Hard Knocks (2001)

The Atlanta Falcons make their acting debuts. For a team coming off a massively disappointing 4-12 campaign in 2013, the opening of training camp for the Atlanta Falcons has featured some feisty moments, the Falcons scrapped frequently over the first few days of training camp. Steven Jackson left practice with a left hamstring injury that will leave him sidelined for a couple weeks. Head coach Mike Smith tried to look on the bright side stressing that will give the team a better look at rookie running back Devonta Freeman. Rookie defensive tackle Donte Rumph picked up the nickname “cupcake” from his teammates. However, after a pair of strong practices, Rumph was able to shed the nickname. Defensive tackle Peria Jerry elected to retire and word of the news began to filter throughout the team’s facility. “He retired? Today? Are you serious? Can I Google it? Are you for real or are you playing?” Jackson said when being told of Jerry’s decision by a teammate. The meeting between coach Smith and Jerry letting him know of his decision was shown with Smith trying to make sure Jerry was completely committed to his decision to walk away from the game. “He said he felt that his body was not reacting like he wanted it to,” Smith relayed to owner Arthur Blank. Rookie safety Dezmen Southward did an entertaining impersonation of special teams coach Keith Armstrong. Neat freak Harry Douglas admitted he uses woman's deodorant because men's smells bad. Rookie defensive tackle Ra'Shede Hageman really can't sing, no matter if he did please his teammate with the subject of his song. Hageman was singing the blues after a poor showing during "Friday Night Lights."

The 2nd week of the Atlanta Falcons 2014 training camp routine. Roosevelt Nix-Jones, who was making the transition from defensive end to fullback, was released to kick off the show. Teammates expressed some surprise to see his locker cleaned out, but such is part of training camp, and many more cuts are yet to come. Hageman's fighting in practice and resulting injury led Mike Smith to ban fighting from practice. Thomas Dimitroff talks about his history with a dad as a coach and how he started as a grounds keeper. Titans are in town for practice and Smitty is warning the guys not to fight with them. He tells them they'll be fined and kicked off the field if they do. "If someone takes a swing, don't retaliate, remember their number. We play them in about two weeks."

The show opens in a new, and very interesting way: showing the ACL reconstructive surgery for Marquis Spruill. It's clear the episode has a certain tone for the week, and this start is quite fitting. Undrafted rookie defensive tackle Theo Agnew has friended one of Cox's daughters on Instagram. In a rather telling scene, we see Kroy Biermann with Outside Linebackers coach Mark Collins. In speaking about his performance, Kroy admits to feeling tentative on his foot, and he's not happy with his performance so far. While he may be healthy, it's clear he needs to learn to re-trust his body. Along those lines, we see a quick interview with Julio and how this has been the longest stretch he's had without football in his life. We're treated to a series of clips where Julio just looks like a man-child amongst the others in camp, catching everything in sight. We finally get some focus on one of the intriguing receivers on the roster: "Amsterdam" Geraldo Boldewijn. TD says he is raw and that Geraldo knows he's raw, but they really like his potential. To close out the episode, we see Matt Ryan addressing the team in the locker room, dropping some F-bombs and telling the team that they'll use the next day to get their heads on straight and that they will turn things around on Monday. The episode closes with a somber tone, as we watch the players board the plane back to Atlanta.

The intensity of training camp heats up as fifteen players are cut from the roster and veterans prepare for the regular season. Also: a thunderstorm sends the team heading for cover.

The preseason comes to a close as the Falcons head to Jacksonville to face the Jaguars; coaches evaluate performances as they prepare for final cuts.