While no numbers have been released, it’s clear that the new All or Nothing series from NFL Films and Amazon.com has generated plenty of positivity for the Arizona Cardinals and, indirectly, the league.
But it’s important when drawing conclusions about the Cardinals and the NFL to remember that, ultimately, we’re seeing a very small slice of the overall reality of an NFL season -- specifically eight hours of 1,000 that were captured. This means that 992 hours of footage landed on the cutting-room floor, which would be more than enough to film up the entire cutting room, and more.
Ultimately, the stuff regarded as the best of the very best made it into the documentary, which given the manner in which it was created makes it something other than a true documentary. True documentaries aren’t produced by the subjects of it; they’re made by someone neutral and objective with an interest only in telling the whole story (good, bad, and ugly) in a compelling, accurate, and authentic way.
America’s love of the NFL provides the perfect cover for this inherent glitch in the accuracy and candor of what we see and hear. Generally, fans of the NFL will say it’s better to get some (or, all things considered, hardly any) of the story than none of it. As a result, few will complain that, while the contents of those eight hours in isolation may reflect truth, they don’t come close to telling the whole truth.
Truth be told, this dynamic makes every NFL Films project of this nature an infomercial, with content carefully selected to create the best impression possible of the specific team being showcased and of all players, coaches, and other persons featured in it.
Ultimately, only a handful of people were actually featured in All or Nothing, with coach Bruce Arians, president Michael Bidwill, G.M. Steve Keim, cornerback Patrick Peterson, and safety Tyrann Mathieu, quarterback Carson Palmer, and running back David Johnson standing out the most. Plenty of players and other team employees come and go in flashes, and some (like executive V.P. and COO Ron Minegar) are seen from time to time but never heard -- or even identified.
None of this was accidental or spontaneous. NFL Films producers and the Cardinals undoubtedly labored intensively over the process of picking and choosing each and every frame and quote in the hopes of making the team and the league and the persons who become the centerpiece of the series look as good as possible.
There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s a point that needs to be remembered when assessing the overall series. If, for example, ESPN produced a 3o-for-30 film about SportsCenter, people would be more than a little skeptical about whether the full story was being told. That same skepticism (or at least curiosity) should apply when assessing All or Nothing, Hard Knocks, and any other NFL Films production that, when it comes to telling stories, hopes to tell a story that will make people more likely to ultimately feel good about the subject of the story.
Regarding All or Nothing, the Cardinals were a perfect choice. They’re building a strong national brand, they aspire to build an even bigger national brand, and they haven’t yet had the kind of on-field success (or off-field controversy) that would invite detractors to scrutinize and criticize the authenticity of anything and everything that made its way into the finished product.
I’m not complaining. Indeed, I’ll gladly take a little bit over nothing at all. But when it comes to All or Nothing, it’s important to remember that what we’re all seeing is a lot closer to nothing than it is to all.
