Buccaneers not interested in HBO's Hard Knocks

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won't be volunteering for HBO's Hard Knocks this year, if we can believe what Jason Licht told Pewter Report. The Bucs' general manager doesn't want the NFL to pick them for its annual training camp television series.

"I hope not," Licht said. "I guess there is a chance, but I'm just not a big fan."

That doesn't mean we won't see the Bucs on Hard Knocks this year, though. If there are no volunteers for HBO's shown, they can now force teams to participate, if those teams have not been to the playoffs in the past two years, have not been on Hard Knocks before and do not have a first-year head coach. Guess what: the Bucs qualify.

That rule was instated in 2013, but both that year and last year the NFL found teams willing to volunteer for the show, with the Bengals in 2013 and the Falcons in 2014 choosing to go on the show when they could have passed up the opportunity.

The Bucs' lack of interest in Hard Knocks is a little disappointing to me, because I'm always interested in behind-the-scenes glimpses. And hey, with Jameis Winston and Gerald McCoy in the building, this would at least be very entertaining. But I can also see why the Bucs don't want to participate: the show may be fun, but it in no way helps a team win games. And I'd prefer if the Bucs would just go out and start winning some games, for once.