‘Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Cleveland Browns’ Episode 1 Superlatives

The season debut of Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Cleveland Browns premiered last night, and over the next month, I will pick superlatives for each episode. Here are the standouts from Episode 1.

 

Best moment: Nick Chubb waits for luggage

Besides the opening, Hard Knocks started with an airport scene where No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield was treated like a superstar with people shouting his name and asking for pictures. At the same time, second-round pick Nick Chubb was basically like an ordinary citizen at baggage claim, with some people suspecting he was a football player (probably based on his muscular build), but having to ask to be sure. One guy even asked what his name was, and Chubb simply responded, “Nick” and not his last name, which makes me believe his tweet from during the show last night.

 

Worst moment: Hue Jackson holds it in

“Worst” moment isn’t a bad moment (the show is great from start to finish), but it’s usually reserved for a tough scene where a player or multiple players get cut. Last night, no one was released, but one of the main storylines of the episode was unfortunately head coach Hue Jackson dealing with the loss of his mother, which occurred just two weeks after he lost his brother. Jackson was trying to be strong and hold it together throughout the episode, but he finally broke when general manager John Dorsey and two other executives embraced him in a hug, which caused the head coach to struggle to keep his emotions in check at his desk. One hour later, Hue was back on the field coaching the team.

 

Funniest moment: Carl Nassib talks finance

This could also be best moment in terms of usefulness, particularly for those with the wealth of an NFL player. 2016 third-round pick Carl Nassib explained to everyone that by allowing money to sit in the bank for seven years, it will double based on interest; and in 42 years, the money will be 64 times more than the original value. It was funny to hear Nassib say how he wanted to buy a Rolex before meeting Taylor Swift, but decided not to because it wasn’t practical. And it was also funny to hear some of his teammates be skeptical, especially later on when he brought up Instagram and said people that spend two hours per day on social media are wasting a month of the year, which is crazy to think about.

 

Underrated moment: Todd Haley gets frustrated

The scene where the training staff was dismissed after discussing the practice plan for certain players doesn’t seem to bode well for the Browns in 2018, as there appeared to be a serious rift within the coaching staff, and I’m not sure Hue Jackson handled it in the best possible way. First, running backs coach Freddie Kitchens questioned whether so many guys on the roster should be held out of practice, and then after Jackson started to explain the thinking, offensive coordinator Todd Haley also said he believed they won’t get where they want to be as a football team by holding players out. The two butted heads a bit, and Jackson made it clear that he is sitting in a different chair than everyone else, which might not sit well with everyone coming from a coach with a 1-31 record in Cleveland. Once Jackson said his piece, it was almost like Haley was at an AA meeting reluctantly admitting that progress is being made, even if he doesn’t think so.

 

Best quote: Gregg Williams

“No s*** I got a lozenge, b****.”

 

MVP: Carl Nassib

We already went through Carl Nassib’s financial wizardry, and it was enough to earn him MVP honors for the premiere. All the f-bombs dropped by Nassib during his short lesson makes me think he could star in a Wolf of Wall Street sequel, and there were plenty of quotable tips from him, including a response to a teammate rhetorically asking if they just put $100,000 in the bank and let it sit: “Yep, 100%. Don’t f***ing touch it. It’s called interest, and it’s so f***ing easy.” Nassib was also featured in a scene where Hue Jackson showed the photo of he and Taylor Swift on the big screen in front of the team, and at the end of the episode, I think he was responsible for creating Gregg Williams’ hilarious one-liner.