Football season is closing in and we have the return of Hard Knocks as proof. HBO's annual training camp docuseries is focusing on the reigning Super Bowl champions this year as the Seattle Seahawks take center stage.
This is the first time since the very first Hard Knocks in 2001 that the show has focused on the reigning champions. The NFL proactively got Seattle on board for this season and the New England Patriots for next season, ensuring that some of the league's most interesting teams get additional national exposure.
The first episode aired on Tuesday night and saw plenty of memorable moments, such as the Seahawks receiving their Super Bowl rings and Cooper Kupp revealing he was in attendance at the Swift-Kelce wedding. Here are the four most important thing Seahawks' fans should take away from the premiere.
Derick Hall is going to be the main character of Hard Knocks
The HBO cameras loved Hall during the premiere as one of the first shots we saw at camp was him arriving in his ridicuously souped-up truck and leaping down to the ground. Hall, who got a contract extension after a strong showing in the Super Bowl, also received some spotlight for the short shorts he chose to rock in practice.
There is no question that Hall is a firecracker and he was involved in a scuffle during a practice session. Expect to see plenty of Hall over the next four weeks of the show.
Devon Witherspoon is not happy about his contract
We haven't had many contract disputes on Hard Knocks over the years, with the most notable being Darrelle Revis' holdout during the Jets' edition in 2010. Witherspoon is at camp for Seattle but used his time with the HBO cameras to voice his displeasure with his contract, saying during a driving session that he feels cornerback is the hardest position to play in the league besides quarterback and that a good player there should be paid accordingly.
GM John Schneider was also shown getting upset at a report from NFL Network's Ian Rapoport that mischaracterized the state of negotiations, having one of his fellow executives call Witherspoon's agent to clarify the team's position. There is no question that Witherspoon's deal is going to take up a lot of oxygen in the Hard Knocks edit.
The offense is ahead of the defense
The Dark Side defense got all of the publicity during Seattle's Super Bowl run but the unit did experience some changes during the offseason. One of the early practices we saw on the show highlighted the unit as a work in progress, with Mike Macdonald telling Sam Darnold that the offense was notably ahead of the defense at this point in camp.
While this is a good sign for a Seahawks' offense integrating a new running back (which we'll go into more detail on in a second), Seattle's defense is the backbone of the team. There needs to be some significant progress over the next few weeks for the Seahawks to withstand the competition in a rugged NFC West.
Running back is a wide open competition
The biggest change for Seattle in the offseason was the departure of Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III, who got paid handsomely by the Kansas City Chiefs. The Seahawks did draft Jadarian Price as a potential replacement in the first round, with Price getting plenty of spotlight in the episode, but a look at the blurred-out depth chart in Seattle's offices showed that they have quite a few options they are considering in the backfield.
The episode also didn't touch on Zach Charbonnet, who is working his way back from a postseason injury, but Price isn't guaranteed anything based on what we saw. The talent that Price possesses makes him the front runner to be the top ball carrier in Week 1 but he will need to earn his reps with a strong camp.
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