The Dolphins return to action next weekend. Also returning next week will be the in-season version of Hard Knocks.
The NFL has announced that episodes of in-season Hard Knocks debut on Tuesday, November 21. They’ll continue through Tuesday, January 9 — along with every Tuesday after a Dolphins playoff game. (That definitely won’t cause the tin-foil hat crowd to believe that favorable calls in the postseason for the Dolphins are motivated by a desire to keep the current season of Hard Knocks going.)
The HBO and NFL Films cameras and microphones will commence chronicling the Dolphins ahead of Sunday’s Week 11 game against the Raiders.
Multiple players have spoken out against Miami submitting to the in-season Hard Knocks franchise, including quarterback and team leader Tua Tagovailoa. For the training-camp version, rules exist that exempt teams from being required to do it. It’s unclear how teams are selected for the in-season version of the show. (We asked the NFL how teams are selected after the Dolphins were announced. The league didn’t respond, and I forgot to keep asking. Which likely is one of the reasons why they often don’t respond until after I ask twice or three times.)
Regardless, it’s the Dolphins for 2023-24 in-season Hard Knocks. Regardless of whether the team likes it, the fans will. They’re a viable team with a brilliant and charismatic coach who revels in quirky authenticity and oozes emotional intelligence.
The first two years, with the Cardinals and the Colts, I wasn’t interested. This year, I’ll watch every week of it.