Either the Texans could field a tremendous poker team, or the Kansas City Chiefs divulged little about their playbook or game plan in their HBO series titled, "Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Kansas City Chiefs."
The truth probably lies somewhere in between.
The in-depth program which follows the Chiefs through their 2007 preseason is a hit among football fans, including those suiting up inside Reliant Stadium. By taking advantage of unprecedented access to players, coaches and meeting rooms, HBO provides an impressive look inside the Chiefs.
The fact that Kansas City is set to arrive Saturday in Houston for Sunday's Liberty White Kickoff game only adds to the show's intrigue in the minds of many Texans players.
"Yeah, you want to take a look at it and see what they're doing in practice and stuff," fullback Vonta Leach said. "It was actually a good show.
"A lot of guys here were interested in it because (Kansas City) is our first game. It's just to get a look at it and see how other people's training camps are."
Leach says he didn't gain any competitive advantage from watching the show, even though he said it was a fairly accurate depiction of an NFL training camp.
"TV is TV, so they're not going to put everything on there," Leach said. "But it's pretty realistic."
{QUOTE}Kicker Kris Brown also enjoyed the program, but considers it more entertainment than anything else.
"I think it's a great series," he said. "I think it's pretty much as realistic of a look as people can get of what life in the NFL is like. I think it's very entertaining. I think most people find it entertaining, and people who enjoy football enjoy the series."
Although the show details much more than just practice highlights, there is some practice footage included. Brown says he didn't pay particularly close attention to that.
"Not really, there is so much that they are probably not doing anyways, so it wouldn't have given us that much of an advantage, I don't think," he said. "But just from an entertainment perspective, it was good."
Safety Von Hutchins also has seen the HBO special, but claims there wasn't much information to gain that would help him on the field.
"It gives you a little insight about the personnel and things like that," Hutchins said. "But there weren't too many secrets that we could gather."
In one episode of "Hard Knocks," a few rookies are caught on tape dancing in the middle of the Kansas City locker room. The clip is replayed by Chiefs head coach Herm Edwards during a team meeting, creating a brief moment of levity in an otherwise monotonous month of practices.
That scene was about all defensive end Anthony Weaver took away from the show, according to him.
"No, I didn't (pick up any tips)," Weaver said of the program. "I know some of those guys can't dance. But besides that, nothing."
OK, so maybe the Chiefs did make a point to keep their cards close to the vest. Whatever the case may be, the Texans have film on Kansas City that is much more valuable than anything available to the general public.
In fact, each NFL team has extensive game footage of their opponents, including both sideline and end zone views – with no commercial breaks.
"This week when you're watching film before practice, that gets you ready to play," Leach said. "Not the TV show."
Safety Jason Simmons agrees.
"(Our preparation) is more based on watching the (game) film than the special, because (Kansas City) can hide the things that they don't want you to see anyways," he said.
Hutchins sees it the same way, saying "the film never lies."
Whatever the case may be, the Texans will be prepared for Sunday's matchup, and they plan to deliver the Chiefs some real-life hard knocks come kickoff.
