Jon Gruden, G-Eazy & More Highlights From Raiders Hard Knocks Debut

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You know the NFL is on its way when Hard Knocks airs on HBO, the award-winning football docuseries that goes behind the scenes at an NFL training camp. On Sunday, the 14th season finally aired, giving Jon Gruden’s Oakland Raiders the preseason shine in 2019. You can’t avoid it, regardless of who your favorite team is, the show makes you have at least a little bit of a soft spot for whoever is featured.

After one episode, I think everyone is happy with the NFL’s choice. Of the five teams that would have been forced to do it, only San Francisco seems like a group that’s really intriguing, but Oakland carries the most cache.

For the record, the other three choices were Detroit, Washington, and the New York Giants.

7 Highlights From Raiders Hard Knocks Premiere

Jon Gruden

Not much of a surprise here, but Gruden absolutely carries the show. He’s engaging, well-adjusted, and someone with years of television experience. A few things that stuck out: Gruden told the team to skip the rookie hazing, which is commendable, and the speech where he said, “We’re not here to go to the Peach Bowl!” was classic. Knock if you’re with me!

G-Eazy

Bay Area rapper G-Eazy stopped by to show love, and predicted a 10-6 season for the Raiders.

Antonio Brown‘s Kids

Brown’s Kids: “Where’s Roethlisberger?”

Brown: “I forced my way out of Pittsburgh. Remember?”

It didn’t go down quite like that but it was a funny exchange nonetheless.

Richie Incognito

Look, it’s ironic that Incognito is on a team that’s trying to halt rookie hazing, and there’s plenty of baggage that comes along with the four-time Pro Bowler, yet, he makes for good television. America loves a train wreck and Incognito’s funeral home incident from last year is the epitome of one. That said, we also love comebacks, and regardless of his past, everyone should be hoping the lineman to thrive, both on the field and mentally.

READ: College Football Coming to NFL Network

Ronald Ollie

Though it wasn’t necessarily a highlight, since he gets cut shortly into the first episode, Ollie was a star on Last Chance U and I had no idea what happened to him. Apparently, he’s still a little bit of a wild card.

“Old Town Road”

Yes, the song is super played out but it happened, and it worked.

Guy Fieri

The host of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives isn’t from the Bay Area or anything but he was there. A highlight to some, annoying as f*ck to others.