Typically, the ending of NFL dreams is saved for the season finale of "Hard Knocks."
Jon Gruden — who is desperate to return the Silver and Black to glory — doesn't have time for that.
The first episode of the 14th season of HBO's "Hard Knocks" opens with a speech from Gruden. It's intense.
"Everybody right now has dreams, don't they guys?" Gruden says. "I got a dream of winning the Super Bowl. I got a dream of being in the Pro Bowl. I'm not really into dreams, anymore. I'm into (expletive) nightmares. Guys with me on that?
"You gotta end somebody's dream. You gotta take their job. You gotta take their heart. You guys clear about this NFL (expletive) now? We're not trying to go to the Peach Bowl. We're not trying to go to the Gator Bowl or the Bluebonnet Bowl. We're trying to go to the Super Bowl."
HARD KNOCKS: Greatest moments of all time
NFL 100: Who are the greatest teams of all time?
NFL JUNKIE?: Get your fix with top headlines delivered
Enter Ronald Ollie, an undrafted rookie out of Nicholls State. It seems we've got our first long-shot training camp storyline for this season's "Hard Knocks." Ollie resides among that multifarious collection of players that comprises mostly of third-day draft picks, undrafted rookies, former practice squad players, AAF refugees and future XFL possibilities that exist almost exclusively in the wilderness that is roster spots Nos. 54-90 in an NFL team’s training camp assemblage.
Ollie seems like the perfect player for the audience to root for. And, he's been on a sports documentary before. You might remember him from the Netflix series "Last Chance U" in which Ollie appeared while playing at East Mississippi Community College.
Well, Ollie's time with the Raiders is brief. He gets on the nerve of Raiders defensive line coach Brentson Buckner: "I refuse to babysit grown men. Unfortunately, some guys don't like to grow up." Then, Ollie drops out of workouts, saying he can't run due to his left Achilles tendon.
Ollie misses an appointment for treatment with the trainer and gets a lecture from Buckner. Yup, this is not the way to make a team if you're an undrafted player. You don't help your own cause or that of the team by not taking part in practice reps and instead riding stationary bikes on the sidelines. Ollie's absence has now grabbed the attention of the head coach.
"You know what, let's get some of these (expletive) guys outta here who don't want to play," Gruden says. "You know, if you're not going to listen to the trainer, who are you going to listen to?"
Coach has a good point.
Ollie is out.
Ethan Westbrooks — who's been on "Hard Knocks" previously in 2016 while with the Los Angeles Rams — takes both Ollie's locker and No. 63 jersey.
Life comes at you fast. Especially in the NFL.
Here are other notable moments from the first episode of "'Hard Knocks: Training camp with the Oakland Raiders":
Antonio Brown knows how to make an entrance
Former Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Antonio Brown is now sporting Silver and Black, and has made a habit of making quite an entrance while reporting for training camp. In previous years, he's shown up to camp in a helicopter and 1931 Rolls Royce Phantom 1 car. This year, it's a hot air balloon.
"Hard Knocks" cameras show Brown on the field in action during camp drills, but his foot issue is only briefly mentioned. Brown was placed on the non-football injury list with a foot injury that reportedly occurred when entering a cryotherapy machine without proper footwear. Anybody hoping to see this development on the first "Hard Knocks" episode had to be disappointed.
Johnathan Abram is one to watch
With the trades of pass rusher Khalil Mack and receiver Amari Cooper last season, the Raiders possessed three first-round picks. The third of those first-round selections (acquired from the Dallas Cowboys) was safety Johnathan Abram, from Mississippi State.
Abram's introduction is less than flattering. He dumps over his belongings as he arrives for training camp. Later, he explains how being called "rook" is one of his biggest pet peeves so far. That ought to go over well with the veterans.
Abram is intense on the field. During workouts in shorts and T-shirts in which collisions are frowned upon, Abram is out there blowing people up. Abram knocks tight end Luke Willson off his feet, and Willson is less than pleased and yells in the general direction of Abram, "we'll see when these pads come on, youngster." Abram gets a stern talking to from Gruden.
Abram's draft scouting report describes a very tough competitor with a "fiery attitude" and "alpha demeanor."
His intensity will come in handy on game day, but during training camp Abram will have to try to rein it in.
This should be a fun follow over the course of the next month.
The Autumn Wind
NFL Films' famous poem — written by the late NFL Films president and co-founder Steve Sabol — "The Raiders" music — composed by the late Sam Spence — and narration — done by the late John Facenda —is featured prominently. Facenda's narration is dubbed over David Robidoux's "Hard Knocks" theme and it's predictably awesome.
Later in the show, narrator Liev Schreiber reminisces about the Raiders as outlaws, renegades and bad boys. The glory days of the Silver and Black, when the team won three Super Bowls in an eight-year span. "The Autumn Wind" returns. A song from a bygone era when the Oakland Raiders developed a mythos unique in professional sports.
The seven-man sled
Speaking of football folklore, the Raiders have a seven-man blocking sled. It's an old-school football relic and the Raiders are still using it in training camp.
An old NFL Films clip of Pro Football Hall of Famer John Madden is shown.
"That's the first thing we used to do. We used to start off every practice in the morning with hitting the seven-man sled," Madden said. "That would get rid of all hangovers."
Follow USA TODAY Sports' Jim Reineking on Twitter @jimreineking.
If you love talking football, we have the perfect spot for you. Join our Facebook Group, The Ruling Off the Field, to engage in friendly debate and conversation with fellow football fans and our NFL insiders.
Read Again Brow https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/raiders/2019/08/06/hard-knocks-oakland-raiders-first-episode-jon-gruden/1940868001/Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Jon Gruden ends NFL dreams on 'Hard Knocks' debut; rookie Johnathan Abram makes impression - USA TODAY"
Post a Comment