HBO Hard Knocks: 3 Teams the Show Should Pursue for 2012

UPDATE: Tuesday, May 29 at 1:15 p.m. EST

The Miami Dolphins have announced that they will be featured on HBO's Hard Knocks for the 2012 season. The previous article was written shortly before the announcement was made.

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The first episode of Hard Knocks will air Tuesday, August 7 at 10 pm ET

— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) May 29, 2012"

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Philbin announces that the #Dolphins will be on Hard Knocks. Says it was a "football decision."

— Ben Volin (@BenVolinPBP) May 29, 2012"

The deadline imposed by HBO to find an NFL team for its award-winning documentary Hard Knocks is now just three days away. 

According to Michael Shain of the New York Post, HBO "plans to wrap up a team by June 1" and "vows" that it will have a team in place for the 2012 version of the show. 

Thus far, HBO has heard a lot of "nos' and a single 'yes' when asking around for teams' participation with the show. 

According to NFL.com, the Atlanta Falcons, Denver Broncos, Houston Texans, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks and Washington Redskins have turned down offers by HBO to appear. The Indianapolis Colts and New York Jets are also included in that report as teams that are unlikely to do the show. 

The Jacksonville Jaguars are currently the only NFL team to show any interest in being on Hard Knocks.

Considering a fast approaching deadline and the number of teams that have already declined, we ran down the three teams that HBO should consider the heaviest in doing the 2012 version of Hard Knocks: 

Note: Teams that have already participated on the show were not included. 

Jacksonville Jaguars

There isn't much national appeal in the Jaguars, who may be the NFL's least popular franchise. But if the team is on board with doing the show, HBO should think long and hard about taking the Jaguars up on their offer. 

Jacksonville could use the inside look to garner more interest in the franchise, and there's a good chance the Jaguars wouldn't be as closed doors to the cameras as other less willing teams would be this summer. New owner Shahid Khan could give Hard Knocks unprecedented access, with the underlying hope of raising the overall appeal of his new franchise.

A Jaguars-centered show might not be the best case scenario for HBO, but there is going to be people watching just as long as an NFL team is featured. 

New Orleans Saints

Let me preface this by saying that the Saints might be the least likely of teams to actually say yes to HBO, especially considering how the tape of a Gregg Williams' pre-game speech last season was such a big part of the bounty scandal that has developed this offseason. 

But in terms of storylines that HBO could pursue, the Saints are a gold mine. 

The bounty scandal repercussions. Drew Brees' contract situation. Joe Vitt taking over as the interim head coach for Sean Payton. Jonathan Vilma's lawsuit against Roger Goodell. Former head coach Steve Spagnuolo handling Williams' old defense. 

There's probably a better chance of seeing the New England Patriots on this show than the Saints for 2012, but that doesn't mean New Orleans wouldn't make television gold with all the storylines they offer for training camp.  

Detroit Lions

Head coach Jim Schwartz was against doing Hard Knocks before the lockout stole the 2011 offseason, so there's reason to think he'd be against it again in 2012. 

But these young Lions have an attitude and swagger about them that would be interesting to see unfold over the course of a training camp. The off-field problems for several of Detroit's biggest characters would also be an interesting side story for a team that has gained the image as one of the NFL's "dirty" teams, even before this most recent offseason. 

The Lions remain a long-shot, but HBO would be hard-pressed to find a better cast of characters than what Detroit could offer in 2012. The nation would get a better look at what makes this roster tick, too.