Tag: Hard Knocks

Max explained why the latest episode of Hard Knocks was late to platform

Can’t find the latest Hard Knocks episode on Max? The streamer provided an explanation for that.

For NFL fans who wondered where the latest episode of Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Chicago Bears is on Max was on Tuesday at its scheduled time, the streamer had an answer for that.

The annual NFL documentary series didn’t premier its latest episode at its planned post time on Max on Tuesday night, sparking the instant question of when it’d become available on the streaming platform.

Well, Sports on Max confirmed the delay on social media and said that the latest episode “will be available soon.”

The episode reportedly aired on HBO as scheduled, meaning that it’s in the can and ready to share. It’s just a matter of when it’ll be ready to stream on Max at this point, which could hypothetically be at any time.

Update: After more than an hour, we finally have the newest episode of Hard Knocks on Max. Enjoy!

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Jonathan Owens teased a Simone Biles-inspired celebration this season on Hard Knocks

Jonathan Owens wants to use the Bears to honor Simone Biles.

At the Paris Olympics, Simone Biles further cemented herself as the greatest American gymnast of all time, taking home three gold medals and another silver. Biles’ success understandably brought about a lot of pride from her husband, Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens, who traveled to Paris to support Biles during the early portions of the 2024 Olympics.

With the Olympics over, Owens is firmly focused on the upcoming Bears’ season. As a new teaser from Hard Knocks shows, he’s already thinking about creative ways he can celebrate his incredibly talented wife after he gets an interception during the season.

As the partner of an all-time great athlete, these are the things you absolutely have to have a plan for in advance:

Honestly? A little backflip and salute from Owens if he gets a pick is perfect. No notes. Everyone will know he’s referencing Biles’ greatness right away. And given the nature of unfortunate injuries in the NFL, don’t be surprised if he gets the opportunity.

Tyson Bagent had the funniest reaction to Caleb Williams announcing his signing bonus on Hard Knocks

You’d quake and shake too if you heard that number out loud.

Caleb Williams was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Just by signing his name, he made over $25 million.

Tyson Bagent, his backup at quarterback for the Chicago Bears, went undrafted in 2023 out of Shepherd University. Per Spotrac, he got a $25,000 bonus when he signed a three-year deal.

So, uh, yeah. If I were Bagent, I too would — jokingly, of course — react to Williams announcing his bonus to the team by shaking and quaking. It’s all in good fun, and it’s a great clip from the upcoming Bears edition of Hard Knocks.

Check it out below and have a laugh:

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Giants GM Joe Schoen took furious notes as his kids shared their much-needed draft advice on Hard Knocks

“Jayden Daniels? Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Oh, that’s gold!” Joe Schoen, probably

The New York Giants’ offseason turn with Hard Knocks has been an incredible window into how an NFL team tries to revitalize itself once the games have stopped. It’s shown interviews with high-profile quarterbacks like Jayden Daniels, difficult discussions with owner John Mara, and, above all, has been a showcase for general manager Joe Schoen, who is clearly still learning on the job.

In an effort to blow off some steam, the latest episode features Schoen hilariously taking meticulous notes about who to pick in the 2024 NFL Draft from … his kids.

OK, now that’s a lighthearted father bonding moment I think we can all get behind:

In the context of a Very Serious football show with a Football Man trying to do his job, watching Schoen listen to his kids for a moment and what they think he should do is just delightful. It’s a great way to cut the draft tension for viewers like us and, I imagine, more importantly, for Schoen.

Giants GM’s son wanted his dad to trade up for QB Jayden Daniels

Should the Giants GM have listened to his son?

The New York Giants selected former LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft. But if it had been up to Giants general manager Joe Schoen’s son, the team could have traded up and tried to land another LSU Tiger — quarterback Jayden Daniels.

On HBO’s “Hard Knocks” Schoen is seen polling his kids about who the Giants should draft in the first round. Schoen’s son had clearly done his homework and decides to throw some serious shade at current Giants quarterback Daniel Jones.

“Jayden Daniels. You only get this job once, you need to try to win”.

It’s pretty clear based on the series that the Giants don’t have an overwhelming level of confidence in Jones. However, instead of taking his son’s advice about trading up, Schoen got Jones a legitimate playmaker in Nabers at wide receiver. We will know fairly quickly if the Giants made the right decision or if they should have listened to the GM’s son.

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Hard Knocks showed that Giants owner John Mara was distraught about Saquon Barkley joining the Eagles

The Giants were so devastated about losing Saquon Barkley to the Eagles.

If you’re a New York Giants fan who was upset about Saquon Barkley jumping ship to the NFC East foe Philadelphia Eagles, know you’re not alone. Even the Giants’ brain trust, especially owner John Mara, was crestfallen about the star running back joining a rival in free agency.

The latest episode of Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants features the Giants’ candid discussion about the ramifications of losing Barkley. Once they realized the runner would likely go to Philadelphia instead of return to New York, Mara couldn’t believe it.

Mara started outlining how he’d lose sleep if Barkley really ended up wearing Eagles green because he was easily the Giants’ most popular player at the time.

Oof. What a tough reveal in hindsight:

Once Barkley officially signed on the dotted line with the Eagles, Mara’s reaction was hilariously muted. You could tell the departure clearly hurt him as Giants general manager Joe Schoen downplayed Barkley’s loss:

Maybe Schoen is right in the latter clip. Maybe the Giants will be fine without their star bell-cow tailback. After all, it’s not as if Barkley is a franchise quarterback or anything.

Now, that would’ve hurt much more.

Still, it’s pretty amusing to see this whole sequence play out behind the scenes, showing that prominent New York figures were just as unhappy as its fans about losing their most popular player.

WATCH: ‘Hard Knocks’ shows moment when Panthers, Giants agree on Brian Burns trade

Here’s the very moment in which Brian Burns was no longer a Carolina Panther:

We can actually pinpoint the second where the hearts of Carolina Panthers fans ripped in half this offseason.

The latest episode of HBO’s Hard Knocks gave us an inside look into the very moment in which fan favorite Brian Burns was traded to the New York Giants.

Watch as cameras document Giants general manager and former Panthers scout Joe Schoen navigating his way through negotiations with Carolina president of football operations/general manager Dan Morgan:

As shown, Daniel Thomas Morgan agreed to send the two-time Pro Bowl pass rusher off for 2024’s 39th overall pick, a 2024 fifth-round pick swap and a 2025 conditional fifth-round pick. The painful departure came after Burns and the Panthers were unable to reach a long-term pact, one he’d promptly receive from the Giants upon the completion of the deal.

Morgan, a few weeks later, explained why the tough decision had to be made.

“You know, those are always difficult conversations and, and decisions that you have to make from the seat that I’m in,” he said, at the NFL Annual League Meeting in late March. “We love Brian. The player he is, the person he is, but sometimes you’ve got to make tough decisions, and the salary cap along with draft capital that we got, we felt like it was, you know, time to pull the trigger and make a move.

“We felt like the timing was right. And yeah, those are always tough decisions, but we had to make it, and we feel OK about it.”

Well, by the looks of that clip, we know Schoen and the Giants were certainly OK about it, too.

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Steelers DT Cameron Heyward on hearing Pittsburgh was to be on ‘Hard Knocks’: ‘I hated it’

Multiple members of the Steelers are not excited about being on “Hard Knocks” this season.

The Pittsburgh Steelers had been able to avoid having to deal with HBO’s “Hard Knocks” since its inception all the way back in 2001. It was never something that felt like it meshed with the Steelers team philosophy and honestly would be far too intrusive.

But the time has run out for the Steelers. This season they, along with the rest of the AFC North will be on a special version of HBO’s “Hard Knocks” to kick off late in the season and follow them along with the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals.

This is something Steelers defensive tackle Cam Heyward is not at all excited about happening.

Heyward talked about it on his “Not Just Football” podcast and made it clear how he felt when it was announced. “I hated it, I don’t wanna be on this,” said Heyward.

Many NFL players love being the center of attention and so they relish the opportunity to be on camera as much as possible. Thankfully many of the core members of the Steelers like Heyward, T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick aren’t going to be among them.

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Giants were high on Bears rookie Rome Odunze during pre-draft process

On the the latest “Hard Knocks” episode, it appears the Giants were high on Bears rookie WR Rome Odunze during the pre-draft process.

Before the Chicago Bears step into the “Hard Knocks” spotlight this summer, the New York Giants are the focal point during the first-ever offseason edition of HBO’s hit show.

In the second episode, the focus shifted to the pre-draft process and the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine, where the Giants met with some top prospects including now Bears rookies quarterback Caleb Williams and wide receiver Rome Odunze.

New York drafted LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers with the sixth overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft. But during Tuesday’s episode, it certainly appears that the Giants general manager Joe Schoen was high on Odunze, who was selected at No. 9 by Chicago.

We also caught a glimpse of Odunze’s combine meeting with Giants brass, where he talked about his versatility as a receiver, his high standards and his leadership ability in the locker room.

Odunze was the third receiver drafted this year, but he would’ve been WR1 in any other draft (with Arizona’s Marvin Harrison Jr. and Nabers going 1-2).

Bears general manager Ryan Poles certainly seemed concerned New York would draft Odunze at No. 6, which was spotlighted in a behind-the-scenes look inside of Chicago’s draft room on night one. But

Ultimately, the 2024 NFL draft couldn’t have gone any better for the Bears, who landed their top two players in Williams and Odunze. When all is said and done, could the Giants wind up regretting not drafting Odunze? Only time will tell.

Caleb Williams had the Giants in awe after drawing up his favorite pass play on Hard Knocks

The Giants knew Caleb Williams would be special after this conversation.

Heading into the 2024 NFL Draft, most teams already had a general understanding that Caleb Williams would likely be a good quarterback at the next level. The reality was hard to deny.

However, as the latest episode of Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants showed, the Giants likely realized Williams was special during their combine interview with the young man. It was a crystallizing moment when they seemingly confirmed Williams was everything everyone already thought of the quarterback.

READ MORE: Why Caleb Williams’ Bears shouldn’t fear the Hard Knocks curse

As Brian Daboll tries to put Williams through the same wringer that saw Jayden Daniels struggle and Drake Maye thrive, the eventual No. 1 overall pick doesn’t blink. In fact, when Daboll asks Williams to draw up his go-to pass play — that one play where the quarterback knows he can get a completion and decent yardage no matter what — he doesn’t hesitate.

Williams immediately concocts a complex play on the whiteboard that amazes Daboll so much he harkens back to Brett Favre once spamming a similar concept to great success.

(Warning: NSFW language in the video below.)

Just for posterity: This is an established offensive mastermind comparing what a rookie quarterback loves to run to a Hall of Famer’s go-to tool in his arsenal. That is not normal. Then again, Williams has shown he’s anything but normal so far. It’s not surprising.

It’s not often you see all your priors confirmed so succinctly and efficiently about a generational prospect. No wonder the Giants seemed to be so floored by Williams’ answer.