HBO's "Hard Knocks" had its season premiere last night, and while viewers "got to see cool practice footage" of the Buccaneers, it was the "stuff away from the field that was the best," according to Tom Jones of the TAMPA BAY TIMES. The "star" was Bucs QB Jameis Winston and it "only took moments into the first episode to realize that Winston was going to be a focal point." A visit to the Tampa mansion of DT Gerald McCoy "provided the most touching moments" of the opener. The "charisma" of both Winston and McCoy "oozed through the screen" in the premiere. The show is "off a great start, but the next four weeks should get even better" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 8/9). BLEACHER REPORT's Scott Polacek wrote the show "drew viewers in with Winston's humor and held it" with McCoy "singing to his young children and discussing how important family is to him" (BLEACHERREPORT.com, 8/8).
BETTER NOT BE CAMERA SHY: McCoy said of having cameras around training camp, "You get used to it after really a couple days. They shot a couple things of me before training camp and then they got a couple of shots in the offseason, but when they were really, really around the first couple days at camp, it was a little different because we had cameras in the meeting rooms and microphones around, people following us around everywhere we went and the locker room and then going to get stretched, to get taped and there’s just cameras everywhere. Now you just kind of walk around, just keep on moving and you get used to it” ("PFT," NBCSN, 8/9).
MORE REVIEWS: In Orlando, George Diaz writes the first episode was "like soft-serve ice cream: Nice, and smooth." It "went down easy, with only a few dribbles on the chin." Diaz: "I’d call it a harmless docu-drama, light on true substance, but easy on the eyes" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 8/9). ESPN.com's Jenna Laine notes the show is "largely centered" around Winston, who visits his hometown of Bessemer, Ala., and "shows his grandmother’s house and the bed he slept in." "Hard Knocks" Director Matt Dissinger said that Winston has been the "most compelling character on the Bucs." Dissinger: "The Buccaneers are anxious to have the nation get to know who he is. And we’re more than happy to put that on display" (ESPN.com, 8/9). PRO FOOTBALL TALK's Charean Williams wrote Bucs LB Riley Bullough "looks like the undrafted rookie featured this season." Bucs coach Dirk Koetter "even brought up Bullough’s name in the team meeting for being a good leader." The best "may be yet to come," as the show "teased" Bucs CB Brent Grimes and his wife, Miko, for next week (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 8/8).
