With camp in full swing, the Giants take the next step towards the regular season by having a week in Detroit with joint practices and a preseason game Friday with the Lions. This is the same Lions team that handed a difficult defeat to Big Blue a year ago.
Expectations are high for New York as the team has spent a large amount of money to retool multiple parts of the team and the game against the Lions will be the fans first look since the team’s difficult defeat in Philadelphia last January.
Daniel Jones is entering his fifth season as the Giants starting quarterback, and recognizes the value of joint practices as it raises the level of competition in a camp setting. Jones spoke with the media after the teams first joint practice with Detroit and views the positives of these sessions.
” I think the competitive nature of these practices speeds up the game a little bit in certain situations,” said Jones. “I think just seeing a new look, seeing a new team. You get used to practicing against your guys – your defense and what they do and to see another group is helpful. It’s valuable time.”
Head Coach Brian Daboll looks at the joint practices as the next step towards the big picture which is the regular season and eventually the playoffs. The ultimate goal of this team is to improve on a week by week basis. Coach Daboll asked about the importance of these two days of practice with the Lions.
“I think it’s kind of the next step for training camp when you practice against another team,” said Daboll. “I think there is competitive juices, the coaches have it, the players have it, but we are going to try to practice the right way against a really good team. I think the program that the Lions have and what Dan and Brad have been able to do has really been outstanding so it will be a good test for us.”
Being new to the Giants, Darren Waller is enjoying the opportunity to play with Jones and the potential success New York can have. The tight end has been up beat and excited especially about this week’s joint practice against the Lions and the competition it brings.
“Yeah, it’s really competitive,” said Waller .”It doesn’t get more competitive than this. It’ll be competitive on Friday for sure, but you know this is the first taste that each of us had of a new opponent and you want to put your best out there. You want to have confidence and some swagger when you do it, so you’ve got to love football.”
The Giants will practice on Wednesday in Detroit and rest Thursday before their preseason open on Friday against this same Lions team.
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