Notes: Are the Detroit Lions now America’s team after ‘Hard Knocks’?

Like a lot of you reading this, I grew up watching “Hard Knocks.” For me, it signaled that summer was coming to an end, and football was right around the corner. I’ve always enjoyed the product HBO puts out, even when I couldn’t really stand the featured team, or when some of the chosen storylines began to feel redundant.

Still, being a Detroit Lions fan—it was difficult to imagine the Lions being the featured team, and even harder to imagine the Lions potentially becoming a national darling after the series was over. And yet, that is exactly what has happened.

James Dator of the SB Nation mothership has called this season of “Hard Knocks“ the best in years, and he isn’t alone. Many football fans have suddenly grown fond of the Lions, and with all of the personalities on the team—both on the roster and in the coaching ranks—it’s easy to understand why.

General manager Brad Holmes and coach Dan Campbell have put in plenty of work during the first year on the job, and while the process is still far from complete—they are beginning to reap some of the rewards of their labor. Holmes has preached top-down collaboration from the jump, and Campbell has filled his coaching staff with former players who can empathize with the people they are coaching.

“I promise you that whoever saw the Lions on Hard Knocks this season will adopt Detroit as their second team,” Dator concludes.

In the end, receiving rave reviews on “Hard Knocks” won’t help the Lions in the win column. But becoming “America’s team” wouldn’t be so bad. You can read the entirety of the article here.

And now, onto the rest of today’s notes:

• Trust and cohesion between an offensive coordinator and quarterback cannot be overstated. For Jared Goff, one year can make a big difference. Justin Rogers, of The Detroit News, sat down with Goff and first-year coordinator Ben Johnson to discuss the new scheme and how collaboration matters in Allen Park.

• In case you missed it, ESPN’s Eric Woodyard wrote about cornerback Jeff Okudah’s recovery process, and how NBA player John Wall helped in the process.

• Jeff Risdon of the Lions Wire gives his best stat line predictions for the 2022 season.

• The Philadelphia Eagles are looking pretty healthy ahead of the season opener.

• Rogers also tracked down some details about who will be calling and officiating this week’s Lions game: