If an injury to a crucial offensive weapon and a former number one overall pick’s father getting arrested on attempted murder charges have Houston Texans fans on edge, they likely have producers of HBO’s award-winning show Hard Knocks sitting on a gold mine.

Thus far, training camp for the Texans has been nothing if not eventful.

Running back Arian Foster went down with a groin injury during the team’s first full pads practice and underwent surgery Friday. Defensive lineman Jadeveon Clowney’s father was denied bail in South Carolina for allegedly opening fire on two men in an incident at a strip club. Those two story lines alone provide the makings of a fascinating opening episode.

Even before the recent headlines, the Texans were compelling. A disastrous 2-and-14 season in 2013 came on the heels of two straight division titles that cost former head coach Gary Kubiak his job. The colorful Bill O’Brien took over last year and led the team back to a respectable 9-7. With O’Brien entering his second year and Herculian superstar J.J. Watt becoming the league’s most magnetic folk hero, the Texans aren’t lacking in characters.

“This year we were kind of lucky in knowing who our stars were, whereas last year in Atlanta, we didn’t know,” says Hard Knocks Assistant Director Shannon Furman, who has worked at NFL Films for 12 years. “There wasn’t so much star power.”

Furman and a team of 30 crew members have been documenting the Texans since July 24. Each day, they start just as the sun is rising and film everything from the moment the locker room opens to the time the coaches head home late at night. During practices, they mic up about eight players and get audio from a number of coaches during walk-throughs.

NFL Films producers began brainstorming story ideas long before they showed up at camp. Furman says there’s a delicate balance between knowing what you want to shoot going in and letting stories emerge once the live action begins. “It’s probably 50/50,” she says. “The story lines will continue to develop as the show goes on.”

Now in its 10th season, Hard Knocks has won praise from critics and fans for offering glimpses into NFL team’s notoriously secretive executive offices. It’s best moments are the things that happen off the field, that fans never get to see.

Last year, NFL Films went all-digital, allowing videographers to send footage back to its Mt. Laurel, N.J. studios all day long. A team of about 30 more back at the office begin the process of culling through the material, editing and getting the show ready in quick turnaround time (Hard Knocks debuts Tuesday, Aug. 11 with new episodes each week of training camp).

Only certain NFL teams have the right to refuse to participate in the show. The Texans weren’t one of them, though owner Bob McNair had expressed a desire to do it regardless. Still, the show’s unprecedented access makes ruffling feathers at times part of the job. Furman says O’Brien may have had some initial queasiness, which isn’t unusual.

“Almost any coach would have some reservations going into this,” she said. “That’s our job, to make that go away.”

Anyways, Furman had more immediate worries. As we spoke, she was in Richmond, Va., where the Texans were participating in joint practices with the Redskins, and her car alarm was going off. As she fumbled for the “off” button on her keys, she explained that she’d been working since 6 a.m. and had to be at the Virginia governor’s mansion in an hour, where team owner’s were scheduled to meet with the state’s chief executive. “I need to be there by four and I have nothing to wear!” she said.

[Images courtesy of Toro Times, NFL.com]

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