Dallas Cowboys: Will Hard Knocks appearance be self-destructive?

Well, here we go again. Just when we thought the Dallas Cowboys might have a bland, uneventful offseason concentrating strictly on football, Jerry Jones strikes again. We found out last week via NFL.com that HBO had chosen the Cowboys to be featured on this year’s installment of Hard Knocks. I would be shocked if this was met by anything other than smiles and high-fives from those in the front office.

For the past two offseasons, most of the team controversy surrounded the contract extension, or lack thereof, for quarterback Dak Prescott. After securing a lucrative 4 year $160million deal, that storyline seemed to be off the table this season.

Most diehard fans were looking forward to some amazing position battles during camp at linebacker, defensive back, and along the defensive line, but we know that drama sells when it comes to Hard Knocks.

Hard Knocks will be highly rated because it’s the Dallas Cowboys; drama could send it through the roof.

According to this tweet from NFL Research, the number of unsuccessful seasons following an appearance on Hard Knocks far outnumbers seasons ending in playoff runs.

Captured within those previous non-playoff qualifying teams are the 2002 and 2008 editions of the Cowboys. Neither team made the playoffs, but both swirled with camp intrigue. The star of the 2002 camp was Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith.

Dak’s return to full strength is the Dallas Cowboys only hope to reach the playoffs, but If healthy, Dak is likely to put up more video-game type numbers like last year before the injury.

This was the year he was poised to break fellow Hall of Famer running back Walter Payton’s all-time rushing record, which he did in a 17-14 loss to Seattle en route to a 5-11 season record. The dramatic storyline of 2008 was surrounding the reinstatement of cornerback Adam “Pac-man” Jones. That team finished 9-7 and also missed the playoffs.

Besides the previously mentioned position battles, I would hazard a guess the episodes will attempt to focus on the health of Dak’s surgically repaired ankle.

According to Reid Hanson of SportDFW, the Cowboys need to declare independence from stupid coaching decisions. Let’s hope that same mantra makes its way up to the owner’s box. While the Hard Knocks decision has already been made, the Dallas Cowboys can still make it about football and not about things that won’t make us a better team.

Are you excited about the Dallas Cowboys being on Hard Knocks this year? Do you plan to watch?

• Published on 07/07/2021 at 16:01 PM
• Last updated at 07/07/2021 at 12:33 PM