Rams insist ‘Hard Knocks’ won’t be distraction, hopeful it helps

7:45 AM ET

For the better part of the past decade, the Los Angeles Rams haven’t exactly grown accustomed to being in the spotlight. Sure, they’ve made plenty of news for various things off the field but their play on it has often left them far from the bright lights and cameras that go with NFL success.

Occasionally, such as the months after they made Michael Sam the first openly gay player drafted to the NFL in 2014, the Rams worked to ensure that the cameras will not be present. They shut down Sam’s proposed reality show on the Oprah Winfrey Network.

Now that they’re back in Los Angeles, the Rams have no choice but to step out of the shadows. They’re embracing the attention that’s come with their second foray into the nation’s second-largest media market.

Previous teams have said the film crew for HBO’s “Hard Knocks” were barely noticeable after a few days. AP Photo/Bob Levey

When HBO’s “Hard Knocks” debuts on Aug. 9, the Rams will be the focus. Gone are concerns about potential distractions. In their place are hopes an appearance on the popular show will yield the positive results that it has for other teams that have followed their television turns with playoff berths and winning seasons, even if there’s no real correlation between the two.

“We want this to be the best show to date,” Rams coach Jeff Fisher said at a news conference last week. “We want this to be the No. 1. We want to be the best. We want to pave the way for our member clubs that will line up for the opportunity to do this during camp as opposed to some of the things that you hear over time that ‘we’re not crazy about this.’

“We’re excited about this.”

It wasn’t so …

continue reading in source espn.go.com