The Buccaneers Should Be On HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks’ This Year

This summer’s Hard Knocks is reportedly set to feature both the Rams and the Chargers as they move into their new SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. Yet, there has been no official announcement that the Los Angeles teams will indeed be featured on the show this summer. It could be because of the virus, but no matter the reason, it presumably gives the NFL and HBO the ability to go with a different squad: the new-look Buccaneers.

 

Because they were on the show back in 2017 (you might remember many of the players and team executives humorously discussing Season 7 of Game of Thrones and trying to avoid spoilers) Tampa Bay does not fall under the criteria of a team that can be forced to be on Hard Knocks:

 

1) They do not have a new head coach.

 

2) They have not been to the playoffs in the past two seasons.

 

3) They have not been on the show in the past ten years.

 

However, the ratings for a Bucs-featured Hard Knocks in 2020 would be outstanding. Bruce Arians, who has one of the biggest personalities among NFL head coaches, alone would make the show entertaining. Throw in the storyline of Tom Brady joining his first new team after spending 20 years with the Patriots; an underrated, deep roster with a plethora of well-known star-level players on both sides of the ball; and a fun guy named Rob Gronkowski returning to football after a year off in which he won a WWE title belt—Hard Knocks would be legit must-see TV.

 

It wouldn’t just be the Brady and Gronk show, either. Fans would get an inside look at how the seemingly soft-spoken superstar receiver Chris Godwin operates—and his transition in working with Brady, who obviously commands a lot from his teammates, as a likely primary slot receiver in the offense. The defense has exceptional talent in the front seven, including horse-riding linebacker Devin White. And the development of a young secondary—and how defensive coordinator Todd Bowles works with them—could be a make-or-break kind of story to follow.

 

Brady, Arians, and the Bucs are undoubtedly all about winning, and they might think Hard Knocks is something that would hurt their chances of hoisting the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the season. But Brady himself has given an inside look at his own preparation—during the regular season and postseason compared to training camp for Hard Knocks—with the Tom vs Time series on Facebook Watch.

 

The LA teams wouldn’t be bad on Hard Knocks, but we can only hope the NFL is able to get the Buccaneers on HBO this summer.