As football fans count the days until kickoff of the 2023 National Football League regular season, they are remaining engaged with their teams all through training camp on a variety of traditional and digital media platforms. Whether it is through watching live TV reports from team facilities, the Quarterback documentary on Netflix produced in tandem with NFL Films or Omaha Productions or preseason action locally, consumers are doing everything they can to gear up for the beginning of another season of professional football.
One of the most notable indicators of the forthcoming season, however, is hearing the voice of Liev Schreiber narrate Hard Knocks, an all-access behind-the-scenes series produced by HBO Sports and NFL Films. This year, the New York Jets were selected as the featured team, one of four eligible to be chosen as per NFL rules and regulations.
During speculation about who would appear on the show and in the time leading up to the first episode of the show, Hard Knocks was a frequent point of discussion on the WFAN morning program, Boomer & Gio. The Jets had not appeared on the show since the 2010 season, which is the last time the franchise qualified for the NFL playoffs. With superstar quarterback Aaron Rodgers and a bevy of young talent in tow, “Gang Green” has championship aspirations entering the new year and plenty of people interested in what they are doing on a day-to-day basis.
One of those people is studio analyst for The NFL Today on CBS, Phil Simms, who was recently spotted in Florham Park, N.J. at Jets training camp. WFAN host Gregg Giannotti, however, thinks there are other reasons behind his visit.
“He’s trying to get on Hard Knocks; that’s what it is,” Giannotti said. “Yeah, without a doubt. When was the last time Phil Simms was at Jets camp?”
“He likes to go around to camps,” replied co-host Boomer Esiason, who works with Simms on The NFL Today. “He goes over to Giants camp.”
Simms, of course, played 14 seasons in the NFL as the quarterback of the New York Giants and won two Super Bowl championships with the team in 1987 and 1991. While the Giants and Jets share MetLife Stadium as their home, it is not the location where the teams are headquartered.
The Atlantic Health Jets Training Facility is about 40 minutes west of the Quest Diagnostics Giants Training Center, the latter of which is just steps away from the stadium. Simms visiting Jets camp in addition to Giants camp caught the attention of Giannotti, who firmly believes there is an ulterior motive involved.
“All of a sudden Aaron Rodgers is there [and the] Hard Knocks cameras,” Giannotti said. “He’s showing up there; he just needs more attention is really what it is.”
“I just think he’s making the rounds as an NFL analyst,” countered Esiason.
Simms will begin his 25th year with the NFL on CBS broadcast property, and his sixth on The NFL Today after Tony Romo joined Jim Nantz in the lead broadcast booth. CBS Sports will broadcast Super Bowl LVIII from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., the first under the league’s new 11-year national media rights deal reportedly worth more than $12 billion annually.
