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By Rich Cimini | ESPNNewYork.com

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New York Jets owner Woody Johnson said last week he'd be interested in another appearance on "Hard Knocks," but the Atlanta Falcons have emerged as a strong contender for this season's version of the HBO reality series, according to sources.

An HBO spokesman declined to comment, saying it's company policy not to discuss potential candidates during the selection process. Typically, HBO, which produces the show in conjunction with NFL Films, doesn't announce the team until May.





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Following a 13-3 record and NFC South title in 2010, the Falcons went 10-6 in 2011 and lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants 24-2 in the first round of the playoffs.

Despite boasting former Pro Bowlers Matt Ryan at quarterback, Michael Turner at running back and Roddy White at receiver, the Falcons regressed on offense in 2011. The struggles followed a headline-grabbing draft-day trade in which Atlanta moved up to the No. 6 overall pick to select former Alabama receiver Julio Jones.

Offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey left the Falcons in the offseason to become coach in Jacksonville and defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder left for the college ranks to take the same position at Auburn.

Still, under Ryan and coach Mike Smith, the Falcons have made the playoffs three of the past four seasons. They have never been featured on "Hard Knocks," which documents a team's trip through training camp and the preseason every August. There was no series last summer because of the NFL lockout.

The Jets were featured on the show in 2010, drawing huge ratings and increasing their national profile. Johnson said the exposure was of "tremendous value" to the franchise.

With the recent attention-grabbing trade for Tim Tebow, and the locker-room turmoil that has dominated offseason headlines, the Jets seem like a logical option. Johnson intimated last week there have been informal talks with HBO, but he declined to speculate on an outcome because "we can't react to anything unless it's a real invitation."





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But Johnson said they'd give it strong consideration, saying he'd discuss it with general manager Mike Tannenbaum and coach Rex Ryan.

Ryan didn't seem excited about the prospect when asked about it at the recent league meetings, and Tannenbaum, in an interview last month on SiriusXM NFL Radio, made it clear he had no interest.

Tannenbaum then backtracked from his comments only hours after Johnson expressed interest last week.

"When I made that comment, I never had an expectation that we'd be asked to do it again," he said in a statement. "Obviously, if we're asked, we'll sit down and talk about it."

Initially, the Jets were criticized in 2010 for accepting the invitation, with many saying it would become a distraction, but they went 11-5 and reached the AFC Championship Game.

http://espn.go.com/new-york/nfl/story/_ ... ources-say

I thought I read somewhere that we wouldn't do hard knocks....not the teams style?

No, TD said last May that they would be open to doing Hard Knocks, but not last year due to the lockout.

http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-falcons-bl ... rd-knocks/

Just when the Falcons momentum was looking any worse, they now go do this. I can't remember any team having a great season following Hard Knocks. The Jets might have but other than that nobody. I don't like this at all but I'll watch if it happens.

You called it, Pudge. The Process is polluted.

Think of this a different way...

Nearly everyone on this board this offseason has had some gripe about the front office. From the overall "plan", to free agency or lack there of in our participation, to the new coordinators actual effectiveness vs our conservative nature, no draft picks to fill needs, etc.

I summed this up already, but we sorta boiled it down to two things. The hyper conservative nature of Mike Smith. The missteps by Dimitroff. To add, we thought Arthur was gonna come down with a heavy hand once that press conf went live, only to realize we've done next to nothing different other than lose players and change most of the staff. In hindsight, this is explained in that...."well look where atlanta used to be historically!", which is B.S. But thats the explanation in hindsight. So that in turn explains why we're so conservative, b/c look how much better overall we've been as a team the last 4 or so years, vs. history. Thats called settling, and I hate it.

What is crazy is I'm not sure how much Smith/Dimitroff (who need a combo idiot nickname at this juncture) have thought long-term. I think they figure on the above paragraph, and feel like they "earned" another couple years to redirect the franchise, having pulled it from hell. Maybe they do in the respect that Blank was basically bluffing and the presser. But when you consider that we've not added really any talent, and lost a lot of players...that to me is the combo saying we still think we're this (fingers real close together) close to realizing our full potential. That new coordinators will fix all the ill's. Thats stupid, just even on the level of thinking why to lots of teams draft based on "best player available" and not reach for a need.

We are still talent starved, esp difference maker talent on D. I'm not sure even if the scheme's are 180 degrees better, that thats enough. So to sum it up, the 2nd and final chance for the wonder twins is NOW, and they seem to have only made regressive changes. We lost most of our coordinators, so you can't be sure we would have even done this otherwise. Seriously! The nfl is a show me now business, and the combo basically said we're still this close. After two points in a damn playoff game. Thats just dumb, shortsighted and naive.

But....its the path they've chosen. So about hard knocks, I actually welcome it...

The bright spotlight might actually get them to be more objective and real, which I don't think they've been. Millions of 2nd guessers and critics, I actually think thats what we need. Then we can stop settling for being good, and actually try to be great and win a SB.

Oh please the sky is not falling, we are gonna be a good team again next year probably 11-12 wins, plus we will be in good cap shape for the future. The more I think about it, the more I like what we didn't do this offseason! Remember the team that "wins" the offseason, never wins in the regular season. As for hard knocks I say bring it on, we have a veteran team with alot of character. I don't think this would lead to a distraction.

disagree. What would be the possible 'upside' other then what Wide said, that additional 'eyes' would spur Blank to demand more of Smith and TD?

At best, its free advertising for Arthur, at worst it is a distraction or even worse, an embarrassment. Lets not put our dirty laundry out there for everyone else to see.

Plus, dont you want to watch Tebow and Sanchez? Cmon now, admit it. That would be fun to watch

I agree with everything widetrak said, but I think Dave raised an interesting point about the sky not falling.

I think at the end of the day you have to ask yourself, is a repeat of last year acceptable? Is it okay that maybe TD & Smitty don't have what it takes to bring a championship here to Atlanta, at least not in the foreseeable future? And I guess for me personally, in the past few weeks I've been trying to make peace with that idea. But it's so frustrating and disappointing, because it does feel like settling.

And whether or not being on a show like Hard Knocks distracts them from reaching their goal, my mindset is that they are probably not going to reach that goal anyway, so I welcome the distraction.

part of the reason we lost the last 2 playoffs games was the coaching staff's inablity to get this team to focus properly on the post season. I fail to see how this would not be a major distraction, and IMO we just done 'need' that considering the last two playoff appearances.

From strictly a 'fan' perspective, it sounds fantastic. We get a 'behind the scenes' look at the sausage making of our favorite team. We get a little more national recognition.

But do we really need to 'take a chance' this year and let a possible distraction occur? I say no sir.

What does any franchise 'get' from being on Hard Knocks? A monetary stipend? Or, just 'exposure'?

One of the two terms ( as an Artist) I hate to hear are 'exposure' or 'awareness'. It's just a fancy way of saying 'your not getting paid tonight' or 'your doing a great job at helping solve a problem' when in fact, nothing of that sort ever happens. So when I hear about how this 'great exposure' is going to catapult us to respect nationally, I have to shake my head and chuckle a little.

I vote no, even though it would be fun to watch. I guess I like winning more then being 'entertained' at this time....YMMV.

I look at it slightly differently Pudge. Take Bill Cowher or Dungy as an example that I think relates to our situation quite well. They fielded consistently competitive teams and often had a chance to get/win a Superbowl before eventually winning a Superbowl while also earning respect for their franchises in the long term.

Whats being said about Smith are the exact words used to describe those two head coaches.

Than again, theres always a Marty...

Every team technically has a 1 in 32 shot.... knowing what we know ours is better. Their are probably 23-25 teams that would switch places with us in an instant. The more chances you get into the playoffs the more chances you have to win the superbowl. Getting rid of Mularkey was a huge move as I believe his game calling was the main factor for our playoff loses. Of course I'm also not excited by his replacement, but I have PERSPECTIVE. ie we are better than most and after watching the last few years I don't see any reason we can't do what the Giants, Saints or Packers did. Our playoff loses were due to coaching scarred, play calling not to lose, rather than to win.

Getting back to hard knocks, maybe I'm selfish as a fan, but I don't think it would hurt. Look at the years the Jets and Bengals did it! They had their best years in the last decade the year they were on the show. Perhaps it will light a firecracker under some of our underperformers asses......

I think "focus" had very little to do with it. I think our playoff losses had everything to do with this coaching's formula for success being very, very conservative and easy for good teams to figure out. I think we were focused and motivated to do what they wanted to do. The problem is what they wanted to do wasn't going to work. I think our playoff losses have everything to do with Xs and Os, not focus or lack thereof. It was a flawed plan, and all the focus and motivation in the world wasn't going to make that plan be executed well.


Nuccah, comparing Smith to Cowher and Dungy are right on. But it took Cowher 14 years before he won a Super Bowl, and Dungy 11 years. That's exactly what I'm afraid of, thus why I said in my last post the "foreseeable" future. Smith is in year 5, and I'm not expecting them to win right away. But I think this team is in a position today where they can take major steps so that 3-4 years down the road they can win a Super Bowl. But I think with their current methodology and path they are on, we might have to wait another 8 years or whatever before they figure things out.

See, IMHO there is this pervasive and popular myth out there that says if you're in the playoffs, anybody has a chance. That is because recently, some dark horses like Pittsburgh, Arizona, Green Bay, New York have made runs in recent Januaries and made people believe that everybody in the playoffs has an equal chance. To me there is a commonality between the dark horses that get hot at the right time, and the favorites that manage to live up to expectations. Look at the past 4 or 5 years and the teams that went to the Super Bowl or went to the championship games. Like 90% of them were: A) Really good passing teams, meaning you can throw on pretty much anyone B) Really good defenses, which means you can stop pretty much anyone or C) A combination of both.

Does any of that describe the Falcons? Not passing the ball, because they continue to have Michael Turner be the centerpiece of the offense. And you can't be a top-level defense like you need unless you have impact playmakers, but this team ignores those guys (i.e. Mario Williams), and continues to just collect complementary pieces. Does that mean this will be the case in future years with the Falcons? No, but that is the case today. And there aren't any clear-cut steps leading forward to suggest that is going to change in the very near future. So we'll just have to wait and see, thus my lack of optimism about what the future may bring.

See, I've said in the past that Super Bowls are "magic." Because what Cowher and Dungy have done by winning those Super Bowls is erase the previous 13 and 10 years of their coaching careers, where their formula for success (i.e. being overly conservative) was actually hurting their respective teams.

I've said before that serendipity shined on Dungy basically that he got fired in Tampa Bay and then inherited Peyton Manning. The interesting thing about Cowher is that after years of trying to win with average QBs and conservative run-first offense, he managed to lose enough games to get in position to draft Big Ben, and then in '05, decided to hand the keys of their ground game from a declining Jerome Bettis to a fast-rising Willie Parker. The parallels are interesting don't you think?


And I would argue that highlighted portion is where you start to lose perspective. There are very good reasons why we cannot do what the Giants, Saints, or Packers have done in recent years. Because our coaching staff builds their postseason game plans around a decrepit tailback and a lackluster O-line, and think that's going to carry them to success, as seen in our Giants loss.

They think that all they need to make those guys play better is simply motivation. That shuffling the coaching staff is going to suddenly invigorate these guys with talent they don't have.

I wouldn't say there are 23-25 teams, but certainly at least half of the teams in the NFL that would happily trade places with the Falcons. But the analogy I would use to counter your point, is that you're essentially saying that it's OK to be a B student because there are a lot of C and D students out there. But I think the point I'm trying to make is why "settle" for being a B student when being an A student is within your grasp?...

Look, I know that despite my words there is no simple blueprint for success. If winning championships was easy, then everybody would have one. But the point I'm trying to make is that there are certain things you can do that can maximize your opportunities. You can't control everything, but you can do certain things that improve your odds.

For example, using the student analogy. If you want to get an A, then if you go to class, take notes, ask questions, study, do your homework and reading, then you're putting yourself in the best possible position to get the best possible grade you can get. Does that guarantee you an A in that class? No. BUt the odds are more stacked in your favor than if you just slept through class, didn't do you homework or whatever.

And my negativity and pessimism about this team's future is because IMO I don't see them taking these steps. They give away critical resources (i.e. draft picks) in exchange for a player that they aren't really interested in using. They don't jump at rare opportunities to get elite talent on defense that could be a huge step forward to get teh caliber of defense they've always wanted.

It's not to say that teams like the Giants, Packers, Saints or whomever planned what was happening. A lot of luck is involved. But luck is out of your control, but there are a lot of other factors that are within your control, and I think those teams did good jobs in the areas they could control. I'm not seeing the same in Atlanta.

No THE SKY IS NOT FALLING. I believe that Smitty and Thomas D. has what it takes to bring a Super Bowl to our franchise.


I think there is a lot of learning going on with Td. and Smitty. I didn't mind last years trade but its irrelevant now; although I think
Koetter will want to use Julio a lot, I believe Smith will not be nearly as controlling as he was with the other guy.

I believe Thomas D. must put a premium on Offensive Linemen and defensive Linemen. I know when Atlanta went to the Super Bowl we lad the league with Sacks. We still ran the ball a lot, and we had two pros to through to in Marttin & Mathis.

Reeves was the offensive Coordinator and he was rather conservative. Point being that its true at playoff time not anyone has a chance. Its not on any Sunday at that point; but if your team is sound and can play defense you do have a shot.

I don't think it will be 15 years like with Cowhart but it will probably be at least another 3.

However its the offense that has had the players and its the Offense that has let us down. In many ways staying out of free agency I thought was smart from day one.

The team is not going to revolve around Turner I believe it will revolve around Ryan. I see a lot of competition for the offensive line & defensive line...... We could be a team turning up; and I'm not settling for anything today. I really believe Edwards Knee
was a problem last year and why the smaller contract....... say No TO HARD KNOCKS. We just don't do that s***!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsqJFIJ5lLs

I disagree. Note, I said 'part' of the problem was 'focus'. Of course, playcalling and execution have more to do with last January's disgrace, but the offense definitely 'lost' whatever 'focus' by the 3rd qtr...When you cant score in garbage time when the opponent is playing 'prevent' defense, your not focused, period. And I put alot of that on the coaching.

The defense WAS focused, and kept us in the game until the half. But our offense was not.

My point was what are the great 'benefits' from appearing on Hard Knocks? The Bengals had a great year they were on? Those losers were a prennial turd, not a 3x playoff appearance team. The Jets? I think a case could be made that the whole Hard Knocks thing may have actually set them back. For every minute hamming for the cameras, and preparing to ham for the cameras, there was a minute lost in prepping for football (coaching or playing). Sometimes those break-throughs happen in the smallest and most mundane circumstances, or even by accident.

Here’s a hypothetical… Gholston sees something that the WRs are doing in their release from the line of scrimmage, something with their footwork that allows for a little more explosion. He messes around with some during practice, coach notices and kinda likes it, LB coach gets together with WR coach to break down the mechanics. Boom, Vern’s gotta new speed rush. Rex notices it, loves it, and adds just a little tweak with his hand technique to give him just a little bit more of an edge. Vern explodes, starts to dominate and develop confidence, and starts loving football again.

Maybe that could have happened, but instead Rex orchestrates some silly ass fight, Vern gets disenchanted and spends all his time worrying about how he comes off on film, and he never notices that thing with the WRs. Rex is going to bed thinking about his wifes feet and what he will say while the cameras are rolling rather than the nuances of a certain players technique and development.

In football at this level, the difference between good and bad are very minor. The difference between good and great are microscopic. Hard Knocks steals focus from those little, tiny things that could mean everything....Which is why I would love for HK part two J E T S. With Sister Christian and Sanchez in preseason? That would be great.

What would NOT be great is watching Roddy 'perform' for the camera, or Biermann swaggering around on another 'reality show' while in the current 'real world' he cant put a QB on his ass. And the prospect of a 'behind the scenes look' of another January bed sh*tting would almost drive me to tears. Its bad enough if your girlfiend cheats on you, but to have to watch it on tape is even worse. I dont see how introducing 'drama' will positively affect this franchise, that relies on conservative playcalling and level headed play. If we need 'fire' in the belly, we dont need HBO to provide it. That is Smitty's job, or at least the one he currently has.

I see it similarly, FG. This is about marketing which generally has not been a good starting point for the franchise. Recall the clip with D. Sanders showing up on the D Block or whatever they called the LB show on the site? He asked them why they were getting spanked for a half by the Panthers and C. Lofton said "lack of focus" to which DS responded with incredulity, "You lose that game and your season is over. What does it take to make you focus?" And, it was either this show or another Roddy felt it importnat to walk in front of the camera and flex his pipes. The look on everyone's face behind him said a lot. NFL players are used to cameras but that isn't the same thign as the footage being broadcast nationally with their helmets off...no doubt jockeying for face time and the possibilities of becoming a "personality" and getting endorsement dollars.

I think AB and Company feel their hard fought and relative popularity slipping away in a daze of post season collapses and they are shedding former taboos to try to retain it. Do the Pats ever do Hard Knocks? Back in the day, camp was literally some far flung locale where the team was virtually sequestered and had little choise but to focus on business. Clearly, this exposure won't effect the Matt Ryans on the team but the Roddy's, the Ray Rays, etc....I'm not so sure.

I agree, I too put a lot on coaching. But I think the loss of focus you are referring to has everything to do with the fact that the coaching staff put together a shoddy game plan, the players knew it, and when it was clear that the Giants were up, there was no more confidence from this team they could win the game. And maybe we'll talking about the same thing, but it's semantics, but to me that was the culprit. I think everybody on the Falcons sideline knew that they weren't going to win the game because it was a very flawed gameplan, and I don't think any amount of focus would have changed that.

I don't think being on Hard Knocks really affects or changes that. Does the show probably open some doors that you probably don't want opened? Sure. But again, it probably has a lot to do with my overall lack of confidence in the Falcons this season, that I don't think being on the show and all of the drama it brings is going to really hurt them all that much. Basically my opinion of the Falcons isn't going to get lower. If anything, it at least gives management a convenient excuse for why they could potentially underachieve again in 2012, so that if/when they come on stronger in 2013, they have a ready-made scapegoat.

I like this explanation but would it be true with better linemen? We don't have a Championship pass rush!! We really have
a fairly poor offensive line!! All Of This is on Thomas D.!!

Now we've wasted so many picks with the Bierman's of the world, and other later picks that were labeled "great projects"
that I could visualize how we could have more "A' students on both sides of the line!!

Now if that was the case I don't know if Pudge is right about the "coaching formula" being flawed, maybe he's still right;
but its easy to see that if you play with who we had, (and you have no choice) Pudge is right; we were not going to win the Xs and Os of a rather average offensive and defensive line.....


Now you improve those areas; other things open up, More yardage on first downs;
more Qb pressures; the ability to run or pass on any down!! Its just obvious we need better players on both sides of the line; If we are going to keep trying to just win the xs and Os because with better players those Xs & Os get a little larger!!

Without better players Ryan has to take off to often, their's no running yardage on first down, and their Qb has all day
to play catch on their third downs!! Without some better players On both sides of the ball I doubt we're competitive
with anyone in the playoffs!!

Disagree. You win Championships with the Bierman's of the world. Depth, high motor guys that have no quit. You cannot tell me that we don't have more talent on this team now then we did when TD took over. It's up to Smitty and co. to make it work on the field.

I disagree. The point Cyril is making is the neglect of the OL while we rush to resign these 'nice high motor guys like Biermann, Redman and such. TD whiffed on Sam Baker. Injuries or no, this guy was not 'the answer', at best he is a 2nd tier OT. TD reached for Baker. Pudge has already explained how the FO could have freed up enough money to aquire an impact player ( Mario) and a 2nd tier OT (Grubbs,Nicks) to compete with Baker.

You dont win championships with a crappy OL, and a mediocre pass rush. The organization has basically told us 'we have all the pieces we need, we just needed better coaching'. Considering our schedule, I expect to go into the 2nd half after the bye with a winning record, and then the wheels will fall off when we play the conference games.

Unless someone gets 'injured' these guys have painted themselves into a corner. Pat Hill and Nolan have to be damn near miraculous considering what they have been handed.

Just because "Pudge" explained it doesn't make it gospel. If I recall, he wanted to cut Ogie, cut Turner and cut Baker and maybe one or two more. So that's three starters and a role player or two for a 2nd tier OT(???) and Mario? Didn't we learn our lesson with the whole Julio debacle...giving up too much for one player?

Mario would have been nice, but getting would have left us with no running game, less depth and a huge cap hit for years to come. He alone was not getting this team over the top. Hate to break it to you.

IIRC, he said cut Ovie, restructure Turner and bring in an OT to compete with Baker. Ovie is not anywhere near as 'important' as a durable, qualified OT.

Ryan cant stretch the field with a three step drop, and were not getting off the field on 3rd down if you cant rush the QB..Hate to break that to you

C'mon man, Pudge has been in the cut Turner camp for years.



As I stated, I just don't see 8-12 additional sacks a year getting us over the hump, at the price of 4 starters and 6 moves. It's Julio all over again. If you see it differently, that's fine, everyone is entitled to their opinion. But I believe Mario's salary would have handcuffed us, especially after losing all the players we'd have to cut....we still need bodies and would only be able to afford canon fodder. How does that make us better?

So, Peria Jerry, Sam Baker and Ovie Mughelli are more important then getting an impact player, one of the best at his position in the league, if not the best? Your acting like these '4 starters and six moves' are key pieces. They are not. Redman? There was no reason to sign him to that contract so quick, especially considering his age and how he played last year when given a shot. Vance Walker can do Jerry's job.. Snelling and Cox can do Ovie's job.

I dont see how resgining role players makes us better. We have 'bodies' we just dont have an impact player on Defense. If you think Kroy turns it on this year with the great addition of Nolan the Magnificient, you may be right. We'll see.

Are you a fan of the Julio trade? I ask because I honestly don't remember. The majority here said we gave up a lot for one player who was supposed to get us over the hump. I like Julio and he made some impact players and I assume will continue to do so. But the price was steep.

Mario Williams I am sure would have made an impact. But the price would have been steep, money and player wise. IMO, the price to get Mario would have been to much. Talented, for sure, but he wasn't pushing us over the mountain top just like JJ didn't.