Why the New York Jets Would Regret Return to HBO's "Hard Knocks"

It's too bad Monday wasn't April Fools Day, because what New York Jets owner Woody Johnson said regarding his team's potential second appearance on HBO's "Hard Knocks" should be some kind of joke.

According to Newsday, Johnson has, for whatever reason, begun "informal talks" to return to the show during the 2012 training camp and preseason.

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"It's something we would take a look at with Mike [Tannenbaum], and the coach, and Bruce [Speight, the director of media relations], and I and others that we think would add value to that discussion, to see whether it is something we want to do,'' Johnson said Monday at the opening of an NFL store in midtown Manhattan.

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As if the Jets weren't already a walking, talking circus. 

With the Jets being a team filled to the brim with personalities, New York's best route to the Super Bowl in 2012 isn't through a reality television show. In fact, they need to make sure their own reality television show never hits the air.

That's going to be easier said than done, with or without "Hard Knocks" watching their every move.  

By adding the ever-polarizing Tim Tebow to the mix, New York has already created a superficial buzz around a football team that collapsed under its own weight last season. There were going to be enough distractions just with Tebow on board to make an offseason.

Now, the boisterous Jets want to add a sequel to this circus?

Just two years ago, "Hard Knocks" was a huge success with head coach Rex Ryan dropping bomb after bomb, Darrelle Revis deep into a contract hold out and the many personalities on the roster, including Mark Sanchez and Antonio Cromartie. 

It was wonderful television back then. But it'd be a disaster now.

The Jets have a lot of cleaning up to do in the locker room, and exposing it all to the watchful eye of HBO cameras isn't going to speed up the process. An awkward situation for the Jets' starting quarterback probably shouldn't be on full display every week either.

Simply put, the Jets are a team that needs to heal from 2011 and find itself this offseason. Let HBO find a different team to put on, because there's nothing good that could come from another appearance on "Hard Knocks."

New York has its own self-created reality show to deal with every week of the 2012 season.