Hard Knocks 2012: Most Intriguing Teams That Have Yet to Be Considered

Heading into the 2010 NFL season, it was no surprise to see the New York Jets be the team for Hard Knocks. After not having a team for the show in 2011, the search for someone in 2012 continues.

According to Bob Raissman of the New York Daily News, the Jets are not expected to be the team this year:

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TV sources say the Jets will not be featured in this summer’s version of HBO’s “Hard Knocks.” An HBO spokesman would not comment on whether Gang Green was out of the picture.

“We still have time to decide,” the spokesman said. “And we, and our NFL Films partners, haven’t made any decisions yet.”

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So the door remains open to the rest of the league. As we near summertime, let's take a look at the most intriguing teams that have never been on the show before.

Philadelphia Eagles

After an extremely disappointing 2011 season, watching how the Philadelphia Eagles prepare for the 2012 campaign would be fun to watch.

Considering all their individual talent and strong offseason, the Eagles have the marketable players alone to reel in an audience. The show could follow Michael Vick's continued development at reading defenses pre-snap and how he and the quarterbacks coach break down film and practice.

Receiver DeSean Jackson would be a guy to watch as he's coming off a lackluster season. How DeSean responds this season will be crucial to his NFL future.

The defense is another area of intrigue because of new players such as DeMeco Ryans and rookies Fletcher Cox and Brandon Boykin.

How Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie develops opposite of Nnamdi Asomugha would give us a glimpse of Philly's secondary adjusting to not having Asante Samuel. Then we have the head coach of course, because Andy Reid has been at the helm in Philly since 1999.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

With a new head coach and an impressive offseason, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers certainly deserve some exposure.

Greg Schiano has gotten Tampa off on a great start and the draft only helped. Offensively, Hard Knocks can focus around the two-back system of LeGarrette Blount and rookie Doug Martin, while veteran lineman Carl Nicks paves running lanes.

Also, the chemistry that builds between quarterback Josh Freeman and receiver Vincent Jackson provides an inside look at a new beginning. Defensively, we'd get to see veteran Ronde Barber influence the younger defensive backs like Mark Barron and Keith Tandy.

Barron was the No. 7 overall selection and Tandy went in Round 6. One other aspect to watch would be how coach Schiano builds a relationship with the veterans and rookies. It's a different approach to vets than rookies, but getting the locker room well before the season is key.

Indianapolis Colts

As if any more insight is needed to break down Andrew Luck's game, watching him develop while heading into his rookie season would be a hot topic.

The two-time Heisman Trophy finalist and No. 1 draft pick, Luck is the centerpiece of a building franchise. Include a new head coach in Chuck Pagano and the addition of Luck's tight end Coby Fleener, and the Colts offense alone is a unit to look for.

Not to mention, but receiver Reggie Wayne remains out wide and three running backs in Donald Brown, Delone Carter and rookie Vick Ballard would all be competing for the No. 1 role. Then again, it's reasonable to suspect that all will contribute at some point this season as well.

Now, since all the attention would be on Luck, coach Pagano and the new offense, the defense won't see much time.

Nonetheless, the pass-rushing duo (Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis) remains and the continued development of linebacker Pat Angerer would display his leadership and growth as a player.

New England Patriots

The New England Patriots would arguably be the most popular team to watch on Hard Knocks. The obvious people to watch are Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, but we can't discount the rest of the offense.

Brady's vast array of targets like Rob Gronkowski, Wes Welker, Deion Branch, Brandon Lloyd and Aaron Hernandez would be enough to cover for one full season of the show. And that doesn't even include other vets like Chad Ocho Cinco, Jabar Gaffney and Donte Stallworth among others.

As for the defense, it would have to involve a lot of Belichick's sound effects because it would be fascinating to see him break down defenses, coach up rookies and veterans and discuss football in general with his assistants.

The way in which New England practices, watches film and plans for the upcoming season is most interesting. After all, this is a franchise that has gone to five Super Bowls in the last 11 seasons.

John Rozum on Twitter.