Many teams avoided, but Atlanta embraces the media’s invasion of training camp for this year’s Hard Knocks.
During the 2013 playoffs, the Atlanta Falcons came just 4 points shy in their NFC Championship loss to the San Francisco 49ers, which would carry on into the following season last year. The Falcons would go on to have their worst year ever under the Mike Smith & Matt Ryan era, winning only 4 games for the 2013 season. The team would finish last the entire NFL for rushing yards gained and in the bottom five for yards given up.
Atlanta would put their primary focus on the lines of scrimmage acquiring Tyson Jackson, Jon Asamoah & Paul Soliai then drafting standout OT Jake Matthews at last month’s NFL Draft. While they’ve been trying to move past their on-field demons of last season, HBO revealed earlier the Falcons will be featured on this year’s edition of Hard Knocks. Head coach Mike Smith has avoided media distractions to his team during training camp, but saw the opportunity as an advantage to re-connect with their fans after last year’s nightmare season..
With Julio Jones returning from season-ending foot surgery, there’s a lot of intriguing storylines we will see this August 5th when the new season of Hard Knocks premieres.
#HardKnocks: Training Camp with the @Atlanta_Falcons set to premiere Tuesday, August 5th at 10 PM only on HBO pic.twitter.com/sBtZw20ikV
— HBO (@HBO) June 12, 2014
OS REWIND: NFL Releases 2014 Schedule
OS REWIND: The 2014 NFL Draft 1st Round Picks
OS REWIND: Larry King Now Discusses New NFL “N-Word” Rule