The Texans "cooperated with HBO's and NFL Films' understandable desire for a little final-week drama by keeping most of the show's leading characters for the final preseason game Thursday night against the Cowboys and next Tuesday night's 'Hard Knocks' finale," according to David Barron of the HOUSTON CHRONICLE. Texans CB Charles James II, WR Uzoma Nwachukwu and LB Kourtnei Brown all "played prominent roles" in Episode 4 last night. The "quiet degree of desperation and uncertainty for players on the edge set the general tone of the episode, which was notably less bombastic than the previous three." From the comedy side, highlights included DT Vince Wilfork "wearing the world's largest pair of overall shorts with boots and a black cowboy hat," and LB Brian Cushing's "inability to spell the word 'opportunity.'" In keeping with past "Hard Knocks" seasons, player cuts "played a major role, accompanied by a nice bit of script writing." An emotional moment came when coach Bill O'Brien told OT David Quessenberry, who is in remission from cancer, that he would be "placed on the non-football injured list and would not play" in '15 (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 9/2). In New Orleans, Christopher Dabe noted the Saints "steered clear of the 'Hard Knocks' microphones" despite a "full 15 minutes" of the hour-long show focusing on their preseason game against the Texans on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Dabe: "We never heard anything from the Saints. Just the way they preferred it." The Saints "notably canceled a pair of joint practices scheduled with the Texans soon after HBO picked the team for the 'Hard Knocks' series in May" (NOLA.com, 9/1).
SMILE FOR THE CAMERAS: With just a week of filming remaining, O'Brien said that this has been a "decent experience." But O'Brien added he is "looking forward to Sept. 8, when they're not here anymore." In Houston, Jerome Solomon noted O'Brien -- "kicking and screaming" -- has become the "star of the program." Meanwhile, Texans Owner Bob McNair is "pleased" with his team's exposure. O'Brien said that knowing cameras are in the room as he informs more than a dozen players that they have been cut "doesn't affect the message or its delivery." O'Brien: "It's not the easiest thing when you have a robo-cam in your office and they're filming that conversation. I don't think it makes you any more careful about what you say ... but it adds an element to the discussion. That's for sure." He added of frequently being shown cursing on the program, "There's nothing wrong with my language. It's how you're portrayed. I mean, they make you look like you swear a lot, but really, in reality, I don't really swear that much" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 9/1). ESPN’s Skip Bayless said the whole Texans team has been "playing to the camera because they are loving the attention and publicity." Bayless: "I know Joe Buck said on the Fox telecast the other day, ‘Bill O’Brien’s becoming a rock star on ‘Hard Knocks.’ Well he is. I hope he can live up to being a rock star when the real games start. … I guess he was really stifled under Belichick" (“First Take,” ESPN2, 9/2).
BIGGER IN TEXAS: SI.com's Richard Deitsch noted Episode 3 of "Hard Knocks" last week drew 888,000 viewers. Through three episodes, the show is up 28% compared to the Falcons-focused episodes "from a year ago" (SI.com, 8/31).
