Rams to be on HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks’ as Case Keenum mania hits L.A.
The Los Angeles Rams have barely settled in on the West Coast, and they already have their own reality show.
The transplant Rams will be featured on HBO’s popular “Hard Knocks” show that will be the league’s first relocated franchise in more than 20 years on display through training camp and the preseason, according to Los Angeles Times’ Sam Farmer.
L.A., can you feel the Case Keenum fever?!
“It’s clear both in Southern California and nationwide there’s significant interest in the return of the Rams to Los Angeles, and it seemed like a very good year to give people a look at our franchise and our players,” Rams chief operating officer Kevin Demoff said. “We have one of the youngest teams, a lot of talented players — back-to-back Rookies of the Year — that we want people to start to get exposure to. What better way to do that than ‘Hard Knocks’?”
So Demoff says, and yes Todd Gurley and Aaron Donald are fine players. But the Rams are not yet a household group. It’s clear the NFL, having moved back to Los Angeles for the first time since the mid-1990s when the Rams and Raiders both left, wants to make this more of a marquee squad.
The show will kick off on Aug. 9 and run weekly through the Sept. 6 finale. It has been a staple now for more than a decade among NFL fans, who love the all-access look behind the scenes at how an NFL franchise is run in the heat of camp. This one clearly has an extra layer to it, with the Rams likely inhabiting temporary digs for camp and just getting their feet wet in California.
And perhaps it will thrust the Rams out of their Mendoza Line rut under Jeff Fisher. As Farmer notes, the past six “Hard Knocks” participants all have teams have equaled or bettered their win percentage from the season prior, and two of the past three — the 2013 Cincinnati Bengals and 2015 Houston Texans — have made the playoffs.
Right now, we’re still a bit “meh” on this choice, but it’s hardly unexpected. Heck, we expect the NFL to move other events to Los Angeles, including future drafts and a steady diet of prime-time games.
Maybe Gregg Williams will do or say something fun. Maybe we can figure out Fisher’s supposed coaching genius, and determine why he’s still allowed to coach despite his incredible run of non-postseason appearances. And there’s still time for the Rams’ roster to get a bit more interesting between now and camp, but short of that we’ll have to just assume that the Emmy Award-winning production will be the real meat of this year’s show.
But will you watch? We’re genuinely interested to hear.
– – – – – – –
Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm
