Originally published by David Barron.
Unlike any number of places where NFL Films could have set up shop this summer, no bones were broken, facial or otherwise, in producing the premiere episode of “Hard Knocks: Training Camp With the Houston Texans,” which aired Tuesday night on HBO.
There were, however, harsh words and profanities uttered, both in anger and in jest, all part of what HBO and NFL Films bill as the “ultimate sports reality series.”
The most common injury associated with the initial episode of “Hard Knocks,” however, may be bruised feelings.
If you’ve been in any way invested in the team in its 14-year history, for example, there’s a good chance you may have been taken aback by coach Bill O’Brien’s unvarnished summary of Texans history in the program’s opening scene.
“Let’s be honest with each other,” O’Brien said in a pre-training camp conversation with assistant coaches. “This place has no respect in the league, just so you guys are all aware of that. This organization is 96 and 126, 30 games below .500.
“Turn your TV off. Nobody talks about the Houston Texans, because no one thinks we’re going to win.”
Those are harsh words for a town that takes its football as seriously as Houston does, but O’Brien’s point stands unchallenged: The numbers say what the numbers say.
Along with delivering harsh realities, O’Brien also was the narrow leader in the opening episode of on-screen profanities – more than a dozen to edge assistant coach Mike Vrabel, who, however, had the edge when it came to using profanities in different combinations in the same sentence.
O’Brien’s occasional slips may have explain why after an advance viewing Tuesday afternoon he instructed his parents not to watch the show.
“I called my parents and I asked them not to watch it … especially my mother,” the coach said. “She’s Irish Catholic, and she goes to Mass, I think, every day. She’s not going to be very happy with me.”
After O’Brien’s brief history lesson, the first 20 minutes of the show was spent establishing characters – O’Brien, J.J. Watt, veteran free agent acquisition Vince Wilfork and offensive lineman Duane Brown.
Fluffier elements of those segments included a backyard basketball game at Wilfork’s home, Wilfork and his family visiting with Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey animals and performers, Brown visiting with his wife, KQBT (93.7 FM) host Devi Dev.
Foster’s groin injury received limited screen time but may have prompted one of the best lines read by narrator Liev Schreiber: “Practicing in the Texas heat can make you queasy, but bad news about your star running back will absolutely turn your stomach.”
O’Brien’s comment to the team after the injury: “If you listen to ESPN now it’s ‘Why are we even playing the games?’ Bleep that. We’re a competitive football team. We work our asses off. We’re going to continue to do that. That’s all that matters.”
There was, of course, a generous dose of J.J. Watt in various sequences – manhandling thousand-pound tires during offseason workouts, working on pass rushing moves, catching passes at short range, running in slow motion and signing autographs in a speeded-up sequence.
And a short sequence was devoted to the practice-fiend scrum between the Redskins and Texans – some from a distance, some close up, a few minutes after Vrabel, the former Patriots linebacker, expressed his displeasure with the Texans’ perceived toughness.
“We’re the nicest bleeping team I’ve bleeping ever seen,” Vrabel said. “They’re clotheslining our bleeping guys, and we’re letting them run right through our bleeping defense.”
Among the rookies, cornerback Kevin Johnson and defensive lineman Christian Covington got the most air time. Another standout in a brief appearance was assistant strength coach Sean Hayes with a reasonably accurate impersonation of the late wrestler Randy “Macho Man” Savage.
Toughness – in terms of concentration and in terms of competitive spirit – was a clear theme of the opening episode. It should be interesting to see how that topic develops – and how, in fact, the Texans develop in that area as the show – and the preseason – continues.
Curated by Texas Bar Today. Follow us on Twitter @texasbartoday.
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