New York sports radio legend rips Giants' 'Hard Knocks' series

New York sports radio legend and current ESPN contributor Chris "Mad Dog" Russo seemingly has little interest in watching the "Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants" show this summer, in part because the organization has some editorial control over what viewers will see.

"Do you think [Giants co-owner] John Mara is going to allow you to see anything that is a bit controversial [that] happens with [general manager] Joe Schoen or [head coach] Brian Daboll or [former New York defensive coordinator Don "Wink" Martindale], who was fired, any of these scenarios between January and May? You’re not going to see a word," Russo said during Wednesday's edition of the "First Take" program, as shared by the Barrett Sports Media website. "It’s going to be sugarcoated and vanilla, so why would you watch five hours? Are you that desperate to see how the Giants work some draft pick out?"

Russo was referring to the much-publicized issues involving Daboll, Martindale, current New York offensive coordinator Mike Kafka and other coaching assistants that hovered over the club throughout the 2023 season. 

Dan Duggan of The Athletic mentioned that "Martindale’s explosive departure on the first day of the offseason was reduced to a montage of news reports" during the first episode of "Hard Knocks" that debuted on Tuesday.

It was reported last summer that the New York Jets denied certain access to the "Hard Knocks" crew for episodes that featured Gang Green preparing for its first regular season with future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers on its roster. Brandon Contes of Awful Announcing noted this week that the Jets "held editorial control over 'Hard Knocks' last season."

Russo isn't a fan.

"This is television," Russo added during his rant. "If you don’t like it, you know what, you don’t like it, but it’s good TV, it’s good for football and the fact that the Giants will tell you what they want to see, it makes it not worthwhile. I wouldn’t watch that if it was in my backyard – I’d close the blinds."

It's hardly a secret that front offices and coaching staffs want nothing to do with "Hard Knocks." According to Paul Schwartz of the New York Post, Daboll purposely played music during some conversations with Schoen because he "knew that part wouldn’t be on the show."

As long as the NFL insists on forcing clubs to participate in "Hard Knocks," fans will have to simply accept watered-down versions of what those products could be if teams had no editorial control.