If you like "Hard Knocks," it sounds like the NFL is trying out the regular-season version of the popular HBO show.
The NFL announced that "All or Nothing," an NFL Films-produced show that follows the 2015 Arizona Cardinals through the entire calendar year, will air on Amazon Video. It will be an eight-episode season, and it will be released this summer. The story on NFL.com trumpeted "the creation of a new series" and called the Cardinals episodes the "inaugural season" of the show, which indicates this could be an annual event.
And if "All or Nothing" becomes the regular-season version of "Hard Knocks," that will be a very good thing.
"Hard Knocks" has become a staple for football fans who want an inside look at training camp, featuring the stories of lesser-known players who become folk heroes based on the show, or moments the public generally doesn't see like when players are released. The NFL's regular season can provide all of that drama and more, and it's a pretty smart move to release it in the summer when there's not much going on in the NFL world. The Cardinals show also promises things like an inside look at the draft war room.
Here's the problem: finding teams that are receptive to it. It's usually a bit of a struggle every year to find a volunteer for "Hard Knocks." Teams aren't going to be more excited to host camera crews when games count. The Cardinals are a bit of an NFL outlier, because they have a coach in Bruce Arians who has a great attitude when it comes to dealing with the media. They also have players who understand the entertainment aspect of the NFL and are cooperative. The Cardinals were also very good last year, so it was a perfect team to debut the show.
"We take tremendous pride in the dedicated and talented people that make up our organization and welcomed this opportunity to showcase them," Cardinals president Michael Bidwill said in the NFL.com release. "This unprecedented look into what it takes to compete in the National Football League is something that we think viewers will find fascinating. We all know the quality of work NFL Films does and are just as excited to work with Amazon to find such an innovative way to distribute this series."
It's great that the Cardinals embrace it, and it's hard to imagine there won't be interest in the show, but we'll see if it does become a regular feature. Most of the NFL takes a strange pride in secrecy and not truly opening up its product to the masses, and shows like these need a ton of cooperation to work.
But hopefully it will work. The only thing better than "Hard Knocks" might be the regular-season version of "Hard Knocks."
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