Could “Hard Knocks TV” Program Benefit Detroit Lions Players?

The Detroit Lions are this year's featured team on HBO's "Hard Knocks" program that gives fans a look at the team training camp but will this benefit their season?

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The Struggle of the Detroit Lions

It's no secret to us Michiganders that the Detroit Lions have struggled ever since they won their last National Football League championship in 1957. This was 9 years before the NFL and American Football League merged in 1966. The first Super Bowl championship game was in 1967 something the Lions have never been a part of. In 1991 the team gave fans hope by winning one playoff game but that has really been it.

My whole life I have watched and supported the Detroit Lions only to be disappointed time and time again. There have been moments back when they had running back Billy Simms and then running back Barry Sanders. There were moments of hope during some of quarterback Mathew Stafford's years and let's not forget about those times he was throwing the football to Calvin "Megatron" Johnson. There are some good memories but the disappointments far outweighed the positives.

Will HBO's Hard Knocks Benefit the Detroit Lions?

The Detroit Lions edition of HBO's Hard Knocks program kicks off at 10 p.m. on Tuesday, August 9.

The question I have is, will the television camera's really be benefiting a team with a 3-13-1 record from the 2021 NFL season?

Hard Knocks has really only had one team come off the show and do well and that was the New York Jets in 2010. The Miami Dolphins thought it would help them and that was a mistake.

When JJ Watt played for the Houston Texans, he said he learned the Dolphin's snap count from watching Hard Knocks. The Lion's play calling has always been one of the more predictable in the league and a show like this could make them even more predictable.

The former Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi was a big fan of cameras rolling at practice. Lombardi would even ask the NFL Films crews to pretend they were shooting practice even when the cameras didn't have any film in them because he said it made the players work harder. Was Lombardi on to something? The NFL did name the Super Bowl trophy after him.

Lions coach Dan Campbell was a highlight last season showing his passion on the field and at the press conferences. I'm sure he will be a character that is highlighted during the Hard Knocks program. Maybe Lombardi is right and having the cameras on may push the Lions players.

With cameras being on all the time, could undo drama occur if coaches say something about the players or vice versa? This could lead to a ton of distractions that could already take a weak team and make it even worse.

Will Lions fans have something to celebrate this season thanks to Hard Knocks or will this just set up more fans for an even much bigger disappointment than past seasons? I guess we will find out this fall.