HBO debuted the ninth season of “Hard Knocks” last night by going inside the Falcons’ training camp, and the opening episode drew a variety of reactions on Twitter. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel’s Omar Kelly wrote, “Love the Falcons Hard Knocks. I'm a big fan of Mike Smith, and I think adding Bryan Cox & Mike Tice will make a huge impact on that team.” The St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Dave Matter wrote, “Solid Hard Knocks premiere. @WillyMo_25's shoe closet was the episode's biggest star. Good to see @SeanWSpoon56 getting TV time next week.” FoxSports.com’s Bruce Feldman: “Hard Knocks NEVER disappoints. Knew they have to put Devonta Freeman in focus. Will be lots of rich material here.” The Boston Globe’s Ben Volin: "Awesome start to #HardKnocks. Want to give Devonta Freeman a big hug.” However, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s D. Orlando Ledbetter claimed some situations were created specifically for the cameras, including a “staged Oklahoma drill” involving several players. Ledbetter added, “The fake drumline #Falcons walk thing was some more fronting for HBO.” Meanwhile, ESPNWisconsin.com’s Jason Wilde wrote, “I'm not sure there were many ‘characters’ on #HardKnocks that were, you know, likeable. Just me?” FoxSports.com’s Jimmy Traina: “Forty-five minutes into Hard Knocks and my only thought is that 98% of the people shown tonight have been unlikable” (TWITTER.com, 8/5).
YOU GOTTA FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT: In Atlanta, Michael Cunningham writes "Hard Knocks" has "a lot of good footage of assorted fights between players." Some of these "are interspersed with footage of Smith and his assistants saying that toughness doesn’t mean fighting." However, there also is a scene in which Smith and GM Thomas Dimitroff "are clearly pleased that rookie tackle Jake Matthews 'has a thing going' with veteran defender Kroy Biermann." Matthews and Biermann "got in a fight 90 minutes into the first practice of camp." Later, viewers overhear a "conversation between Smith and Biermann during a break in that practice." Smith says to Biermann, "You had to start it on the first day, huh?" Biermann responds, "Take no (bleep), right?" (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 8/6). PRO FOOTBALL TALK's Curtis Crabtree notes rookie LB Jacques Smith "ruffled the feathers of veteran linemen Joe Hawley and Ryan Schraeder." Hawley "took offense to the way the rookie was speaking to him after a play." Schraeder followed it up "by getting in Smith’s face and shoved him multiple times." Schraeder then "started throwing punches after the rookie wouldn’t back down." Smith said, "I’m not backing down from nobody. … I guess they think me being a rookie this is new? None of this is new" (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 8/5).
A STARR IS BORN: NFL.com's Dan Hanzus notes no one "gets cut in the season premiere," and in a "twist, the hammer actually comes from the other direction this time." Falcons DT Peria Jerry decided to retire after five seasons, and HBO was able to "capture the reaction of teammates as rumors spread through temporary residences in and around Flowery Branch," where the Falcons are training (NFL.com, 8/6). Meanwhile, in Atlanta, Erica Hernandez notes the show is "known for following rookies through the ups and downs of preseason camps" and LB Tyler Starr has been "tapped as one of this season's main characters." The cameras "followed Starr for an entire day around Vermillion, S.D.," at the Univ. of South Dakota's main campus and "less than 100 miles away from where Starr was born in Little Rock, Iowa." Starr said that an HBO crew "shot footage of him training and conditioning on July 17" (AJC.com, 8/5).
