‘Hard Knocks’ Week 4 power rankings

1. Jon Gruden

Last Week: 1

Gruden loves knocking on wood. He loves it so much that people are knocking on wood without even asking for it. We even got some great Gruden-isms and each was followed by a knock on wood. There was a knock on wood montage into a knock on wood remix. The Raiders are going to be the best team in the NFL when it comes to knocking on wood. He also showed off his amazing skill of counting from 100 to one by subtracting three. Yes, “Hard Knocks” had some really amazing content this week.

2. Luke Wilson

Last Week: 7

Luke Wilson was the focus of some solid Canada jokes. The Raiders were playing in Edmonton at the end of the episode and the native Canadian had to answer questions about Canadian football, driving in Canada, and Canadian currency. It brought some lighthearted moment to the beginning of the episode. The joke kind of got old the more it was played out.

Wilson’s comments about Drake being on the same level as Wayne Gretzky is Canadian sacrilege. Hopefully, he makes the team because he will not be allowed in Canada after saying that.

3. Jason Cabinda

Last Week: 7

Cabinda entered the picture as a middle linebacker who was cut last year but is trying to make the team again this year. He’s a standard “Hard Knocks” character. We had a fun moment when Cabinda told his mother that she would be going to Canada to watch the Raiders play the Packers.

4. Brentson Buckner

Last Week: 9

Buckner opened up the episode talking to the defensive line. This was the first episode where we didn’t get a Gruden cold open. Buckner’s comments were great and a look into how players need to almost bend their behavior to their coaches. Everyone trying to make the team must do what is asked of them. That’s where some coach-player tension arises because players oftentimes think they know better.

5. Nathan Peterman

Last Week: 5

The Peterman-Doss connection was in full-force again in this episode. At this point, we have to think that Nathan Peterman has the edge over Mike Glennon. If not, HBO has been very good at making things look that way.

6. Derek Carr

Last Week: 6

Derek Carr’s interaction about trying hard at every moment was very Derek Carr. He simply wants to be a leader but some of it still feels forced. It could work though. We don’t know how it really goes over with teammates. His reaction to Gruden going to dinner with Mike Mayock to talk about the roster had a perfect reaction. It’s one of those things everyone has been through. Someone talks about plans that could be fun but really aren’t. It went from “that’s cool,” to “aww really.” He tried to joke about playing in the third preseason game. That joke was not funny.

7. Keelan Doss

Last Week: Unranked

Doss made another appearance. First, he was shown talking to Gruden about his work and people calling about him. Then he had his portion of the show that featured his connection with Peterman. Doss always comes up in the game footage which has to be somewhat of a good sign for him even though he’s probably still a longshot to make the roster.

8. Antonio Brown

Last Week: 2

Brown’s only big moments in this episode were when he complained about his helmet and when he read a fan’s letter. There was also Derek Carr’s bad joke about getting a go-ball in the game in Edmonton . . . where the turf wasn’t good enough to play a full 100-yard game.

Brown got his moment in the sun when a student section was chanting his name. “Hard Knocks” is doing a good job of making Brown look good when he hasn’t been portrayed that way outside of the show.