21 NFL teams plan to participate in joint practices with at least one other team in August.
Seven NFl teams will hold joint practices with more than one team.
Washington, Detroit, New Orleans, Seattle, Arizona, Kansas City, Houston, Jacksonville, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Buffalo are the teams not having joint practices with another team as part of their 2021 regular season preparation.
Players and coaches like joint practices.
In June, Denver Broncos head coach Vic Fangio talked about why he likes joint practices.
“I think they’re great. I think practicing against another team has tremendous benefits to it. At a certain point, you start knowing your own players and your own schemes on either side of the ball. It’s just good to go cover somebody different as a defensive back. It’s good to pass block somebody as an offensive lineman and the pass rush is different against different offensive linemen. It’s good to see different schemes both in the running game and passing game that your defense can see that maybe your own offense doesn’t run and vice versa. It’s tremendous work and we love doing it. We almost did a second one but decided not to. I just think they’re great work.”
Building upon what Fangio said, here are three benefits of NFL teams hosting joint practices.
3. Foster Competition
Players thrive on real competition.
In traditional practices, the players compete against their counterparts on the other side of the ball; that is a situation that never happens during the regular season.
Playing against an opposing team is more realistic and adds variety to a vigorous training camp schedule.
Eagles will hold joint practices with Patriots and Jets this preseason.
Getting practice against many different looks and players should be a big help for the new system and young players, especially WRs and Jalen Hurts, considering they had none of it last preseason.#Eagles
— Thomas R. Petersen (@thomasrp93) July 13, 2021
2. Help Evaluate Talent
Coaches can make roster decisions based on how players perform in joint practices.
They are able to focus on one side of the ball at a time and hone in on what specific players are doing.
Coaches can watch how players execute instruction and complete the fundamentals.
Jets will now be having joint practices with the Packers on August 18-19 and with the Eagles on August 24-25. More important than ever with 3 preseason games. Eagles and Packers offer top OLs to test our pass rush against #Jets
— Robert Saleh Fan Club (@li_jets) July 13, 2021
1. Can Reveal The Team’s Personality
Coaches can see how the team works together in a more realistic game situation.
Joint practices help coaches figure out what the personality of the team might look like during the regular season.
Is the team a feisty come-from-behind team?
Does the team get off to a fast start?
Joint Practice Schedule
Here is the complete joint practice schedule.
Aug. 7 — Rams at Cowboys, Oxnard, California
Aug. 11 — Broncos at Vikings, Eagan, Minnesota
Aug. 11 — Dolphins at Bears, Lake Forest, Illinois
Aug. 12 — Panthers at Colts, Westfield, Indiana
Aug. 16 — Patriots at Eagles, Philadelphia
Aug. 18 — Falcons at Dolphins, Miami Gardens, Florida
Aug. 18 — Ravens at Panthers, Spartanburg, South Carolina
Aug. 18 — Raiders at Rams, Irvine, California
Aug. 18 — Jets at Packers, Green Bay, Wisconsin
Aug. 18 — Titans at Buccaneers, Tampa
Aug. 19 — Giants at Browns, Berea, Ohio
Aug. 19 — 49ers at Chargers, Costa Mesa, California
Aug. 24 — Eagles at Jets, Florham Park, New Jersey
Aug. 25 — Giants at Patriots, Foxborough, Massachusetts
The biggest drawback of joint practices is the opportunity for injuries to happen.
Most say the benefits outweigh the drawbacks which is why joint practices are back on the calendar after not happening during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
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