Pros and Cons to Miami Dolphins being on Hard Knocks

May. 29 Opinion 7 comments ---Bill

Well, the Miami Dolphins are about to make me spend a little more money this football season.  On Tuesday, news broke that the Miami Dolphins will be the team featured on this season’s training camp documentary for HBO’s Hard Knocks.  Joe Philbin made the announcement following today’s OTA practice and the announcement set twitter ablaze.  This announcement is another example of how far the Dolphins have come since the Bill Parcells Era…..yes, I know Ireland is still here.  Bill Parcells didn’t want Jason Taylor on the Dolphins because he was off ‘Dancing with the Stars’.  He also kept the media shut out, during his reign in Miami.

Coach Philbin had said previously that Hard Knocks wasn’t for him because (he joked), he was made for radio, not TV.  MANY believe that Stephen Ross and the Dolphins business side pushed for the Dolphins to accept HBO’s offer.  However, Philbin said that this was a football decision.  Philbin continued: “It’s going to showcase our players as they go through training camp. It’s a great opportunity for us to connect with our fans. And it’s a chance for us to show the new direction, identity of this football team.”

This opportunity may never come around again for Dolphins fans.  We are about to see more of Dolphins training camp than they have EVER seen before.  As coach Philbin mentioned, this is also an opportunity for the Dolphins to show their new direction to the world.  The franchise is starting over and retooling this season.  This is an opportunity for the Dolphins to show their new brand to the rest of the football world.  Ultimately, their play on the field will determine if they can shed the laughing stock status they’ve been relegated to lately.

As Ben Volin of the Palm Beach Post mentioned earlier Tuesday, the Dolphins are a good fit for Hard Knocks.  The Dolphins have some star power and publicly, should only benefit from the increased exposure.  The Dolphins have some interesting characters on their roster and a behind the scenes will be cool for them.  Players like Reggie Bush, Vontae Davis, Sean Smith, Jared Odrick, and Richie Incognito will probably shine when the cameras are on.  In fact, some previous ‘Hard Knocks’ coaches have said that some of their best practices came when the cameras were on.

However, there are potentially, some cons to the Dolphins doing Hard Knocks.  First, will Hard Knocks add unnecessary pressure to players to perform in front of the cameras?  Or worse, will a player push himself too much to stand out and risk an injury?  Second, will the Dolphins new, high-tempo offense be scouted more easily because of Hard Knocks coverage?  Third, and perhaps the biggest concern: What if the Dolphins of old resurface?  You know, the Dolphins that have made the news (in a bad way, time and time again of late)…..It would be a shame if Jeff Ireland or Stephen Ross said or did something on Hard Knocks that got them in the news again…for the wrong reasons!

Hopefully the Dolphins practice well and concentrate on football, ignoring the cameras.  If they do that and the football team is not handicapped by the coverage, we are all in for a special training camp.  Personally, I plan on going to camp a few times this summer.  I’m looking forward to it because it will be my first time.  However, when I’m not there, at least I know I can tune into HBO to see what’s going on….on and off the field.  I’ve never seen a Hard Knocks episode….primarily because the Dolphins haven’t been featured, but also because I don’t have HBO.  I have the Sunday Ticket for DirecTV, but not HBO.  After today’s events, I’ll be subscribing to HBO, because for Dolphins fans like us, this will be MUST SEE TV.

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  • ToddJackson

    “Well, the Miami Dolphins are about to make me spend a little more money this football season.”

    That was your first sentence correct? Seems like no matter what, you were going to support the decision period. Then you outlined the pros.

    1. This opportunity may never come around again for Dolphins fans.

    That was basically all the pros you listed.

    Then you listed the cons.

    1. First, will Hard Knocks add unnecessary pressure to players to perform in front of the cameras?

    2. Second, will the Dolphins new, high-tempo offense be scouted more easily because of Hard Knocks coverage?

    3. Third, and perhaps the biggest concern: What if the Dolphins of old resurface?

    Would you agree the cons outweigh the pros? I do. If you and I agree then why did Philbin agree to it then?

    • http://www.phinnation.com Bill

      Todd, you’re right, I may have tipped my hand in the first sentence! I think as fans we have to love the access we are about to get into the Dolphins training camp. As for the pros, I mentioned that this could help the Dolphins in the eyes of the public, which is severely lacking right now…because they have great personalities on the team. This is a fresh start and the football world will see that this isn’t the same old Dolphins. Another pro is that the Dolphins will ultimately have the final say on what appears on the show, so no ‘secret’ plays will be shown, etc. Finally, coaches that have participated in Hard Knocks have said that the practices were noticeably better during tapings because players are eager to prove themselves more (why that’s the case is arguable). I apologize for not spelling the pros out as well as the cons. Are you not in favor of the Dolphins doing Hard Knocks?

      • ToddJackson

        I’m not in favor of it because Philbin is a new head coach. He shouldn’t be dealing with Hard Knocks period. I can understand a more seasoned coach with a more seasoned team.

        I also don’t understand how its a “football” decision to begin with. There is no case to be made its a football decision. So on the surface, this is a marketing decision. Yet, Philbin claimed its a football decision. Point being this. Is Philbin even in charge of anything in Miami? It all goes back to drafting Ryan also. Was that Philbins decision or someone else?

        Just so many things make me scratch my head about this team.

  • joecobb

    HELL YEAH bout time now we can keep up with what happens behind the seens and find out what kind of coaches jeff has hired and also if he lets them do their job!!! If he doesn’t then we’re screwed!!! But kudos so far Mr.Jeff!!! Go Phins

  • Iam305Jules

    I’m on the fence on this one and I shouldn’t be. I should, as a Dolphins’fan, be against Miami being on Hard Knocks, for all the good reasons listed by the gentlemen above and also because, this WCO hinges on priscision of execution and timing, so the players being 100% focused on football, is a necesity. Why be on the fence then? Because of all the wrong reasons, I want to see more of my Dolphins and curiosity, the cat and all the rest, and you knows what happens to the cat.

  • GADOLFAN

    I guess there’s really no reason not to do this, but why is such a big deal being made of this?? 90% of the population doesn’t even get HBO!

    • http://www.phinnation.com Bill

      I agree, and since the Dolphins have final editing power on what is and what isn’t shown on TV, there isn’t much reason to worry about ‘secrets’ getting out there.