NFL 'Forced It Down Our Throats!' Aaron Rodgers Gripes About 'Hard Knocks'

The New York Jets are officially the pick for HBO's "Hard Knocks.'' Could that derail the Aaron Rodgers-led Jets bid to overtake the Buffalo Bills?

There is nobody in the NFL who gripes more than Aaron Rodgers. (That's a stat; you can look it up.) And every once in a while, the now-New York Jets quarterback has a point. ... including right now.

"Look, I understand the appeal with us,'' Rodgers said, moaning about the NFL's decision to make the Jets the centerpiece of this summer's "Hard Knocks'' show on HBO. "There's a lot of eyes on me, a lot of eyes on our team, a lot of expectations for us, so they forced it down our throats and we gotta deal with it.''

On the one hand, this might be a good spot for Rodgers to "shut up and play.'' The "eyes on him'' are the result of both his excellence (as a four-time MVP before being traded from Green Bay) and his diva-level behavior; If he doesn't like "eyes on him,'' playing in the NFL, forcing his way to New York, and entering a wildly competitive AFC East where good teams are chasing the Buffalo Bills ... all represent awful career choices.

On the other hand, "Hard Knocks'' - while it can provide great and insightful content for fans - does the involved teams no favors. Cameras are where they should not be. Conversations are often faked. It's an "unnatural'' way - even know "Hard Knocks'' has now been around 18 years - to work through a training camp.

Hard Knocks on @HBO is coming to the @nyjets. What say you, Aaron Rodgers? Thgts from the 14th green at the American Century Championship. @ACChampionship @AaronRodgers12 @KPIXtv pic.twitter.com/SrfVEW7w88

— vernkpix (@vernKPIX) July 12, 2023

That's enough to raise some hope from Buffalo Bills fans that the presence of the show - and Aaron's discomfort with it - might derail the Jets' chase of Buffalo's AFC East crown.

The show will be filmed during training camp and the first episode will be released on Aug. 8 on HBO and MAX. The hour-long episodes will run until Sept. 6. ... and the theatrical Aaron Rodgers will be asked to, well, be theatrical.

"One of the only things I like about Hard Knocks is the voice of God who narrates it,'' said Rodgers, trying to be funny. "I hope I get to meet him.''

Alert to Aaron: It's not "God''; it's actor Liev Schreiber, and no Aaron, he usually does the voice-overs from a studio, not from hobnobbing on the sideline. ... though given the "unnatural'' state of it all, maybe HBO should "shove that down the throat'' of the Jets as well.

Thanks for reading our SI-powered coverage of your Buffalo Bills ... Bills Mafia!

You're a member of Bills Mafia hungry for more Buffalo coverage? Read here.