Bengals on Hard Knocks Again!!!

[Jason]

I really don't get the hesitancy over this.

 

1. Hard Knocks only films during training camp and the preseason.  And they only film what the coaches already had planned.  They don't tell coaches, hey, why don't you do such and such, it will make for great TV.  And, of figure between 40 and 60 hours a week of actual football time, and another 60 or so hours of down time activities, about 45 minutes actually makes it on camera.  And I am sure the coaches have some say over what does and does not make it.

 

2. We all know the Bengals do not "game plan" in the preseason.  They do things they want to work on.

 

3. (Related to 1.) The games that matter are during the regular season, where there aren't HBO cameras filming them 24/7.

 

So, if being on Hard Knocks gives an opponent a competitive advantage, then your coaching staff is full of idiots and needs to be fired.

 

Unless you believe in jinxes (and enough participants have made the playoffs that I don't think that is the case), there is no downside to this from a fans perspective.

[Bengals1181]

Mo Egger ‏@MoEgger15302m

The guy who will produce "Hard Knocks" joins me next on ESPN1530. Listen: http://www.iheart.com/live/1697/ 

[Bengals1181]

I really don't get the hesitancy over this.

 

1. Hard Knocks only films during training camp and the preseason.  And they only film what the coaches already had planned.  They don't tell coaches, hey, why don't you do such and such, it will make for great TV.  And, of figure between 40 and 60 hours a week of actual football time, and another 60 or so hours of down time activities, about 45 minutes actually makes it on camera.  And I am sure the coaches have some say over what does and does not make it.

 

2. We all know the Bengals do not "game plan" in the preseason.  They do things they want to work on.

 

3. (Related to 1.) The games that matter are during the regular season, where there aren't HBO cameras filming them 24/7.

 

So, if being on Hard Knocks gives an opponent a competitive advantage, then your coaching staff is full of idiots and needs to be fired.

 

Unless you believe in jinxes (and enough participants have made the playoffs that I don't think that is the case), there is no downside to this from a fans perspective.

 

 

I think the contributing factor with the Dolphins incident was not only that the cameras were there, but more importantly that the team also had a rookie head coach and rookie offensive coordinator.  IMO it was a bad move on Dolphins management to put an inexperienced coaching staff in that situation.

[Oldcat]

What did he say again?

 

It was how you can present how you care about the team in a positive way and not get a reputation as a negative person.  And if you do that, you can stick for years and make a lot of money.  It is also where Zim says that he has the same problem himself...presenting himself badly from time to time.

[JBandJoeyV]

 
It was how you can present how you care about the team in a positive way and not get a reputation as a negative person.  And if you do that, you can stick for years and make a lot of money.  It is also where Zim says that he has the same problem himself...presenting himself badly from time to time.

Yeah that sounds familiar now.

[T-Dub]

Would a camera crew following you around be more likely to help or hinder your focus at work?

Again, we swept the division the last time we were on Hard Knocks. Training camp is a grind, maybe a little distraction is a Good Thing?

Or to answer your question with another; would a film crew shooting a documentary about your business make people slack off, or do you think they might work a little harder & try and look good? Besides which, they're NFL athletes. Cameras everywhere comes with the job, right? Be a fuckin' pro.

[Bengals1181]

Would a camera crew following you around be more likely to help or hinder your focus at work?

 

 

help, lol.

 

 

 

I'm willing to bet any distraction it is (mainly after practice when they do interviews instead of having downtime), is also offset by the increase in competition from guys who don't want to look bad on national TV and also want to show they can hang with their teammates.

[Jeb]

I say, ...lets get the players accustomed to cameras, ...maybe they'll win the Monday night game because of it, ...for once.

[JBandJoeyV]

 

 

help, lol.

 

 

 

I'm willing to bet any distraction it is (mainly after practice when they do interviews instead of having downtime), is also offset by the increase in competition from guys who don't want to look bad on national TV and also want to show they can hang with their teammates.

 

Yeah, I completely disagree with him on that. I think if there was a documentary being filmed of my work place id be a lot more productive in order for my current bosses to think higher of me, the people watching the show to think higher of me, and also other employers in case i want to look at other outside opportunities.

[|Bengal Migration|]

http://youtu.be/knXuiqdvZ4E

I LOVE that clip! Thanks BB!

[Tigris]

I say, ...lets get the players accustomed to cameras, ...maybe they'll win the Monday night game because of it, ...for once.

Beat the Broncos one time.

[Jeb]

Beat the Broncos one time.

 

I think cameras are a good idea this season, ...and help the rookies prepare for the playoffs.

 

Maybe we can win one (or more) of those games too.

[Bengals1181]

Brian Billick on Hard Knocks

Former Ravens head coach Brian Billick, who was part of the first Hard Knocks series in 2001, gave his views on NFL Network last night on whether it is good or bad for a team. 
Said Billick: “Depends on the team and what do you want to accomplish. I will tell you this, it does energize your camp. There are a lot of coaches obviously who will say we don’t need the kind of distraction that that provides. But they do a pretty good job. After you get past the first day or so, you’re not even aware that they’re there. 
"I will tell you, it does energize practice. But you do have to have a veteran team; you have to have a team that understands why you’re trying to do it that can kind of put it at arm’s length. Cincinnati having been through this before, certainly that’s going to be an advantage for them.”

 

 

http://sulia.com/channel/cincinnati-bengals/f/05a54302-3a33-4303-9ee5-ed2c84b36f78/?source=twitter&repost=360

[JBandJoeyV]

What the fuck does billick know??? There is no way this could possibly have any benefits. None. Zilch. Nada.

:ninja:

[Bengals1181]

HBO taps C-Span

Mike Zimmer is starting to think he's got a future in the cut-throat world of cable TV.

Zimmer, the defensive coordinator who has an HBO vocabulary to go along with a Best of NFL Films résumé, is making his third appearance on the Emmy Award-winning Hard Knocks as the Bengals appear for their second time later this summer when training camp begins at Paul Brown Stadium.

"I'm looking for my screen actors' guild card," Zimmer says. "Sometimes these shows only last a year. I'm on my third season, so something must be going on here."

What's going on is that Hard Knocks remains a tough sell for teams because of the ever-intrusive eye of any documentary. Plus, since the Bengals remain one of the more remarkably accessible teams in the NFL's Iron Curtain era that began about the time of the huge success enjoyed by Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick with the Giants of the late '80s, they are always on what is a short, short list.

"It's not necessarily something you want to do, but it's part of it," says left tackle Andrew Whitworth. "I remember the last time I was impressed with how they do such a great job of disappearing, getting out of the way and being in the corner and hidden and you forget that they're there."

Whitworth is one of only a dozen Bengals that were around the first time HBO knocked four years ago and is one of the reasons why it shouldn't be such a hard assignment. The veterans of the 2009 film, such as Whitworth and cornerback Leon Hall, are mainstays of a team that has since secured three playoff berths in the last four seasons with a roster that has kept growing in character and maturity.

"Generally speaking we're a young team, but we're still mature," Hall says. "A lot of guys in their first or second years are mature beyond their years and should be able to handle it. Guys will try to blend in and keep doing what we've been doing and not play to the camera. We don't have any guys like that, if any.

"That's just kind of our personality as a team. Chad (Johnson) was pretty funny on that show. I don't think we have any Chad Johnsons on the team as far as personalities are concerned."

The Chad Johnsons are long gone. They stopped being the Reality Show Bengals once they remade their team during and after the 2011 lockout and suddenly became the C-Span Bengals. The T.O. and Ocho show has been replaced by Playbook Journal.

"I don’t think anybody on this team is real worried about it," Whitworth says. "That team handled it well and this team doesn’t have anybody that worried about the camera at all, even though we might have had a couple then. I don't think many guys are affected by it. I think our ultimate goal is way more important than being on camera and I think that's what guys are focused on."

Whitworth, the Bengals rep to the NFL Players Association, doesn't see his team's promising season getting blasted right out of the gate in a series of nuclear sound bites overheard and overplayed.

"Sometimes with shows like that they can spin things and put things in perspective maybe a little differently than you want," Whitworth says. "So you just have to make sure you get out the message you want people to know about your team. We live in a smaller market, so I don't think we worry about things as much as the big markets do.

"Maybe some of your bigger market teams, it can have a worse effect on because they're kind of used to those things and they're used to being on TV and they're making sure they worry about their image. But in Cincinnati it's very rare that we have a marketing deal or those kinds of things. I don't think we're all that concerned being on TV and being on camera and all that good stuff."

Despite the fear of the clubs, HBO plays ball with the NFL thanks to the enduring and indomitable personality of the late Steve Sabol. There is an exhaustive attempt for realism but not embarrassment and, at least in '09, they gave the Bengals the right to make cuts.

Zimmer found that out in his first appearance with the Cowboys and, like a good coordinator, adjusted in '09.

"The people on Hard Knocks are very professional people. Very outstanding, to be honest with you," Zimmer says. "The only thing I adjusted is I knew when to turn the (camera) off."

There were times in '09, Zimmer says, when he walked into a meeting and the crew asked if they could mike him. Sensing it wouldn't be good for his players to be aired out publicly in those particular cases, Zimmer says he'd offer a polite, "Not today, fellas," and they would tell him, "No problem."

But the one time he wished he had turned off the camera in his office, he says, shows that coaches and players don't have the lens in the forefront of their thinking. Zimmer called tackle Tank Johnson into a one-on-one meeting that covered a personal and sensitive issue and a good chunk of it landed in the show.

"That's my fault for not turning it off. It was personal and it shouldn't have been public," Zimmer says. "That's the one thing about it. There are so many other things going on. The least important thing at that point in time is thinking about turning off the microphone. I've done it a few times, but the bottom line is we're going to do our job."

There's no question that Zimmer is still smarting over his first Hard Knocks series. His colorful language and hard-driving style overshadowed one of the smartest and most engaging coaches in the NFL.

"I feel like people think I'm an uneducated, vulgar person because they had me swearing on those shows because they can portray you however they want," Zimmer says. "The bottom line is I'm only that way within the walls of the building. I don't walk down the street swearing at every person.

"I try to portray an image to the players that we're trying to be physical, aggressive, give 100 percent all the way. That's how I am."

Hall is probably like a lot of his mates and the viewing public. He's a fan of the show because of that Zimmerism. Or realism. Hall hasn't missed a Knocks episode during the last five or six seasons, but he also says he's "indifferent" getting the call again.

"I've never been disappointed with Hard Knocks," Hall says. "It's kind of neat when they go on the inside, which is really interesting … I think '09 was pretty good. The year they did ours I was obviously probably more interested. I thought it was well put together. The people they do stories on ever year (are) good."

The Bengals became such a compelling watch because of the fascinating storylines that unfolded during training camp. Rookie fullback Chris Pressley's rise from abject poverty. Safety Corey Lynch rescuing people in a car wreck. The sudden end of veteran tight end Reggie Kelly's season because of a torn Achilles in a haunting and touching training room scene.

And undrafted rookie defensive back Tom Nelson's successful bid for the roster. That turned out to be Hall's favorite.

"I kind of liked the whole Tom Nelson thing," he says. "I've always liked Tom Nelson. I thought he was a good player. It was kind of exciting to see him out there on TV and getting up close as they say."

There are even more storylines now, just starting with the draft's second round. There is rookie running backGiovani Bernard, the son of struggling Haitian immigrants whose mother died when he was seven. And rookie defensive end Margus Hunt, an Estonia native that didn't play football until he was in college. And sixth-rounderRex Burkhead's friendship with seven-year-old Jack Hoffman has become a national lightning rod for pediatric brain cancer.

And there are plenty of veteran stories. Hard Knocks missed most of Andre Smith last time because he was a rookie holdout. Now he returns as the only minicamp no-show. And there are the two Pro Bowlers dominant at their positions in wide receiver A.J. Green and defensive tackle Geno Atkins.  

But how about this one?

How about a storyline about a guy that never gets a story? How about a close-up look at the most underrated cornerback in the NFL? A guy that just does his job?

Hall laughs.

"That would be boring for the viewers. I don't know if I'm exciting enough," he says. "You never know with that. It will be interesting to see who they choose."

Which is why HBO has gone to C-Span.

 

http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/HBO-taps-C-Span/73143636-4813-4c7a-8a4e-9c23e5916165

[Bengals1181]

But does appearing on a reality show really have an impact on how the team will fare on the field, or ice? An analysis of all sports reality shows in recent years reveals that the cameras don't make you lose games.

In fact, two teams, the 2012 Philadelphia Flyers, who filmed "24/7" for HBO, and the 2002 Dallas Cowboys, who did "Hard Knocks" won the exact number of games the year they shot the show as they did the year before the TV crews showed up.

The alleged "curse" of Hard Knocks also appears to be rubbish. The 2001 Baltimore Ravens, who were coming off a Super Bowl win in the season prior to filming, weren't able to repeat, but still managed to win 10 games.

Coincidentally, the team that had the most success after appearing on a reality series was Hoover High, the stars of MTV's "Two-A-Days"—winners of the Alabama Championship in 2005.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324520904578553593851584594.html

[Jason]

 

But does appearing on a reality show really have an impact on how the team will fare on the field, or ice? An analysis of all sports reality shows in recent years reveals that the cameras don't make you lose games.

In fact, two teams, the 2012 Philadelphia Flyers, who filmed "24/7" for HBO, and the 2002 Dallas Cowboys, who did "Hard Knocks" won the exact number of games the year they shot the show as they did the year before the TV crews showed up.

The alleged "curse" of Hard Knocks also appears to be rubbish. The 2001 Baltimore Ravens, who were coming off a Super Bowl win in the season prior to filming, weren't able to repeat, but still managed to win 10 games.

Coincidentally, the team that had the most success after appearing on a reality series was Hoover High, the stars of MTV's "Two-A-Days"—winners of the Alabama Championship in 2005.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324520904578553593851584594.html

 

 

Don't forget Ohio State last year.  They did that All Access thing on ESPN and went from 6-7 to 12-0.

 

It had nothing to do with hiring Urban Meyer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

:lol:

[Oldcat]

 

Don't forget Ohio State last year.  They did that All Access thing on ESPN and went from 6-7 to 12-0.

 

It had nothing to do with hiring Urban Meyer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

:lol:

 

Urban only took the job to be in the show.

[Bengals1181]

Bengals need to get used to the spotlight

While I was away, the Cincinnati Bengals announced they would be appearing on the HBO training camp series "Hard Knocks." This was a wise decision because it forces a young Bengals team to get used to the national spotlight. 

The Bengals have been to the playoffs the past two seasons and should contend for the AFC North title this year. The biggest hump has been when the football world has been watching. Over the past two seasons, Cincinnati has gone 1-4 on national television, which includes two playoff losses at Houston. 

Some will argue that all of the cameras will lead to distractions. I see this as a tremendous learning experience for a team trying to take the next step. The Bengals are one of the youngest teams in the league. There are only three projected starters over the age of 30 (linebacker James Harrison, cornerback Terence Newman and offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth) and the average age of the starters is 26.5 years old. While these players don't necessarily need to grow up, this group is mature for its age, there's something to be said for how a 20-person camera crew covering your every move can build a team's mental and emotional preparation for a season of heightened expectations. 

“To be world champions, you must handle the media and other intrusions," Lewis wrote theCincinnati Enquirer in an email. 

Lewis is exactly right about this and he comes from the school of Hard Knocks. He's been part of the prime-time cable series twice previously, as the Ravens defensive coordinator in 2001 and the Bengals head coach in 2009. Lewis knows what kind of commitment this is, and he wouldn't subject his players to this if they weren't ready for it. 

Now, I'm not sure if HBO is going to gain as much from this experience. As ESPN's John Clayton noted, this is a boring team, although in a good way. There's no Chad Ochocinco orTerrell Owens looking to show off for the cameras. The Bengals' best players -- wide receiver A.J. Green and defensive tackle Geno Atkins -- aren't big talkers. The best quotes come from an offensive tackle (Whitworth) and defensive tackle (Domata Peko). And Andy Dalton is a good up-and-coming quarterback but he's more polite than polarizing. In terms of Hollywood, he's more Brady Bunch than Tom Brady. 

The track record for teams participating in Hard Knocks suggests this is more of a positive experience than a negative one. Of the seven teams that have taken part in the HBO series, four have finished with winning records, including three playoff teams.

 

http://espn.go.com/blog/afcnorth/post/_/id/71670/bengals-need-to-get-used-to-the-spotlight

[Bleeds Orange]

As ESPN's John Clayton noted, this is a boring team, although in a good way. There's no Chad Ochocinco orTerrell Owens looking to show off for the cameras. 

 

 

Man, I miss those days.  That 4-12 season of 2010 was so exciting, and seeing Chad fighting with someone on the sidelines was so much fun.  They really knew how to entertain.  The guys they have now are not nearly as versatile and seem to focus too much on football.

[Jason]

 

Man, I miss those days.  That 4-12 season of 2010 was so exciting, and seeing Chad fighting with someone on the sidelines was so much fun.  They really knew how to entertain.  The guys they have now are not nearly as versatile and seem to focus too much on football.

 

:lol:

[scharm]

 

Man, I miss those days.  That 4-12 season of 2010 was so exciting, and seeing Chad fighting with someone on the sidelines was so much fun.  They really knew how to entertain.  The guys they have now are not nearly as versatile and seem to focus too much on football.

 

Don't disagree, but fans were more excited about those teams than the current day one at least so far.

[Bleeds Orange]

 

Don't disagree, but fans were more excited about those teams than the current day one at least so far.

 

Not this fan.  :)  It was hard rooting for some of those guys.

[HairOnFire]

 As ESPN's John Clayton noted, this is a boring team, although in a good way. There's no Chad Ochocinco orTerrell Owens looking to show off for the cameras.

 

 

 Speaking of Chad I just watched the video of him running 24 mph on a treadmill.

 

 I assume he's in training for another race against a horse.

[T-Dub]

 

Man, I miss those days.  That 4-12 season of 2010 was so exciting, and seeing Chad fighting with someone on the sidelines was so much fun.  They really knew how to entertain.  The guys they have now are not nearly as versatile and seem to focus too much on football.

 

Yeah, that team really knew their place in the NFL.  Class clown, punchline, infrequent spoiler to teams people actually care about.

 

 

Call it "tinfoil hat theories" if you want but I still think that had as much to do with all the suspensions as anything.  I think hindsight shows how arbitrary Goodell's enforcement of the conduct policy has been, and continues to be for that matter.  It's obvious he's grading on a curve & money is a big part of that equation. An upstart small-market team was the natural choice to make an example of, by his reasoning.