While appearing on SiriusXMNFL radio on Friday morning, Atlanta GM Thomas Dimitroff indicated that the Falcons might be willing to be covered this year on HBO’s Hard Knocks.
“Two years ago we were approached and decided that it wasn’t right for us at that point,” Dimitroff said. “That’s not to say we wouldn’t go down that road if it was presented to us at another time. We are much closer to being in that spot where it’s not going to be as much of a distraction as it would have been another time.
“It’s such an individual thing. Hard Knocks could be right for some of the teams that are fairly entrenched. It could be right for some team that wants to kick off some more brand recognition.”
“I truly believe that an organization has to be in the right spot to jump into something like Hard Knocks,” Dimitroff said. “I think it sheds a lot of light on our league. This is a league of entertainment. There are some traditionalists that struggle with it, but they have to work against the grain a little bit and see that this is about entertainment. Hard Knocks is a good show for the fan base.”
Some Falcon fans might be worried that the show would become a distraction, but I would trust Dimitroff. He’s smart, calculated and he wouldn’t agree to anything that he believed would hurt his team. Outside of a few names that have come and gone, the Falcons have basically had the same coaching staff in place since 2008 and their core (Matt Ryan, Roddy White, Michael Turner, John Abraham and Tony Gonzalez) remains intact. This is a grounded organization that shouldn’t be rocked by a potential distraction such as Hard Knocks.
Of course, the Falcons would be the polar opposite of Rex Ryan and the Jets. Mike Smith can get as fired up as any coach in the league, but he’s always even-keeled and calm with the media. And while Roddy White can be flamboyant from time to time, I’m not sure if Ryan, Turner and Gonzalez have dropped an F-bomb in their lives.
In other words, if the Falcons are the next team filmed for Hard Knocks, don’t expect the same foul-mouthed program that the Jets produced last year. (Not that I’m complaining – Ryan and the Jets were highly entertaining.)
