The Atlanta Falcons announced on Thursday that they will be featured on the 2014 edition of “Hard Knocks.”
The Cleveland Browns were believed to be one of the favorites for the HBO original series after drafting Johnny Manziel, but head coach Mike Pettine turned down the chance to appear on the show. First-year coaches cannot be forced to do “Hard Knocks.”
Perhaps the most surprising part about the Falcons’ announcement is that they reportedly volunteered for the show, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Most teams feel that “Hard Knocks” can be a distraction during training camp, and the Falcons had an out from the show since they made the playoffs two seasons ago.
While the Falcons don’t have a whole lot of issues with their roster, they were surprisingly one of the worst team’s in the league last year with a 4-12 record. Atlanta finished 13-3 in 2012, so it will be interesting to see how they progress through training camp in an attempt to get back to being the team they were two years ago.
We’ll also get to see what type of progress Julio Jones is making, as he should be returning soon from a foot injury that forced him to miss most of the 2013 season.
There could certainly be less intriguing teams for “Hard Knocks.” The Falcons should be fun to watch.
