5 Teams in the Running for HBO's Hard Knocks

The very popular HBO series Hard Knocks is looking for this year's team to showcase. The executives at the network have some favorite ideas and they are also being contacted by teams that want to be on the show.

It has been 10 years since the series that goes inside what happens at an NFL training camp debuted, with the original season featuring the Baltimore Ravens. The access that the show gets is amazing and the crews from NFL Films capture the good, the bad and the ugly things that happen at camp, including the colorful language.

So this year there are five prime candidates for the team that HBO will showcase. Let's take a look at them.   

5. The Tampa Bay Bucs

The Bucs have a new head coach in Greg Schiano and they have been one of the most active teams in the free-agent derby. Tampa Bay signed former San Diego Chargers wide receiver Vincent Jackson, who will make a great target for young quarterback Josh Freeman. Then they added former Saints All-Pro guard Carl Nicks to protect Freeman.

The Bucs are a real contender to win the NFC South and while they are not a sexy pick, they would provide plenty of good storylines for the show. 

4. The Denver Broncos

How can you not want to see Peyton Manning in his first training camp in Denver? Clearly, the Broncos are high on the HBO list of teams, but the front office in the Mile High City is not quite ready to commit to the show.

So for the moment, they are the long shots, but don't count them out.   

3. The Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens lost the AFC Championship game to the Patriots 23-20 on a dropped pass and missed field goal, so they are a worthy choice. You have quarterback Joe Flacco and running back Ray Rice on the offense, and the defense can focus on Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs. 

They will again be one of the top teams in the AFC, and there is a chance that HBO could pair Baltimore with San Francisco to give viewers a chance to see the Brothers Harbaugh, Jim and John, as they coach up their respective teams.

The Ravens are a worthy contender.  

2. The San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers have restored the luster to the proud franchise. It took new head coach Jim Harbaugh just one year to put them in the NFC Championship game against the New York Giants. Alex Smith will be back at quarterback and Frank Gore will be handling the chores at running back. 

They added a big target in former New York Giants wide out Mario Manningham, who will be a great fit, plus the team returns almost every starter on defense. They are a darling in Vegas, second only to the Green Bay Packers when it comes to Super Bowl odds.

As I said before, there is some talk that the 49ers and the Ravens could share in the first split version of Hard Knocks to showcase the Harbaugh brothers, but we will have to see how that plays out. Right now they should be at or near the top of the HBO list of teams.

1. The New York Jets

No team in football offers the drama that the Jets would give Hard Knocks. Yes, they were on last season, which was one clown short of a circus. But the chance of getting Mark Sanchez, Tim Tebow and Rex Ryan all on one show at the same time is too good to pass up.

Word out of New York has the Jets owner Woody Johnson all for the idea of HBO returning, while Ryan is not sure that it would be such a great idea. He told Fox Sports that he wanted no part of being on Hard Knocks this year. I think that if HBO really wanted the Jets back, Johnson would make it happen.

Sanchez and Tebow—how sweet a show would that make?