The Houston Texans have reportedly turned down the HBO documentary series "Hard Knocks," making them almost the 32nd NFL franchise to do so. The Texans cited roughly the same reasons the Atlanta Falcons, New York Jets, Denver Broncos and San Francisco 49ers did: a need for privacy, a disinterest in the national attention the annual August show brings to starved football fans and a the big "distraction" label.
Hell, even the trainwreck Washington Redskins didn't bite, and Dan Synder's ongoing circus of embarrassment is exactly the kind of operation (Jerry Jones' T.O.-centric Cowboys, Rex Ryan's Jets) that see such total exposure as a bizarre positive. Despite the NFL's supreme and seemingly unstoppable popularity, we might have reached the critical mass of what coaches and teams are willing to tolerate for the sake of entertainment.
Texans fans take note - given the state of the franchise, if Gary Kubiak wants to keep a closed-ranks policy, support it. Houston has a strong chance to repeat as division champions and make the playoffs again next season, and whatever could be gained in the interim that "Hard Knocks" provides - the expansion of the Arian Foster brand, a spotlight into the return of Matt Schaub as a starter - it's not worth potentially upsetting the balance that got you this far.
More Texans coverage can be found at SB Nation's NFL page and Battle Red Blog.
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