I would estimate that more than half of the fourth episode of Hard Knocks had nothing to do with Aaron Rodgers. Outside of an extended practice sequence that portrayed him as a conquering hero for turning the offense around after a poor drive, his lecture to Zach Wilson about Bluetooth EMF waves, and his barking at Jihad Ward of the New York Giants, this episode was actually about the New York Jets.
Seeing the stars at work has its place in this series. I would certainly rather hear from Rodgers during football practice than him giving an extended lecture on a different platform about Bluetooth rays scrambling my brain. Watching Quinnen Williams launch human beings from one side of the field to the other has been highly entertaining. But finally, we got to know some guys at the bottom of the depth chart.
There is more to Jerome Kapp than his 15 minutes of fame for reciting B-Rabbit’s final 8 Mile freestyle and Eminem posting it on Xwitter. Kapp is the type of worker who will be used in high school and Little League motivational speeches until the ESPY’s comes back around. The guy comes in before 6 a.m. and is ready to hit the Jugs machine. This undrafted free agent rookie out of DII Kutztown University wants to be nowhere on earth more than a professional football facility.
Xavier Gibson and Jason Brownlee were the other rookie wide receivers featured in episode 4. There were no shots of them in an empty practice facility, but there was much footage of them eating up the Jets’ defense in practice. Not only have they played well, but the two have buddy-cop movie chemistry. Their ping-pong game with five up-downs on the line was one of the most delightful moments of this season.
No Hard Knocks peek into the lives of the players on the roster bubble would be complete without the veteran clinging to his NFL career. Tanzel Smart was introduced to the audience in the previous episode, but in the most recent one, he received almost as much airtime as Rodgers. He invited the defensive line over for a car-coochie board, and the main attraction, some crawfish etouffee prepared by his born and bred in Louisiana hands.
Viewers saw Smart’s wife and daughter at their home, dining with the defensive line. They also saw Smart go down during the Jets’ final preseason game against the Giants. Brownlee, Gibson, Kapp, and, of course, Rodgers had their moments, but the game was all about Smart.
He entered the game during the second quarter, and would go on to hurt his shoulder while trying to chase down a running back. Smart and his wife and daughter looked on in the MetLife Stadium stands as he attempted to grit through the pain, and get back onto the field. The trainers tried to loosen the shoulder with Tiger Balm, but Smart was forced to get an X-ray. When the second half began, Smart returned to the field and was shown repetitively making plays, much to the approval of his family.
What has been missing from the season was finally present in the penultimate episode. Getting attached to the guys fighting for a spot is the secret sauce of the show. Preseason football is largely viewed as a bunch of no-names who largely will not be a factor come September, but Hard Knocks presents these players as people who are scratching and scraping, trying to survive as NFL players. They are giant athletes who most people did not know the name of until watching the show, but form an emotional bond with the viewers.
The first sad player release occurred before the end of episode 4. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported before the season began that the Jets do not believe in showing players getting cut. Kapp wasn’t shown giving the coaches a bro hug on the way out, but Liev Schreiber did announce that the faux B-Rabbit had been released as he walked down a hallway.
Tuesday was cutdown day for the NFL, so the Jets’ roster is complete. I won’t spoil it here, but Kapp is certainly not the only player the audience has gotten to briefly know who did not make the 53-man roster.
It took Hard Knocks a while to get to the heart of the show — and that includes this episode — but once they finally did, the show looked more like itself than at any point this season. And Smith’s crawfish etouffee certainly looked better than any car-coochie board ever assembled.