We're in the dying days of NFL preseason football and the latest intel shared by the league ahead of the start of training camps around the nation is another example as to why.
According to NFL Communications, 30 out of 32 teams will hold joint practices with other teams throughout camp. Not only that but "the Rams – with four joint practices – as well as Miami and the New York Jets – three joint practices each – are among the 10 teams that have multiple joint practices scheduled, along with Cincinnati, Green Bay, Indianapolis, the Los Angeles Chargers, the New York Giants, Tampa Bay and Washington."
This is no small thing once you understand why more and more NFL teams are opting to join forces with other franchises to practice in August while paying the price of risking more fights between players as well as showing things on film.
After all, teams are seeing this as more important preparation for players than even the preseason due to the fact that it's a more controlled environment, where teams control when a play stops unlike in a a televised exhibition game with an officiating crew calling the game just the same as one played in September or January.
"I think the joint practices are really going to be a good evaluation tool,” Houston Texans general manager Nick Caserio said last year via USA Today . “What a lot of teams have done throughout the league, sometimes your most competitive snaps and most competitive reps occur during the course of the week. Maybe you handle the game a little bit differently.”
Each year it seems like the teams around the league opt for more and more conservative approaches to the preseason in fear of starters suffering significant injuries.
If given the chance to risk your top players in an environment where you essentially dictate when the whistle is blown to end the play, why bother with risking them on gameday? The argument can't be a lack of intensity, as those who have attended a joint practice know they don't lack any of that.
This format of practice has become so important in the league that you can even head coaches strategizing around them. Take Green Bay Packers HC Matt LaFleur for example, as he's discussed why he'll avoid scheduling back-to-back joint practices with the same team:
"Sometimes it becomes a wrestling match out there or an MMA fight,’’ LaFleur said, via Chris Tomasson of the Denver Gazette. "So we’re trying to avoid that at all costs and just get good quality work.”
Joint practices are friends to the 18-game regular season the NFL wants
Now, all of this goes hand in hand with the widely-known expectations that the NFL will eventually play 18-game regular seasons , which will in turn mean the preseason will be reduced even further if not eliminated in its entirety.
The latter might sound like an exaggerated reaction but joint practices are the key as many around the league seem to agree they're a better alternative than exhibition games that produce little ratings anyway.
For better or worse, the days of the preseason are slowly fading away and as more teams begin to embrace increased joint practices, the higher the likelihood that someday not even one meaningless game is played.
If the intent of preseason football is player development and evaluation, there's a much better - and safer - way to do things: Joint practices.
Related: A to Z Sports' Top 105 NFL Players: Aaron Rodgers ranked behind Brock Purdy in the 85-66 range
Most Popular
Comments / 0