Dak Prescott, Parsons Stars on Hard Knocks 2021 Premiere: Here's What Happened

“I’m not coming out this [expletive]. I sat last year enough.

Last night kicked off the 16th season of HBO’s Hard Knocks, which is featuring none other than the Dallas Cowboys.

The episode opened with a cold open detailing the horrific Dak Prescott ankle injury. He talked about the many scars he has, not just from football, but his personal life as well that has seen many tragedies. It was an emotional way to start the new season of the show and in ways set the tone for what this NFL season means to the Cowboys.

We cut later to Dak getting frustrated with the coaches about practicing. Seeing a side you barely see from him, Dak was throwing out F-bombs like he was Samuel L. Jackson. You did get the insight about his shoulder injury and how the team really reacted to it compared to the “everything is going to be okay” tone we would see on sports talk shows from reporters.

Other than a lasting image of owner Jerry Jones putting way too much salt on a McGriddle and out-of-place Austin Powers montage, we didn’t get too much worthwhile content from this episode. We didn’t get the fight that broke out between offensive lineman Connor Williams and Aaron Donald during the Cowboys-Rams joint practice and there also wasn’t any look at the decision-making to include Cowboys legend Jimmy Johnson into the infamous Ring Of Honor.

What you did get is a look at Prescott's and Ezekiel Elliott's strong relationship the two cornerstone pieces have built over the years. Often playing around with each other, stealing bikes, and getting each other birthday gifts. And wow does Elliot look good. He’s slimmed down a ton, and it was great to see how ready he looks for this season if you're a Dallas fan.

Rookie sensation Micah Parsons was also featured a lot in the first episode. He’s been the talk of training camps with his versatility and his natural instincts of chasing down the ball. What we got to see that we don’t usually do with an NFL player is the personality Parsons has. Every time he was on screen he was magnetic and you didn’t want to miss the next thing he would say.

“The lion always hungry,” said Parsons before going out and snagging an interception.

It’s clear he will be a leader in this locker room, maybe not his first year but as he gets settled in the defense, that role for him would be for the taking. It even looked like he intimidated some of his fellow linebackers at times with his intensity.

In one clip, we see him talking to teammate Leighton Vander Esch on the sidelines who tells Parsons he’s trying to make every play, though you can take it as Esch trying to emphasize the importance of staying within your role on the defense and not out of place as the Cowboys struggled with that last year, giving up big plays.

Surprisingly, we didn’t see much of last year’s first-round pick CeeDee Lamb who had an incredible year, despite not having his primary quarterback. Brief clips of him making incredible catches but we didn't get the personality we got from Parsons. There wasn’t much of the offensive line or other receivers either, but there were some very bad Ben DiNucci throws, so at least he stayed on brand.

Favorite Moment:

My favorite moment from this episode came when Parsons and new defensive coordinator Dan Quinn had a moment during the HOF game where the rookie was upset about Quinn’s decisions to take him out of the game.

“Can I get one more?” Parsons asked, wanting to play another series.

“Nope, that’s it for tonight,” Quinn responded.

“I’m just like getting warmed up, adjusted,” the rookie pleaded.

“Yeah, me too,” the coach replied. “So, that’s it. Alright.”

This interaction was so cool to see because it showed how Parsons wants to be great and will be an impactful player for this defense while Quinn showed what kind of no-nonsense coach he will be for the Boys, which is gravely needed for this group that was historically one of the worst defenses in Cowboys history last year.

Another favorite candidate is seing the Boys’ Avengers compund in Oxnard.

WTF Moment:

The first WTF moment of this season came when special teams coach John "Bones" Fassel delivered very detailed insight into a vasectomy procedure. What was more stunning was the players listening in full awe of Fassel’s half-hearted explanation. Then he even talked about how he had to get the procedure reversed? I know we wanted to see the inner workings of a football team but if this is the convos they are having then they can keep that.

Check back for the latest review of Hard Knocks.