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HBO 'Hard Knocks' 2019: Best Raiders Storylines, Moments, Reaction for Episode 1
August 7, 2019
HBO and NFL Films' hit series Hard Knocks began its latest season Tuesday night.
This season focuses on the Oakland Raiders through training camp as head coach Jon Gruden, star receiver Antonio Brown, quarterback Derek Carr and company attempt to end Oakland's losing ways.
Brown was one of the focal points of the episode, as his mysterious foot injury remains a major storyline surrounding the team. While the episode didn't shed much light on the issue, it did show Brown attempting to work through it.
The episode also featured Brown making his now-infamous appearance at training camp in a hot air balloon.
"Float like a butterfly, sting like AB," the dynamic wide receiver said from the sky, playing off of Muhammad Ali's famous quote.
Brown's kids were also featured in the episode at one point, asking their father why he wasn't practicing. They were also curious about where Brown's former teammate, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, was.
"Where's Roethlisberger?" his son asked.
When Brown asked his kids for the name of his current quarterback, one responded with "Derek Carter?"
Rookie safety Johnathan Abram also received a lot of screen time, from going horseback riding with fellow rookie Clelin Ferrell to taking some unappreciated shots at his teammates during a non-padded practice.
Then there was Ronald Ollie, who is most famous from his appearance on Netflix's Last Chance U. His time in Oakland didn't last long, as he didn't finish a practice because of an injury and then failed to show up for a training session.
The Raiders cut him shortly thereafter.
The episode also included some celebrity sightings, from musician G-Eazy to food television star Guy Fieri:
Another big theme of the episode was how the Raiders organization likes to operate like a family.
"Once a Raider, always a Raider," Gruden reminds the team in the first meeting.
The first episode also featured the team's alumni dinner and an outdoor picnic with the players, coaches and their families.
That gave Gruden an opportunity to roast rookie receiver Hunter Renfrow:
Between the ongoing issues with Brown's feet, the larger-than-life personality of Gruden and the Raiders' desire to end their recent ineptitude—they've had only one winning season since 2003—this season of Hard Knocks promises to be intriguing, even if the first episode was a bit slow at times:
The show also typically thrives when it introduces players on the fringe of the roster and the cameras have a chance to follow their quest to make the team. Those storylines weren't introduced in the first episode outside of Ollie, whose cameo turned out to be brief.