DETROIT – The city of Detroit is buzzing about the upcoming Detroit Lions footage on Hard Knocks, as more than 18,000 fans filled Ford Field for Family Fest last Saturday.
Fans are clambering for the inside look at the team on HBO. The premiere episode is set to air at 10p.m. Tuesday (Aug. 9).
Recommended Videos
| Episode | Air date | Time (EST) | Channel | Live stream |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Episode 1 | Aug. 9 | 10 p.m. | HBO | HBO Max |
| Episode 2 | Aug. 16 | 10 p.m. | HBO | HBO Max |
| Episode 3 | Aug. 23 | 10 p.m. | HBO | HBO Max |
| Episode 4 | Aug. 30 | 10 p.m. | HBO | HBO Max |
| Episode 5 | Sept 6 | 10 p.m. | HBO | HBO Max |
One Pride nation is looking to feast upon opponents during the 2022 season, as expectations are through the roof.
To be the team selected for the show, Detroit beat out a big market team like the New York Jets and the up-and-coming Carolina Panthers that feature Christian McCaffrey, DJ Moore, Robbie Anderson, and the recently acquired Baker Mayfield.
The Lions also beat out the Green Bay Packers, the Washington Commanders, and the Kansas City Chiefs to win the opportunity to host the 2024 NFL Draft. In a sense that made them 2-0 this offseason.
Read: Detroit celebrates 2024 NFL Draft
The Lions also won the 2022 NFL Draft after selecting the best player of the draft at No. 2 and then fleecing division foe Minnesota for the No. 12 pick in the same draft to improve during the offseason to 3-0.
Read: Breaking down the 2022 Detroit Lions draft class
Being an NFL fan at this time of year is exciting and stressful for most organizations as injuries, contract talks, and free agent signings are in the works.
Those topics are what the series will feature as Detroit, for the first time in the show’s history, has met the necessary requirements to be selected.
- They have a head coach who’s not in his first year.
- They haven’t made the playoffs in the previous two seasons (They haven’t made the playoffs since they fell to the Seattle Seahawks 26-6 in 2016).
- They have not been featured on the program within the last 10 seasons.
For those of you who are not familiar with Hard Knocks, it’s a series of weekly episodes that give an inside look into an NFL team’s preseason and training camp ahead of the new season.
The NFL Films crew will dive deep into the preparation of executive vice president Brad Holmes, head coach Dan Campbell, the hometown kid Aidan Hutchinson, tailbacks D’Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams, tight end T.J. Hockenson, cornerback Jeff Okudah, defensive end Joshua Paschal, the wide receiver group and starting quarterback Jared Goff.
Jared Goff
Goff and Campbell are in year two of the new regime, and like the Lions fanbase, they both have high hopes for the 2022 season.
“People outside the building can’t see it, obviously,” said Goff to NBC Sports. “But we have a plan, and we’re all in. People see some of what Dan says, and that’s great. But I can tell you Dan knows what the hell he’s talking about, and he’s got the respect of that locker room.”
In his debut season with the @Lions, QB @JaredGoff16 tied the franchise record for completion percentage (67.2%) and set a franchise record with a 1.6 INT %.
— Detroit Lions PR (@LionsPR) January 18, 2022
His INT percentage of 1.6% ranked 5th in the #NFL in 2021.#OnePride pic.twitter.com/K8uhXriAai
Goff finished year one as the Lions starter with a 3-10-1 record while throwing the pigskin for 3,245 yards, 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Those numbers are why the Lions have no primetime games this year.
The league feels the team may not draw viewers or revenue, but they’re giving Detroit and starving football fans an inside look at the organization.
Why would the NFL and HBO select the same old Lions, who’ve only won eight games in the past two seasons, to represent the shield?
Dan Campbell
Campbell finished year one as the Lions head man with a 3-13-1 record, but the team finished the final six games of the regular season playing hard with an impressive 3-3 record, which caught the football world’s attention.
The team has a lot of future stars on its roster, but football fans worldwide all know who the cameras will be on the most, and that’s (M)otor (C)ity (D)an (C)ampbell.
With that in mind, what should the viewers expect to see from the live wired leading man?
Will he give us coach speak, or will he be animated like rapper Busta Rhymes and actually bring out a real-life lion to use for motivation?
During the Lions Family Fest last Saturday, Campbell, in front of over 18,000 fans, decided to give those who were in attendance some words of encouragement.
“Hello, Motor City,” said Campbell. “This is unbelievable. Look at you guys. Listen, I would say this, you guys have heard me say this, but I think what makes Detroit special is the fact that, man, you guys will roll your sleeves up and put in a hard day’s work. And I think we want to model ourselves after that. I tell you what, you would give your coat in winter to somebody that needed it. That’s what this community’s about; however, Nobody will take advantage of our hospitality. So, that’s what we’re about; This team is working their rear off to give you something to be proud of. They’re grinding it out right now, and I know this, we are freaking starving, so the hyenas better get out of the way.”
Campbell is the type of guy who will do everything that he asks of his team, as he, too, was once a player, so he understands the grind.
But he is not the only former player to grace the presence in the organization.
Including Campbell, the Lions have 10 guys who know what it takes to be successful in the NFL, like:
- Special Assistant, President, and CEO Chris Spielman
- Assistant General Manager Ray Agnew
- Head Coach Dan Campbell
- Defensive Coordinator Aaron Glenn
- Defensive Backs Coach, Passing Game Coordinator Aubrey Pleasant
- Offensive Line Coach Hank Fraley
- Linebackers Coach Kelvin Sheppard
- Quarterbacks Coach Mark Brunell
- Wide Receivers Coach Antwan Randle El
- Assistant Head Coach, Running Backs Coach Duce Staley
Staley has a running back room filled with some talented backs, but the most outgoing who should capture the audience’s attention is Williams.
Jamaal Williams
Williams is the No. 2 running back on the roster, but he might be the most spontaneous player, as his giddy personality should make him the talk of the town.
If you’re unfamiliar with Williams’ shenanigans, he once portrayed himself as SpongeBob while describing to the media what it was like to play an NFL game in the rain. When the temperature transitioned into snow, he said he felt like he was a character from the movie Frozen.
“I felt like SpongeBob for a minute, then it started snowing,” said Williams. “I felt like Frozen. I was like, ‘alright, here we go, Olaf time.’ Then it went back to raining, so I felt like SpongeBob.”
If quotes like this don’t get Lions fans fired up, then maybe watching the hometown kid attacking the quarterback will get them going.
Aidan Hutchinson
The guy to watch on the defensive side of the ball is Hutchinson. Holmes drafted the Michigan man with the No. 2 pick in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He was thought to have been the best player leading up to the draft, with most experts projecting him to go first overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars, but the team down in Duval County thought otherwise.
Hutchinson is a fellow Michigander, as he graduated from Divine Child High School in Dearborn, which is less than 20 minutes away from the Lions practice facility, so look for the film crew to follow the hometown kid around while also getting an inside look at his friends and family.
Goff told The Pivot podcast during training camp that Hutchinson might have had the best rookie song performance as he performed Michael Jackson’s, Billie Jean.
“He sung Billie Jean and had the whole place going,” Goff said. “It was the best rookie song I’ve ever seen, and it will be unbelievable.”
That performance plus his athletic skill set will be something to look forward to ahead of episode one.
Joshua Paschal
Paschal is the Lions 2022 second-round pick out of Kentucky.
Yes, he is a highly touted defensive end, but his story is more prominent than football. He was the Wildcats only three-time team captain in program history, but he is also a cancer survivor who just recently had hernia surgery back in July, so a look into his journey into prosperity should blossom.
Jeff Okudah
The Lions defense was ranked last in 2021, but one of their most memorable moments featured Okudah, the former No. 3 overall pick in the 2020 draft, getting chewed out by Pleasant for poor technique.
Okudah gave up a 79-yard touchdown pass to San Francisco 49ers playmaker Deebo Samuel before tearing his Achilles in the same game.
He will look to finally get back on track in year three, which is what Glenn is expecting as he told the media that he sees Okudah playing all 17 games this season.
Wide receivers
The talk of the town during the 2021 season was how the team was bereft of talent at the wide receiver position, which is why the organization went out and acquired a few new weapons to help expand Goff’s game.
One of the guys currently making noise during training camp is Quintez Cephus, who is looking to make the proverbial leap this year. Cephus was balling last season before going down with a broken collarbone.
Cephus was off to another hot start but is sidelined with a recent leg injury, and reports indicate that he could miss time during camp.
Before the injury, Cephus was in a position battle with Josh Reynolds, D.J. Chark, newly drafted Jameson Williams, and 2021 breakout star Amon-Ra St. Brown.
Amon-Ra St. Brown
The sun god (St. Brown) took off like a rocket down the stretch of the season, which brought a lot of optimism for this year, as he is pushing to be the face of the Lions receiving core.
St. Brown is creating a name for himself as he draws comparisons to former Pittsburgh Steelers great Hines Ward, someone wide receivers coach Antwan Randle El knows well.
Williams is coming off of an ACL tear that he suffered during his time at Alabama. He will likely begin his rookie campaign on the physically unable to perform list, but when he is fully healthy, Goff will look for the speedster to take advantage at Ford Field.
What are your expectations for the show, and which players would you prefer the cameras to follow?
Read: A look at the 2022 Detroit Lions preseason, regular season schedule
