Falcons will be the featured team on HBO's Hard Knocks this summer

The Atlanta Falcons will be the subject of this summer's "Hard Knocks" as the team prepares to bounce back from a forgettable 2013 season.

The Atlanta Falcons will be the featured team on HBO's Hard Knocks this summer, the team announced Thursday. The series will begin on Aug. 5.

The long-running documentary series, entering its ninth season, follows one NFL team as it goes through training camp in preparation for the season. The Cincinnati Bengals, Miami Dolphins and New York Jets have been featured most recently.

The Falcons will be doing the show for the first time, though owner Arthur Blank and general manager Thomas Dimitroff have reportedly been interested for several years. ESPN reported in 2012 that the team had extensive internal discussions at every level of the organization about being featured, before ultimately declining the opportunity.

This season's series will focus on a team that saw its record drop precipitously in 2013. The Falcons were considered potential Super Bowl contenders, before injuries ravaged key players in what was supposed to be a high-powered offense. Those injuries left an underwhelming defense overexposed. Atlanta fell to 4-12 after going 13-3 with a trip to the NFC Championship Game game during the 2012 season.

Blank released a statement in conjunction with the announcement, via the team's official site:

"We are excited about the opportunity to give our fans a behind the scenes look at what it takes to prepare an NFL team for the rigors of a 16-game regular season and beyond," said Falcons Owner & Chairman Arthur M. Blank. "This marks the first time that our franchise will be featured on HARD KNOCKS and we look forward to showcasing our great players and coaches to football fans all across America."
Beginning Tuesday, Aug. 5, five hour-long episodes will be shown at 10 p.m. ET on the same day each week, culminating in a Sept. 2 season finale. Each week's episode will be replayed at 11 p.m. every Wednesday.

The Falcons will be the seventh different team to be featured on Hard Knocks. The Bengals (2009, 2013) and Cowboys (2002, 2008) have been featured multiple times. The Baltimore Ravens (2001) were the first subject of the series. Joining those three teams have been the Kansas City Chiefs (2007), the Jets (2010) and the Dolphins (2012).

The reaction over at the Falcoholic is somewhat mixed, given how much work the team needs to do this offseason.

Obviously, this is great exposure for the Falcons and an opportunity to get the kind of national love that sometimes eludes this team. It also is going to be a sharply divisive show for Falcons fans, with some already excited and others viewing it as an unnecessary distraction after a 4-12 2013 season. I'm not 100% certain how I feel about this yet-the announcement blindsided me-but as a fan of the team, I'm at least going to enjoy getting deeper insight into the players from the show.

Quote:The series was created by Marty Callner in 2001.
The series has been narrated by Liev Schreiber since 2001, with the only exception being the 2007 season which was narrated by Paul Rudd, a fan of the Kansas City Chiefs.
The San Francisco 49ers, Atlanta Falcons, Seattle Seahawks, Houston Texans, and Washington Redskins each declined to be the show's featured team for the 2013 season, while the Cincinnati Bengals accepted, marking their second appearance on the show. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell subsequently said that he wanted more teams to be featured on the series, on "some kind of formal rotation."
Despite the difficulty each year in finding a team willing to participate, NFL Films announced on July 18, 2013, that it had signed a "multiyear" contract extension with HBO to continue producing the show.
On October 8, 2013, the NFL announced that one team each year will be required to participate in Hard Knocks. Teams may still volunteer to be on the show. Teams with new coaches, teams that have been in the playoffs at least once in the past 2 years, or teams that have done the show once in the past 10 years are exempt from being forced into appearing on the show.
On June 12, 2014 it was announced that the Atlanta Falcons will be the team featured on this season's edition of Hard Knocks. 

McCarron led the Crimson Tide to two national championships

Alabama star quarterback A.J. McCarron signed Thursday with the Cincinnati Bengals.

A fifth-round selection, McCarron led the Crimson Tide to two national championships, setting several school passing records. But his arm strength was questioned by many pro teams, and he slid to 164th overall in the draft.

McCarron will be a backup to four-year veteran Andy Dalton, who has gotten Cincinnati to the playoffs in each of his three pro seasons. But the Bengals are 0-3 in postseason games with Dalton.

After being drafted, McCarron said: ''I'm confident in myself but at the same time, I know Andy's the QB out there and I respect that.''

Cincinnati also signed cornerback Lavelle Westbrooks, a seventh-round pick out of Georgia Southern.

The Bengals have signed four of their eight draft selections.

The NFL has hired 12 new officials for the 2014 season and promoted two veterans to referee.


Ronald Torbert and Craig Wrolstad were promoted to referee, replacing the retired Scott Green and Ron Winter, the league announced Thursday. Wrolstad has spent the past 11 seasons as a field judge. Torbert has worked the past four seasons as a side judge.

Among the dozen new officials is side judge Shawn Hochuli, the son of always-recognizable referee Ed Hochuli, and field judge Brad Freeman, the son of back judge Steve Freeman, a former player with Buffalo.

Two women, line judge Sarah Thomas and head linesman Maia Chaka, will work minicamps and preseason games this year. They are in the officiating development program and officiated in Conference USA in 2013.

''The NFL is about constantly striving to improve performance, and that is certainly the case for our game officials,'' said Dean Blandino, the league's director of officiating. ''Both Ron and Craig have proven to be outstanding NFL officials and they are ready to assume the increased responsibilities of the referee position. Our 12 first-year officials were all among the best in college football.''

The other 10 first-year officials are umpires Brad Allen and Bryan Neale; head linesman Patrick Turner; field judges Eugene Hall and John Jenkins; side judges Alex Kemp and Scott Novak; line judge Ed Walker; and back judges Rich Martinez and Steve Patrick.

The most experienced officials are referees Walt Coleman, in his 26th season, and the senior Hochuli and Mike Carey, each in his 25th. In all, 119 officials will work in seven-man crews during the regular season.

Steve Freeman and Philip McKinnely, who was with the Falcons, Rams and Bears, are former players now officiating games.