Giants - Lions Joint Practices: What to Watch

The New York Giants are in Motown for a pair of joint practices with the Lions ahead of Friday's preseason opener. Here are a few things of interest to watch.

The New York Giants have arrived in Detroit for their two-day joint practice session with the Detroit Lions, a favorite to win the NFC North this coming season.

For both teams, who have been through at least ten training camp practices, it will be a chance to go against new faces in a controlled environment that, while emphasizing physicality, will also stress the importance of safety.

Giants head coach Brian Daboll is looking forward to seeing his roster against a Lions team headed by his former colleague in Miami, Dan Campbell.

"You’re going against a different team," Daboll said when asked about the benefits. "You get to see different matchups; you get to see different schemes. You’ve been going against the same players for ten days or ten practices. So if you do it the right way, I think it’s a beneficial thing for you."

"It’s what you think it’s going to be, as far as the intensity goes up and the level of competition," Campbell said, "It’s a fresh look at somebody else, and I love that because camp – you’ve got to be careful. You get into the same routine, the rut, the mundane, and you don’t ever go. You’re just spinning your wheels, so this will be good for us."

Daboll hasn't given any indication of the plan for who plays against the Lions in the actual game on Friday night, but the thinking is that it will depend on how much work each individual projected starter gets over these next two days.

"We’ll get to that down the road," Daboll said. "I haven’t talked to the coaching staff about it. I went through some schedules today, but we’ll end up talking about that like we do on Fridays."

There will surely be some intense pad popping over these next two days and many interesting battles to watch. Here are just a few that are sure to be headliners.

Lions Offensive Tackles Taylor Decker & Penei Sewell vs. Kayvon Thibodeaux and Azeez Ojulari

The Lions defensive line has been giving its offensive counterparts a ton of fits, but the Lions have held up well, according to multiple reports out of Motown. But look for the Giants to provide a different test for the Lions two tackles, who last year combined to allow just six sacks, according to Pro Football Focus.

Azeez Ojulari (assuming he practices) and Kayvon Thibodeaux are among the league's most promising young pass-rushing duos. Both combined for 59 pressures last season despite not putting in a full 17-game slate. Ojulari also logged an 11.1 percent pass-rush win rate (PRWR), while Thibodeaux logged a 9.5 percent PRWR.

While it should be fun to watch the two edge rushers at work, let's not forget about the interior guys of Dexter Lawrence, who will likely go against center Frank Ragnow and Leonard WIlliams. Last year Lawrence had a breakout year, proving to be a handful, while Williams is returning refreshed and recharged following an injury-plagued season.

It should be fun to see how the Lions offensive line does against Sexy Dexy and the Big Cat.

Lions Edge Rusher Aidan Hutchinson vs. Giants Tackles Andrew Thomas and Matt Peart

Hutchinson is coming off an award-winning rookie season in which he was named the NFL Rookie of the Year following his 9.5-sack season, which led all NFL rookies. Those 9.5 sacks were part of 37 total pressures that created many headaches for opposing offensive tackles trying to block him.

But over the next couple of days, Hutchins will likely see equal doses of Andrew Thomas, the Giants' all-world left tackle who is without question one of the best at his position, and Matt Peart, who is projected to take the reps in place of the injured Evan Neal (concussion).

Thomas allowed just 21 pressures and two sacks last season; Peart, in 78 pass-blocking snaps, seven pressures, and one sack. Last year against the Lions in the regular season, Thomas pitched one of his five shutouts, keeping his side of the field pristine. Thomas has also been pitching shutouts in one-on-one opportunities in training camp this year. Can he do so again if he draws Hutchinson?

Speed vs. Speed

The Lions have a speedy receiver named Amon-Ra St. Brown, who led their team last season with 1,161 yards o 109 receptions with six scores, his receiving yardage ranking tenth in the NFL. Assuming the Giants go with Adoree' Jackson and rookie Deonte Banks on the outside, can they finally and consistently keep up with the speedier receivers like St. Brown, who represents the class of receivers the Giants will see in eh regular season?

And on the flip side, will Giants rookie receiver Jalin Hyatt, who has made splitting defensive coverages in half an art form this summer, be able to continue dazzling on-lookers with his speed?

Lions Defense vs. Darren Waller

Thus far in training camp, no one on the Giants defense has been able to guard tight end Darren Waller regularly. Does that change when he squares off against the Lions? It's going to be fun watching that one.

Lions vs. Giants

Thus far, both teams have been relatively disciplined regarding holding their tempers. But now that some new faces are mixing in with each other, will that continue, or will we be seeing some training camp skirmishes?

When he was hired as Lions head coach, Campbell famously said in his introductory press conference, "We're going to kick you in the teeth, all right, and when you punch us back, we're going to smile at you, and when you knock us down, we're going to get up. And, on the way up, we're going to bite a kneecap off.

DAboll, meanwhile, has been more direct with his expectations of his team, minus the occasional graphic images. At the end of the week, which team will have absorbed more blows, and which one will be left standing? 

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