‘Hard Knocks’: 5 takeaways from Raiders’ first episode
NAPA, Calif. — Cameras have been documenting every minute of the Raiders’ time at their training camp facility for the last couple of weeks.
The footage finally hit the airwaves Tuesday night with the first episode of this season of “Hard Knocks” on HBO.
Here are five takeaways from the first episode:
1. Poor Matt Schaub
The veteran quarterback spent just one season with the Raiders in 2014, but that didn’t prevent him from getting roasted. Former Raiders wide receiver James Jones was captured on camera relaying the story of Schaub getting outplayed by rookie Derek Carr during training camp and the players being aware Schaub was holding the spot until Carr was ready. Schaub has a tenuous grip on the backup job with the Falcons at the age of 38 and likely had no idea the skewering was coming. If he was checking Twitter on Tuesday night, he’s well aware of it by now.
2. “Float like a butterfly, sting like AB”
It’s no surprise that Antonio Brown was a featured star of the episode despite missing all but one practice in training camp. There was no grand revelation about the foot condition sidelining him (reports are it stems from a cryotherapy mishap while treating a previous injury). The star wide receiver made plenty of appearances from arriving on a hot air balloon to answering questions from his kids about why he no longer plays with Ben Roethlisberger . He also was shown to have a problem going less than 100 percent on the field despite soreness in what was clearly a concerted effort to paint him in a favorable light.
3. Ronald Ollie did it to himself
There was considerable disappointment on social media when “Last Chance U” star Ronald Ollie was released by the Raiders early in training camp. Even his biggest fans may be more understanding of the move after the way it was portrayed. Ollie asked out of practice, but failed to show up to the training room the next day for treatment. Position coach Brentson Buckner lectured him about being a professional, but Jon Gruden went a step further and ordered his outright release. “Let’s get some of these (expletive) guys out of here that don’t want to play,” he said. “If we’re not going to listen to the trainer, who are we going to listen to?”
4. Kids appreciate the classics
Rookie first-round picks Johnathan Abram and Clelin Ferrell weren’t even in kindergarten when the cult classic sitcom “The Wayans Bros.” went off the air, yet they provided one of the most hilarious moments when they held hands while riding horses and sang the show’s iconic theme song. It was the culmination of a great scene featuring Abram, the unquestioned breakout star of the episode (How do you pronounce salmon?), showcasing his knowledge of horses and Ferrell nearly overshooting the mount with producers going the obvious route with the song selection of “Old Town Road.”
5. Linemen love Guy Fieri
There have been several celebrity appearances at training camp, including rapper G-Eazy and California Gov. Gavin Newsom. There was a brief clip of Abram chatting with G-Eazy, but it was Guy Fieri’s appearance that stood out as the Food Network star was surrounded by several members of the team’s mammoth offensive line. Richie Incognito was particularly starstruck by Fieri’s arrival in Napa. “That’s my guy,” Incognito proclaimed.Fieri is a Raiders fan who grew up in Northern California and also has a tie to their future home in Las Vegas as a UNLV alum.
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Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.