Peter Schrager considers himself a “Hard Knocks” historian. He remembers watching the first season of the HBO show in 2001, featuring the Ravens, and loving it.
Nearly 20 years later, HBO and NFL Films asked if he’d be interested in hosting an accompanying podcast for the show featuring the Chargers and Rams. Schrager jumped at the chance.
“I knew both those teams being in L.A., and they asked me if I was willing to do it, and I said absolutely,” he said. “We had a blast that season.”
He returned with the Cowboys in 2021 and the Jets in ’23. When the Bears finally were named as the featured team this season, Schrager approached HBO and NFL Films to host the podcast again.
So whether you were able to watch “Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Chicago Bears,” which concluded Tuesday, you can listen to a different version of it on the “Hard Knocks Podcast.”
“This isn’t just a recap podcast,” Schrager said. “First of all, if you watch the episode, you don’t want someone reading you what happened. And second of all, if you’re HBO, you don’t want a podcast to just play all the clips. You want people to watch it. So this is the next level of analysis.”
That’s a good plan with Shrager hosting. At NFL Network, where he appears on the popular “Good Morning Football” show, he has developed into a league insider. He also appears on the pregame show “Fox NFL Kickoff” and does some sideline reporting for Fox and NFL Network.
“So for example, [quarterback] Austin Reed, I take a whole section [in the second episode] and explain his college career, who he was, people who know him and we talk about his parents. And we go on to Ian Wheeler, who’s this great story. Unfortunately with the ACL, it got cut short. ‘Hard Knocks’ touches on him, but let me put my insider hat on and tell you his story a little bit more in depth.”
Shrager also had special access for interviews. In the first episode, he had on Bears Hall of Famer Brian Urlacher, who tried to name the 21 quarterbacks he watched during his 13 years with the team. General manager Ryan Poles and former Bears offensive lineman Kyle Long appeared on following episodes. Schrager also went inside the production of “Hard Knocks” with sound supervisor Mark Ricci.
“He has done all the sound since the start of ‘Hard Knocks,’ ” Schrager said. “I really wanted to have him on because I thought that’s a cool perspective: You’ve seen 22 years of ‘Hard Knocks,’ what stands out from this Bears season? That’s the kind of stuff you’re not gonna get from anybody else.”
Schrager’s “Good Morning Football” was in the news all offseason because of its move from New York to Los Angeles, which put Schrager’s role in question. He’s continuing with the show and will be able to make some appearances from New York. But he still will make a lot of cross-country flights.
“We’re gonna figure out how this works, but as of now, I’m living in New York through this season at the very least,” Schrager said. “We live in Brooklyn as a family. And then I’ll be flying back and forth. I’m not there every week in L.A., so we figured we’ll see how the season goes. If we relocate or if we stay in New York, we’ll decide after the season.”
Schrager also has his own podcast, “The Season,” which drops weekly.