Oakland Raiders: Hard Knocks an early gift for NFL fans

The NFL world seemed to make a little more sense this week with the announcement that the Oakland Raiders would be taking their turn on HBO’s Hard Knocks.

Every once in a while, the universe tosses the football masses a bone. On Tuesday, that gift was the announcement that the Oakland Raiders would get the glitter treatment via HBO’s Hard Knocks. That’s must-see TV by any metric.

The caravan of crazy the media has made the Raiders out to be will start the clock on the season. Fans will get to finally see if radio/TV personality Colin Cowherd is right about Oakland, or if his hyperventilating is only about hearing his own voice out loud.

Hard Knocks is not a bad deal for NFL teams. Having said that, it often feels that any organization who has some drama cooking finds itself in front of the HBO cameras. For Jon Gruden and company, this will either validate the crazy talk or perhaps show a team trending up.

For HBO and the league, the Silver and Black being featured is an absolute slam dunk. Gruden is made for moments like this. His ESPN pre-draft Quarterback Camp was some of the best stuff leading up to draft day. Gruden is camera-ready and, for a project like Hard Knocks, a more perfect vehicle for his second season would be hard to find.

The roster of characters is a good one too. The diva that is Antonio Brown could be cringe-worthy. Vontaze Burfict and newly acquired lineman Richie Incognito will command tons of attention. Also worth watching will be Gruden and his interaction with quarterback Derek Carr.

Oakland, who went 4-12 last season, would have been a great candidate for Hard Knocks in 2019 or 2020. The Raiders, who are closing up shop in the East Bay will be moving to Las Vegas next season. Had HBO gone a different direction this year, the Raiders just off the strip in Sin City would have been just as good.

The Raiders were a good ”get” for this cable TV spectacle. Gruden and new general manager Mike Mayock are as good unscripted as you could ever hope for. Drama aside, the Hard Knocks franchise is the perfect opener for fans thirsty to find an NFL storyline. The swan song season in Oakland could be the perfect backdrop to prepare viewers for the 2019 campaign.

Bottom line, the Raiders and Hard Knocks are a marriage made in reality TV heaven. Fans and the NFL could not have hoped for anything better.