The monotony of training camp is getting broken up this week. The first preseason game for the Detroit Lions is Friday night against the New York Giants, but before that the Giants will visit Allen Park for joint practices on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Head coach Dan Campbell is clearly a fan of joint practices as a step up, and a break up of the routine up to this point for the players. It's safe to assume the players agree with that sentiment.
Lions tight end Brock Wright has been through joint practices before, mixing it up with the Indianapolis Colts last year. As he told the media on Saturday, August 5, a new team coming in will allow the team to make noticeable strides.
"Just like every day, you pick up on new stuff the more experience you get, so having a new team come in, (a) new defense is always beneficial. Just like last year when we were in Indianapolis, every day you pick up on something else going up against a new face, so I'm looking forward to that."Brock Wright
More than the personal lessons that will be learned, Wright also said that he believes the shared practice battles can serve as a good early barometer for the team's offense.
"It's exciting to get another team in here, go against someone other than ourselves. It's always nice to kind of break up camp a bit and go against an opponent, so looking forward to getting some new faces in here and seeing how we click as an offense."Brock Wright
Detroit's offense finished on a high note last season, and getting some fine tuning against the Giants will go a long way toward helping to see where the team and many players are at heading into a 2023 season with high expectations.
John Cominsky: Joint practice offers Detroit Lions glimpse of regular season
Defensive lineman John Cominsky echoed Wright's sentiment when he spoke to reporters last Saturday.
"You start to get familiar with your own players, especially if you're here for a couple years with the same guys. You know what their tendencies are, so you start playing to those tendencies. You bring in some fresh guys that play the game a little bit differently, you have to study the film and change your game a little bit, so it makes it more like the season."John Cominsky
Beyond that, Cominsky recalled a difference in intensity during last year's joint practices in Indianapolis. As things ramped up then, it began to feel more like the regular season.
"The joint practice with Indianapolis last year, it's just a step more intense. It's just a little bit more intense, so it's another step closer to a game-like situation."John Cominsky
Testing their skills against another team while gaining valuable season-like repetitions is something the Lions are thankful for this week.