with Anthony Lynn

The real mccoy 91

Can anyone point me in the direction of episode 2? Didnt seem to be on sky sports action at 10 on saturday like it was last week so struggling to find it

Crendist the dentist

The real mccoy 91 wrote: »

Can anyone point me in the direction of episode 2? Didnt seem to be on sky sports action at 10 on saturday like it was last week so struggling to find it

Could be wrong but think it aired on Friday night. I was able to watch it sky on demand anyway.

jack presley

I know the novelty of HK wore off a few years back and the excitement of being behind the scenes is gone now but this season has been particularly poor. I can’t think of any storyline I’m interested in after 3 weeks.

Justin10

jack presley wrote: »

I know the novelty of HK wore off a few years back and the excitement of being behind the scenes is gone now but this season has been particularly poor. I can’t think of any storyline I’m interested in after 3 weeks.

Hard to build a story when they've only put pads on.

bogmanfan

The Antonio Brown helmet/frostbite/general nonsense bonanza from last year was always going to be a tough one to follow! I agree with the earlier poster - often not obvious when they've jumped from the Rams to the Chargers or vice versa.

Realt Dearg Sec

They're trying to tell two stories, so they're not telling any story. Also there's no compelling characters, the two coaches are both...good guys...the image the teams are presenting is carefully managed I'd imagine, and they haven't been helped by the fact that there's a huge emphasis on covid in episode one. That was unavoidable but honestly I'm bored to tears hearing about it.

The format is played out so I admire then trying something different but it hasn't worked.

Last chance U on the other hand, now that's drama.

BKWDR

Anyone else watching the players getting covid tested and thinking , 'eh they really aren't shoving the cotton bud that far up their nose at all...'

FastFullBack

BKWDR wrote: »

Anyone else watching the players getting covid tested and thinking , 'eh they really aren't shoving the cotton bud that far up their nose at all...'

Definitely not compared to how they do it in Ireland. It ain't fun

tripperman

jack presley wrote: »

I know the novelty of HK wore off a few years back and the excitement of being behind the scenes is gone now but this season has been particularly poor. I can’t think of any storyline I’m interested in after 3 weeks.

Doesn't help with the lack of game's either, only reason I'm watching is I'm a charger fan and it's some football content leading up to the season,

paulie21

Did Sky show episode 3? Had it recorded but was boxing when I went to watch it

ArmaniJeanss

paulie21 wrote: »

Did Sky show episode 3? Had it recorded but was boxing when I went to watch it

Last Saturday 10pm I think.
At the time on Virgin Media, boxing (Dylan Whyte) was scheduled on the planner/epg, which I'm sure you'll see the irony of.
I was lucky enough to catch it because I happened to be recording the earlier darts on that station.

It does look as if they have only have rights to 1 or 2 showings of it. Because otherwise you'd have thought they'd be showing each ep a few times every day.

Realt Dearg Sec

Just watching them play in the new stadium in episode 3, and keep thinking "yeah it's good to be used to playing in empty stadiums".

But Jesus the chargers and the Rams are basically indistinguishable, if you look away for a minute or whatever you can suddenly find you're not sure which team you're watching until a helmet is clearly visible. There's nobody you are actually thinking about as being the heart of a narrative here.

Terrible format for the show.

Xavi6

Anyone watching this year's? It hasn't been very exciting imo but I'm still tuning in weekly. The drone footage in Episode 3 was the highlight so far, the Cowboys' facility is unreal.

Mr. Guappa

Yeah I'm watching but it's pretty poor fare. The players regularly come across as idiots, and nothing of note has really happened. Agreed on that facility though... it's class.

Realt Dearg Sec

I'm always going to end up watching it again each year so I probably shouldn't whine. It's a well made show, beautifully shot, and it's inherently interesting to me how NFL teams prepare and the culture of the places. But the novelty has long since worn off and the level of insight has waned, as it's always going to do. But by any measure it's been a dull enough season.

If you're focusing on big name players you kind of need them to be interesting like Chad Johnson, which Dak isn't at all. If you're going to focus on the way a team is run, like the management and the coaching etc, you definitely need a little more warts and all stuff like Rex Ryan or the likes. Jerry Jones had quite clearly stamped his authority on what they can and can't do here, that's as plain as the nose on your face.

If you're going to focus on people on the bubble of the roster, great, I love that stuff, and they had two great ones here with the lineman from Mexico and the short-sighted running back. But there just isn't enough focus on them as people this season. They interviewed the Mexican dude's family in one episode and that was fantastic, but they haven't followed up much with them at that human level, which is what makes the on-field stuff work as drama. This week's episode was completely aimless, just showing people shooting the breeze (a little of that is fine) and then a really extended and not funny bit from an amateur comedy night, and then finally they get to the game but they haven't really set up the drama.

Too much of it was just puffing up the Cowboys franchise. The thing that's gotten the most praise, the drone shot, epitomised that for me. It's technically very impressive, but it says a lot that a glorified establishing shot is the highlight of the whole show. More to the point it was a massive branding exercise, with the drone fliying through a Ford truck then toward a Ford logo before going on endlessly with how impressive the Frisco facility is, which frankly I don't care about. To me that shot was the ultimate in style over substance, which sums up the season.

But hell yes I'm going to keep watching, because it's still fun, well produced, it gets me in the mood for the season (especially with hurling ending, the difference in American pro sport culture is so massive that it's entertaining to watch for that reason alone), and it comes on here on a Wednesday night so it's not like I'm doing anything else!

Xavi6

There wasn't a single player I was rooting for or cared about come the end of the series.

But yes, I'll continue watching and won't have to wait too long for another fix - there's an in-season version coming with the Colts from November 17 and it'll run every week until the end of their campaign.