The Indianapolis Colts saw their Hard Knocks: In Season premiere episode air on Wednesday night as will be the case every Wednesday through the end of their season.
For Colts fans, this looks like it will be a fun watch every week. Some of the bigger names dominated the show but we should get an in-depth look at the more underrated players on the team.
Many fans struggled to stream the premiere episode on HBO Max, but it eventually got working. When it did, we got plenty to cover.
So let’s get to it:
1
Star(s) of the Show
The first episode spent a lot of time talking about several of the players and their lives away from football. Of course, there was football. But a big theme in the episode included a lot of air time about the players as fathers.
Carson Wentz
They opened with a montage of the first nine games of the season to cover the bases and then went to one of the biggest stars of the night. Wentz, of course, was expected to have a lot of air time in the first episode. The episode covered his history with Frank Reich, the trade that took place this offseason to go along with a dominating aspect with his wife expecting their second child.
We got a quick look into the Wentz home and how they handled the arrival of a newborn. Wentz was focused on playing the game no matter what but said he and his wife talked thoroughly of the plan.
Darius Leonard
The Maniac was the other star of the show. The fourth-year linebacker showed off his “American Muscle” ride, how he’s dealing with playing through a nasty ankle injury and what it’s like to be a #girldad.
We got a good look at the ankle injury and how Leonard aggravated it during the Week 10 game against the Jaguars. Even more so, we got a better look at the Maniac as a father. From learning to tie his daughter Mia’s hair in a ponytail to learning how being with his family takes away some of the physical pain he endures from the game of football.
2
Notable Moments
- Jim Irsay trying to get the entire locker room to sing “We Will Rock You” by Queen following the win over the 49ers in Week 7. Let’s just say his flow was a bit off.
- Darius Leonard getting mad about his listed weight because then people think he’s small.
- The Maniac made it very clear he’s “220 and 8% body fat.”
- We got some good Jonathan Taylor content even if he was named as “the best running back you’ve never heard of.” Where you been living if you haven’t heard of JT?
- Frank Reich saying Urban Meyer’s comment about the Jaguars’ switch in defensive philosophy was “interesting.” That’s the nice way of Reich saying, “thanks for letting us know in public.” Because Reich’s a nice guy.
- Ryan Kelly and Mark Glowinski getting hyped at their respective baby gender reveals at Lucas Oil Stadium.
- Bubba Ventrone predicting Zaire Franklin’s punt block against the Jaguars while the team was preparing during the week was wild.
3
Most Intriguing Storyline
This episode felt like it spent more time talking about the players being fathers and their life away from home than it did football. There was a cool little montage at the beginning to recap the start of the season and there was a lot of footage from games and practice. But this episode truly focused on the players outside of football and what their families mean to them both has players and human beings, which was a nice aspect.
4
Overall Impressions
This seems like it’s going to work for HBO and NFL Films. This was a cool look inside the Colts’ locker room and into the lives of the players during the season. Typically with Hard Knocks, it’s just the preseason. So we don’t get the inside look at the everyday grind that players and coaches go through. Hopefully, we get into the deeper storylines of some of the more underrated players, but it was a very enjoyable premiere episode featuring most of the stars.