No fan of reality TV, Hudson says he’s tuning out
Center misses opening ‘Hard Knocks’ episode
NAPA, Calif. — Here’s a closer look by the numbers at Tuesday’s first episode of HBO’S “Hard Knocks: Training camp with the Oakland Raiders”:
0— The number of times starting center Rodney Hudson watched the episode.
Hudson, one of the NFL’S steadiest interior offensive linemen, has no interest in being a star or finding out what camp storylines are portrayed on the docuseries.
“Absolutely not,” Hudson said of whether he tuned in. “It ain’t my thing, reality TV.”
7— There was a segment in the show detailing the Raiders’ nod to the past with the use of a seven-man sled to practice blocking and timing.
The feature enabled “Hard Knocks” producers to bust out the archival footage of legendary coach John Madden, who spoke about the equipment like a beloved family member.
Madden also unveiled a hidden benefit of the sled that was particularly beneficial in the days before athletes trained 365 days a year and finely dissected every ounce of anything they put into their bodies.
“It would get rid of all hangovers,” Madden said in footage from 2000. “Everyone has to hit the sled at the same time or it doesn’t work.”
8— Number of words in the one piece of advice Rams quarterback Jared Goff offered to Raiders players when asked what he would share from his experience on “Hard Knocks” as a rookie quarterback.
“Don’t talk to anybody. Keep your mouth shut,” Goff said after the teams had a joint practice Wednesday.
The comment drew plenty of laughs from the assembled reporters who no doubt immediately started thinking about the time when Goff was confused on whether the sun rises in the East or the West when he and the Rams were featured on the show in his 2016 rookie training camp.
30?— A rough guess at the SPF level of the sunscreen Derek Carr insists he was wearing when several teammates were mocking him for using baby oil to make his arms glisten on the field.
Carr doubled down on his defense after Wednesday’s practice.
“It was definitely sunscreen,” he said. “One hundred percent so I don’t have a bad tan line for the preseason.”
800 — The approximate number of Twitter followers accumulated by rookie Johnathan Abram from when the show aired for the first time to Wednesday afternoon.
Abram was the focal point of several of the most memorable scenes and figures to be a featured player for the final four episodes. But the first-round draft pick wasn’t following along as his mentions lit up Tuesday night.
“I have no clue,” he said after practice Wednesday. “I turned my notifications off.”
Abram said he watched some of the episode but is confident in being portrayed accurately because he’s not playing to the cameras.
“My philosophy is what coach (Jon) Gruden tells us every day. Just be yourself,” Abram said. “Don’t change up. Just be yourself because that’s all that matters at the end of the day.”
That has been more than enough to interest the producers who chose to make him one of the show’s stars.
“That’s just me,” Abram said. “I’m a kid off the field and a man on the field. I just like to have fun.”
879,000 — Number of digital and linear viewers of the first episode, a 13 percent increase over the first episode featuring the Cleveland Browns last season.
It was the program’s most-watched premiere episode since 1.3 million viewers tuned in for Rex Ryan and the Jets in 2010.
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@ reviewjournal.com. Follow @ Adamhilllvrj on Twitter.