EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — In so many ways, joint practices are more valuable for teams than preseason games.
It’s a controlled setting. You can match your best on best over two days of work. You can see how your starters hold up and which young players flash.
It’s why Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell wants to do it every year, and why he opts to rest his starters in the preseason. Advertisement “Certainly, some of the guys we know we’re going to count on during the season, I don’t see them necessarily playing, and if they do, not very many reps,” Campbell said of his plans for Thursday night’s preseason opener against the New York Giants . “But our young guys are going to get a lot of these and developmental players are going to get a ton of these reps.
” Monday and Tuesday were all about the starters, with Thursday night serving as a chance for young guys to make themselves money. As we put a bow on things, it’s clear these teams made one another better — whether it was the Lions’ cornerbacks taking on rookie standout Malik Nabers , the Giants’ defensive line versus the Lions’ offensive line or anything else we saw in New Jersey. Here’s a recap from Day 2.
Campbell on Monday’s physicality and intensity There’s a balance between being competitive during a joint session like this and having so many altercations it disrupts the flow of practice. Monday’s practice, which featured what felt like double-digit skirmishes, was the latter. At least,.