The Buffalo Payments will quickly discover themselves in a far brighter highlight than standard, because of HBO’s Laborious Knocks, per NBCSports. And for head coach Sean McDermott, that comes with extra than simply further digital camera angles—it comes with stress.
McDermott, in his typical forthright type, acknowledged the issue of staying genuine when microphones are lurking round each nook. His primary concern facilities on belief. Belief, he defined, is the glue that holds groups collectively in the course of the grueling stretch of coaching camp. It’s not one thing that kinds simply when gamers are aware of what is likely to be aired on nationwide tv.
“The true problem to us is the authenticity of who we’re,” McDermott stated. “That glue half goes to be challenged due to that third part, whether or not it’s a microphone, a digital camera in several rooms, in several conversations.” For a coach who’s spent eight years constructing a tradition based mostly on openness and accountability, something that threatens that inside honesty goes to boost eyebrows.
Though the NFL’s rule change this 12 months eliminated the earlier playoff exemption from the present, making the Payments eligible to be featured for the primary time, the response out of Buffalo hasn’t been one among celebration. In keeping with The Athletic’s Tim Graham, the temper contained in the constructing can finest be described as reluctant. Or as Graham put it bluntly, “They detest the thought of Laborious Knocks.”
Article Continues Under
Between Publicity and Disruption
Whereas McDermott did be aware that followers will benefit from the peek backstage, he was fast to make clear that the view received’t be full. “Is it one hundred pc inside? Possibly not,” he stated. That assertion alone hints at a deep discomfort with how effectively a digital camera crew can actually seize the nuances of an NFL locker room.
For a crew that’s been on the sting of championship competition, distractions like this should not welcome. Belief and togetherness are what McDermott believes will take them excessive, and he sees the looming presence of a actuality collection as one thing that would crack that basis. But he made clear that the Payments received’t change who they’re simply because a increase mic is hanging overhead.
For followers, this may seem to be an thrilling improvement. However inside One Payments Drive, the cameras are rolling—and so is the skepticism.