In the first episode of Hard Knocks In Season: The Indianapolis Colts, we learned that the information NFL teams are willing to make public, though awash in coach-speak and lacking by design any game-plan insight, doesn't go unnoticed by opposing teams.
Nor does Hard Knocks itself, for the same reason.
New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick indicated Monday that the series is worth scanning for anything useful for his team's preparation ahead of its Saturday night road game against the Colts, airing exclusively on NFL Network.
"We track most everything any team that we play does. Depending on the relevance or importance of that information, at some point, it gets relayed down the line," Belichick said, via Masslive.com. "We have somebody that studies each team. Any relevant comments or information that we think is relevant to the preparation, that could be shared, sure."
On the first episode of the Colts' Hard Knocks series, with the team preparing to face the Jacksonville Jaguars on Nov. 14, coach Frank Reich noted that Jaguars coach Urban Meyer made an "interesting" press conference comment that the Jaguars were evolving into a zone-based look in the secondary.
The Jaguars had just come off a 9-6 upset of the Buffalo Bills, and the clear implication was that Reich thought the comment was of use for the Colts' preparation for the game, which Indianapolis won 23-17. It might be buried on the bottom of the pile of Meyer missteps, but it was enough for Reich to take notice.
Belichick, for his part, seems set to capitalize on any slip Reich might make while a Hard Knocks camera is rolling.
Hard Knocks, which first aired in 2001, has traditionally taken fans behind the scenes at NFL training camps. The Colts series, however, is the first time Hard Knocks has featured a team midseason. The Patriots have never been the subject of the show.
"There's a lot of reasons I wouldn't [be] excited about it," Belichick said.
