DTR Stole the Show On Hard Knocks
Photo Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Admit it, Hard Knocks melted your mind a little.
The HBO docu-series has long operated as a tantalizing sip of water after a long, dry offseason. It’s not enough to slake your thirst, but it sustains you until the glorious flood of football in September, even if the show often leaves you wanting after the first couple episodes.
Creating an hour-long drama out of documentary footage you shot just last week is an astonishing feat, but often the result is padded with filler, like Z-roll of the seventh-string tight end going to Men’s Warehouse to buy a suit he can wear when he inevitably gets cut in episode five.
This year’s Hard Knocks, however, featuring the infuriatingly intriguing New York Jets, started off with an absolute banger. Method Man showed up! Liev Schreiber, the acclaimed Ray Donovan star who now does the narration for NFL Films, broke the fourth wall to appear via friggin’ helicopter and then narrate his own arrival! Oh, and did I mention Method Man? Method Man!
You could never capture
The Method Man’s stature
For rhyme and for rapture
Despite all this peripheral swag, the dominant theme of the Hard Knocks episode was: Everyone is super excited to meet Aaron Rodgers. That includes New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh, who reacts to the State Farm spokesman like he just saw Harry Styles form a human pyramid with BTS. “Starstruck” is the word. Perhaps that’s just the vibe the Hard Knocks editors are cultivating, given the Jets’ avowed lockdown on control of the footage and Rodgers’ own Putin-seque relationship with the media. But everyone seems genuinely smitten.
That include Mecole Hardman, who keeps awkwardly reminding the aging Rodgers that he was carrying Brett Favre’s cleats while Hardman was still in the Reading Rainbow demographic. Narrator Schreiber himself reacts with awe at Rodgers as though Schreiber wasn’t a major movie star who dated Naomi Watts for a decade.
Exactly one guy on the whole show kept his cool: Browns backup quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
As the Jets and Browns prepared to square off in the Hall of Fame game, DTR took a moment to say hello to Rodgers, a fellow Southern California college quarterback. The rookie and the wily vet had time to develop a relationship during a seven-on-seven charity event. The Hard Knocks cameras captured their reunion.
”Hey, my man!” Rodgers says, greeting Thompson-Robinson with a hug and a big smile.
DTR tells Rodgers the Browns have been treating him well, and Rodgers responds that he’s heard the youngster has been balling out and is excited to see him take snaps in the second half.
DTR nods a thank-you and casually pivots to asking No. 8 how he likes living in New York. When Rodgers advises him to use his legs out on the field, DTR flashes a big grin and says, “I got this.”
And Thompson-Robinson did indeed have it. He rushed for 37 yards on just five carries, went 8/11 for 82 passing yards, and threw his first NFL pre-season touchdown pass. He even provided a critical block on a Demetric Felton Jr. touchdown scamper that capped off a 93-yard touchdown drive to open the third quarter. DTR showed poise on and off the field.
Rodgers has clearly taken an interest in Thompson-Robinson, and he’s gracious in both his praise and advice. The rookie soaks it up, but he doesn’t seem the slightest bit overwhelmed — much less as starstruck as Rodgers own head coach, or the former Mr. Naomi Watts (who once fought Wolverine).
This is exactly the mentality the Browns need to carry into 2023. They’ve spent so many years as a punchline that it would be deceptively easy to be satisfied with a little attention from the big boys.
But this beefed-up Browns roster is built to contend, and history only has to be as relevant as they make it. To play like a dominant NFL team, they’re going to have to walk and talk like one as well.
Inspiration can come from surprising sources. The Browns’ starting lineup is plenty intimidating, but they would do well to carry themselves with the poise of their rookie backup QB.
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