The Lions are America’s Team after the best ‘Hard Knocks’ season in years

Best season in a decade.

The 2022 season of Hard Knocks ended on Wednesday night after we got to spend the last five weeks getting to know the Detroit Lions. It was unquestionably one of the best seasons in the show’s 21-year history, and even the most die-hard NFC North fan with a predisposition to hate all things Detroit has to admit this team is so likable it hurts.

This is a team who were sympathetic going into the year, and are now even more so. Part of that is simply being the Lions, one of the NFL’s perennial cellar-dwellers, woven into the national consciousness through Thanksgiving games. This season of Hard Knocks did so well at using the team as an allegory for the city itself — down, but not out. Eternally hopeful, and desperate to make a comeback. It’s to this end Dan Campbell is the ideal figure to lead this team back.

Campbell is the nexus of all things that fueled this season. The second-year, ex-player head coach is the paragon of what people imagine a stereotypical football coach is. From the opening moments of episode one, with “GRIT” written on the meeting room wall in giant block letters, to speaking in football platitudes that make absolutely zero sense.

“It doesn’t matter if you have one ass cheek and three toes, I’m going to beat your ass.”

I still have no clue what this means, but it doesn’t really matter I suppose.

The thing that bleeds through the screen is how Campbell wants his players to retain their individuality. He’s definitely a players’ coach who doesn’t believe in squashing personality in service of a team ideal, but rather harnessing these personalities and tweaking them into his vision of a football player on the field. Part of this is an unwavering belief in respect, not to him, but each other — as Campbell tells his team ahead of their first preseason game that the “only thing that will make me lose my shit” is if he sees starters and backups not paying attention to third and forth quarter players fighting for a roster spot.

Everything in Campbell’s world is earned, not given — and that exudes through his position coaches. After a touchdown running back D’Andre Swift heads to the sideline, and instead of getting congratulations, coach Duce Staley reminds him that easier yards were available between the tackles, rather than bouncing it outside as Swift did on the run.

This is a huge element of what makes this team likable as well — the coaching staff. Campbell has assembled a veritable who’s-who of former players, with the aforementioned Staley leading the running backs, Aaron Glenn as defensive coordination, Mark Brunell at quarterback coach, Antwaan Randle El for the wide receivers, and more. The interplay of these big personalities was great to watch in Hard Knocks, particularly Staley and Glenn jawing back-and-forth in practice over whose unit is doing better.

For as much fun as this season was, the final episode was a predictable heartbreaker. It was time to cut down to 53 players, and that meant that many of personalities we got to know were about to have their NFL dreams snuffed out. It was particularly brutal during a montage of exit interviews where Campbell and GM Brad Holmes told player after player that they didn’t make the cut. Some took it well, wanting to know what they could do better — others could barely keep eye contact, not out of disrespect, but endless disappointment.

One of the things Hard Knocks showed so well is that for depth players it’s really not about the individual player, but how these players mesh with the starter and what they can bring as a compliment. Inside the sadness were a couple of bright spots, running back Craig Reynolds winning the final spot in a crowded room of rushers and fighting to represent his family. The other was Chase Lucas, 7th round pick in the draft, who soaked up every moment of his experience, half-expecting to be cut, before finally finding out he made the team.

This was a truly a remarkable season of the show, and worth binge-watching if you didn’t get a chance. I promise you that whoever saw the Lions on Hard Knocks this season will adopt Detroit as their second team.

The 6 best moments from Hard Knocks this year

• Duce Staley threatening to fine and kick out any player in the RB room who farts
• Aidan Hutchinson awkwardly singing “Billy Jean” to the delight of his teammates
• Campbell recommending his linebackers wear Depends the first practice back after a game
• Chase Lucas grinning like a kid after getting his first interception, asking the official if he could have the game ball
• Malcolm Rodriguez buying cowboy boots and a cowboy hat in the middle of Detroit
• A player asking his teammates why they don’t wear cups anymore