Predictable Bears Reaction to Hard Knocks

Bears owner threw cold water on the notion of his team being featured on Hard Knocks.

If HBO and the NFL come knocking, don't expect George McCaskey and his Bears to answer.

McCaskey was asked at the NFL owners meetings for his feelings about Hard Knocks, the behind-the-scenes HBO look at an NFL team in training camp and even now twice in the regular season.

"We feel there are a number of teams that have compelling stories to tell on 'Hard Knocks,' " McCaskey told reporters in Arizona.

But not the Bears?

"31 others," he said.

This much was forecasted by BearDigest last week after a story by Sports Illustrated's Dan Lyons concluded the New York Jets would be ideal for the show.

The Jets, Bears, Saints and Commanders are the four teams eligible for consideration based on past practices, but there has been no word about it yet from the league or HBO officials.

The Aaron Rodgers soap opera makes it a perfect setting, plus New York being a media capital.

Teams can't have a first-year head coach, have to be a non-playoff team for the last two seasons and they can't have been on the show in the last decade. 

The Bears have never been on it, Matt Eberflus is in his second year and the Bears haven't been in the playoffs since the 2020 season.

The Bears would have the excitement going on in Chicago over Justin Fields on their side, and finally getting him some weapons but the McCaskey family has never really been HBO-ready and team coaches or officials have been asked about this in the past, resulting in similar negative responses. There would be  cameras all over the place at Halas Hall and players saying and doing things the team might not appreciate, more or less.

The Cardinals were on an in-season version of it last year and the Lions were on it in training camp.

Bears coach Matt Eberflus has had to deal with the so-called distraction of it before. The 2021 Colts were the other in-season Hard Knocks subject during his last year in Indianapolis.

There have been 22 versions of the programs starting with the 2001 Baltimore Ravens. The L.A. Rams and Chargers were in one together in 2020.

The Dallas Cowboys have been on it three times (2002, 2008, 2021).

The Bears haven't been on it and the Lions last year were the only team from the NFC North ever featured.

In fact, only half of the league's teams have been on the show, which was once canceled after two seasons but then revived five years later in 2007. It has been around ever since, and even survived the pandemic restrictions on teams by the league.

Hard Knocks

Baltimore Ravens 2001

Dallas Cowboys 2002

(Show discontinued in 2003, revived in 2007)

Kansas City Chiefs 2007

Dallas Cowboys 2008

Cincinnati Bengals 2009

New York Jets 2010

Miami Dolphins 2012

Cincinnati Bengals 2013

Atlanta Falcons 2014

Houston Texans 2015

Los Angeles Rams 2016

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2017

Cleveland Browns 2018

Oakland Raiders 2019

Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers 2020

Dallas Cowboys 2021

Indianapolis Colts 2021 (in-season)

Detroit Lions 2022

Arizona Cardinals 2022 (in-season)

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven