By Jim Scott
DNAinfo Senior Editor
MANHATTAN — The New York Jets off-season has already had more drama than a daytime soap opera and, luckily for HBO, cameras have been rolling to capture every second of the action.
The Jets players and head coach Rex Ryan will be front and center Wednesday night in the hour-long premiere episode of "Hard Knocks" at 10 p.m. on HBO.
Cameras have been following the players around for weeks and some of them are getting antsy for the first episode to air.
"I'm trying to get an early copy," Pro Bowl center Nick Mangold told the Daily News. "They won't give it to me. Something about I'd probably put it on Twitter. I don't know. It's kind of like sausage. You don't want to see it being made. But you love eating it."
The players may be enjoying the novelty of the documentary, but it’s yet another off-the-field distraction for the team to deal with.
Atlanta Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez knows what it's like to be preparing to start the season with the glare of the HBO cameras on you 24-hours a day.
"I'm not going to lie, it was somewhat of a distraction for us at times," said Gonzalez, who was featured on "Hard Knocks" while with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2007.
Gonzalez said while the show is great for fans, it’s a big distraction for younger players trying to make the team.
“I kind of think sometimes for the young guys it's like 'look quit trying playing up to the cameras and let's get to work.' And you have to. Otherwise, you get cut,” Gonzalez said while attending an EA Sports event in Manhattan last month.
The TV show is adding more fuel to the Super Bowl hype surrounding the Jets that has been at a fever pitch since the team acquired talented veterans Santonio Holmes, Ladainian Tomlinson and Jason Taylor in the spring. However, it's the one player who's been absent from camp who will undoubtedly get plenty of HBO screen time.
Cornerback Darrelle Revis' contract negotiation has been a burr in the Jets saddle since he decided to hold out from training camp until a new deal is done. Revis is under contract for three more seasons, but he wants the Jets to restructure his deal to make him the highest paid cornerback in the league. Something the Jets are hesitant to do.
The situation has turned ugly with Revis' agents contradicting Jets owner Woody Johnson and GM Mike Tannenbaum over negotiation details in the press. Johnson said Monday that he was pessimistic about a deal getting done before the start of the regular season.
Coach Ryan began training camp with a positive attitude towards the situation with his best defensive player, but he's obviously growing impatient with the process.
"Let’s do this," Ryan told the News on Wednesday. "I’m inviting them to come in - Darrelle to come in with everybody else. Anybody he wants. We’ll have the whole team there, including the owner. The entire organization. … And then that’s maybe how we’ll get a solution. Everybody wants a solution."
HBO is sure to reap the ratings rewards regardless of what happens to Revis. "Hard Knocks" will air on Wednesday nights for five weeks culminating in the finale on Sept. 8. Hopefully for Jets fans, by then the drama will be limited to game days.
