Last year, the idea of putting the New York Jets on HBO's 'Hard Knocks' documentary series might have seemed a poor choice. They had a rookie head coach, a rookie -- albeit high profile -- starting quarterback, and they were coming off a less than stellar, no-playoffs season.

This year, however, it's a whole 'nother story. The Jets are smokin'. As a Miami Dolphins fan, this pisses me off like you can't imagine. But for HBO, the New York Jets are a great pick for 'Hard Knocks,' the show that takes viewers into the training camp of an NFL team to watch them put it together for season to come.

The 9-7 Jets made an improbable run to the AFC Championship game in the 2009 season and Rex Ryan, that rookie coach, turned out to be a lightning rod for stories. He got into it with the players on other teams, taunting them like he was on the field. He declared his team dead right before they backed into the playoffs (when Indy chose to pull their starters in the second half of a late season game they were winning, giving the Jets the ballgame).

And this year Rex has gotten lap-band surgery so he can be playing 'The Biggest Loser' while prepping his football team for the season ahead. Then there's Mark Sanchez, the former USC quarterback and the Jets' latest opportunity to find another Joe Namath. He not only played well in stretches last year, but he made news by doing beach-scene photo layouts in classy men's magazines and eating a hog dog on the sideline during the game. Take that, Babe Ruth.

So you see, the New York Jets are colorful. Add to that the fact that they just signed former San Diego Charger MVP LaDainian Tomlinson to the team, and loud-mouth linebacker Bart Scott doesn't like the idea of being on 'Hard Knocks,' and it just spices up the program. HBO and NFL Films are planning five episodes of the documentary series.