Why Tim Tebow vs. Mark Sanchez Is Perfect Drama for HBO's 'Hard Knocks'

Two years ago, fans of the HBO reality series Hard Knocks, which chronicles the trials and tribulations of an NFL team as they go through training camp, were treated to one of the most entertaining runs in the history of the series when the show followed bombastic head coach Rex Ryan and the New York Jets. It appears that we may be in store for an encore performance.

Jets owner Woody Johnson told ESPN New York Tuesday that a formal invitation for New York to appear on the show again in 2012 hasn't been extended, but if one were, the team would seriously consider it.

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"I've heard [the speculation], but we've yet to receive a formal invitation," Johnson said during a promotional appearance to launch the NFL's new pop-up store in Manhattan. "And when we do, we will take a look at it."

Johnson said there have been informal talks with HBO, but he declined to speculate on an outcome because "we can't react to anything unless it's a real invitation." But he suggested the Jets would give it strong consideration, saying he'd discuss the matter with general manager Mike Tannenbaum, coach Rex Ryan and other team officials.

"I think all those concerns, the positives and negatives, we'd have to look at, sit around the table and say yay or nay," Johnson said. "It's not a perfect science. But we'd use our best judgment at that point."

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The Jets would seem to be a logical candidate to once again be the focus of the program, as a team that suffered through a tumultuous 2011 season replete with locker-room strife galore has seen the controversy meter go through the roof since the Jets' recent acquisition of quarterback Tim Tebow.

Tebow's arrival in the Big Apple has created a potential competition under center that ESPN's Woody Johnson believes will make for some intriguing drama, even if the team continues to maintain that Mark Sanchez is the unquestioned starter.

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The eyes of the sporting world will be keeping tabs on the Jets' addition of Tebow this summer and the dynamic he has with starting quarterback Mark Sanchez. Although there's not a quarterback competition going on, Tebow will naturally push Sanchez to be at his best. That makes for a natural, healthy competition people want to see.

Who wouldn't want to watch how Tebow integrates himself with a new team in New York? Jets fans would love to see how this develops. Tebow fans want to see, as well. This would be must-see, behind-the-scenes TV.

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At least some Jets players are also on board with doing the show, as tight end Dustin Keller relayed to ESPN that he feels that appearing on the show again would likely be beneficial to the team.

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"With everything that's going on right now, there definitely couldn't be any more exposure than there already is," said tight end Dustin Keller, who also attended the store launch. "If there's something that's good for the team, why not do it?"

Keller said it's "not something that would affect us in a negative way. If anything, when you have all those cameras pointed at you, it makes you want to push yourself that much more ... It definitely can't hurt."

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I don't know that I share Keller's optimistic view on the effects that appearing on Hard Knocks again might have on the New York Jets or their newest player. However, given that the Jets seem to have a subconscious need to increase the amount of controversy around them, the team would certainly seem to be a perfect fit for the show. New York's second run on HBO would undoubtedly make for some of the most riveting sport's television of the summer.

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