Throughout the first episode Landry tries to make his "Bless Him" catch phrase happengetty images
Last night's “Hard Knocks” premiere featuring the Browns shows the HBO series finally has a “fitting cast of characters” after two years of “slogging through the treachery of milquetoast, unhypeable franchises” with the Buccaneers and Texans, according to Conor Orr of SI.com. Browns WR Jarvis Landry throughout the episode is “trying to make a catch phrase happen.” Landry was seen “revealing and then painstakingly explaining his catch phrase ‘Bless Him.’” Over two separate sequences, there is a “montage of him yelling it at opportune times on the practice field.” DE Carl Nassib also “steals the show.” His player-only session on compounded interest “may be the best five minutes of television you’ll watch all year” (SI.com, 8/8). In Akron, George Thomas wrote the premiere was a "promising start," and though there were no major revelations, the "drama will certainly be ramped up" next week with the trade of WR Corey Coleman to the Bills. Coach Hue Jackson and Landry could be the "breakout" stars of this season" (OHIO.com, 8/7). THE RINGER’s Danny Heifetz named QBs Drew Stanton and Tyrod Taylor his “episode MVPs” (THERINGER.com, 8/8). NFL.com's Dan Hanzus writes the "early leader for Hard Knocks MVP" is Nassib, who is basically the "Corbin Bernsen character in 'Major League' with bigger muscles" (NFL.com, 8/8).
LANDRY MACHINE: ESPN's Trey Wingo said it "sure looks like" HBO is "going to try to make a star" out of Landry ("Golic & Wingo," ESPN Radio, 8/8). In Cleveland, Dan Labbe writes Landry, "as expected, was a star and he blew past those expectations." His speech to the wide receiver room was a "swear-filled, culture-changing type of moment." As for Jackson, "every side of who he is was on display." His sense of humor with the team was "evident," and his "authority in the coaches' meeting about players taking days off was telling" (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 8/8). ESPN.com's John Roberts notes an HBO spokesperson declared Landry's speech as a "top-five all-time" for "Hard Knocks," and it "didn't disappoint." Landry "used 22 F-bombs to get across his point that if you aren't hurt you better be out there practicing because you can't 'be great' standing on the sideline" (ESPN.com, 8/8). FS1's Skip Bayless tweeted, "I loved Jarvis Landry's 'Hard Knocks' tirade" (TWITTER.com, 8/8). FS1’s Cris Carter said it is “exciting to see that the Browns do have players and they do have leadership” (“First Things First,” FS1, 8/8).
COACH TALK: PRO FOOTBALL TALK’s Charean Williams noted the death of coach Hue Jackson’s brother and mother within two weeks of each other “plays a big part” in the premiere. Jackson at one point “shares a group hug” with GM John Dorsey, Dir of Football Operations Simon Gelan and Senior VP/Communications Peter John-Baptiste before “breaking down in tears as the three exit the room” (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 8/7). Jackson was "mostly stoic after receiving the news" of his mother's death until the trio of Browns execs "entered his office" (USA TODAY, 8/8). NBC Sport's Peter King said of Jackson's reaction, “If ‘Hard Knocks’ is guilty of one thing, it becomes more of an NFL Films production that is nice and gauzy, but the ‘real’ isn't really in there as much as it should be.” He added, “I give them a lot of credit for allowing something, even in a minor way, of a tense nature to get in the show and good for them" (“PFT,” NBCSN, 8/8).
BAKER'S FIELD: NFL.com's Hanzus writes with Mayfield, you "get the feeling he's going to come off really well in a show like this" (NFL.com, 8/8). The PLAIN DEALER's Labbe writes Mayfield "peppered the episode with a dry sense of humor." Viewers also got to see the RV being used by the Browns' QBs "get delivered" and found out that Mayfield "didn't know Bob Evans was a chain" (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 8/8).
TWITTER REAX: ESPN's Brian Windhorst: "That Hard Knocks episode was the highlight of the last 5 years of Cleveland Browns football and I’m not kidding." Cleveland.com's Dan Labbe: "Hard Knocks was so good last night that Bob Wylie making a Helen Keller joke wasn't even a Top 5 moment." Cleveland-based WKRK-FM's Daryl Ruiter: "That was one hell of a show by @NFLFilms. Wow. #HardKnocks." ESPN's Damien Woody: "Lemme say first ... condolences to Hue Jackson on the loss of his mother & brother. With that being said, Hard Knocks bout put me to sleep last night."
