‘Hard Knocks’ lacks some drama, but this Dallas Cowboy steals the show | Opinion
Episode 2 of HBO’s Hard Knocks on the Dallas Cowboys Tuesday night didn’t have the drama of season’s first installment, which included the real time reactions to quarterback Dak Prescott sustaining a shoulder injury on the fourth day of training camp.
But HBO went back to what it does best: focus on personalities, tell unique stories and use camera angles and slow motion to give you a front-row seat to all the great action.
Running back Ezekiel Elliott continues to steal the show with his antics.
In the first episode, he stole Prescott’s bike and won over fans by googling how to gift wrap a present for his best friend and quarterback.
HBO is keeping Elliott mic’d up and he remains the life of the party.
He raised eyebrows Tuesday night by asking for baby powder at practice because his glutes were dry.
Who knew NFL training staffs carried baby powder as a medical essential?
Elliott comes back and says, if he “farts in practice, he will blowing out baby powder.” Too much information but classic Elliott.
He also commanded most of the attention during the team’s second preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals by smashing sunflower seeds like there was no tomorrow and being the team’s biggest cheerleader on the sidelines.
Elliott didn’t play in the game.
The most compelling feature was on undersized defensive end Azur Kamara, a 2020 undrafted free agent who is a long shot to make the team.
But Kamara and his family have already succeeded in life. A war forced them to flee the Ivory Coast when Kamara was a child. They landed in Arizona as refugees. He learned to play football in high school and landed a scholarship to Kansas.
The trip to Phoenix for the Cardinals game was the first time his family got to see him play in the NFL. And HBO chronicled his mother’s reactions the entire game.
It’s a great underdog story to follow.
“Everything I do, I do for my mom,” Kamara said.
Hard Knocks also highlighted defensive line coach Aden Durde, who learned to play football in the United Kingdom and played in NFL Europe.
The players and owner Jerry Jones are startled by his British accent, resulting in numerous impressions by defensive end Tarell Basham.
“He looks like he is from Arkansas, but he sounds like Winston Churchill,” Jones quipped.
Hard Knocks also featured a close-up on second-year receiver CeeDee Lamb, who has had the best training camp of any player on the team and is poised to be a breakout NFL superstar in 2021.
Said Prescott while watching Lamb in practice: “That’s an easy guy to throw a go-ball to; CeeDee just walks underneath them.”
Lamb said it’s nice to see himself being talked about on social media, though he said he “is not satisfied and wants a lot more.”
The same can be said for Hard Knocks.
This story was originally published August 18, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
