Dan Campbell alludes to the Lions continuing to follow a preseason strategy they've been using for years, despite changes to their plans
The preseason has long been one of those things that you look forward to watching, but also cover your eyes on a little bit and sort of grind your teeth through. The big reason for that is that you really just want to see some of the younger guys get some time in and earn […]
The preseason has long been one of those things that you look forward to watching, but also cover your eyes on a little bit and sort of grind your teeth through. The big reason for that is that you really just want to see some of the younger guys get some time in and earn a spot, you don't want to see the starters go out there and risk it in games that mean nothing.
The Detroit Lions have been the team for you if you don't like seeing the starters play in preseason games. They have rarely done it and if they do, they do it on a very small level. Usually with rookies and you still don't see some of them a lot.
The reason the Lions don't like to play their starters in the preseason is the idea that they get their work in through camp and through joint practices. Last year the Lions were a part of two joint practices and we didn't see the starters come in at all.
“Another reason we do these (joint practices) is that I feel like you’ve got two great days of work, banked a lot of reps, and so I don’t see us playing these starters this week. I don't see it,” Campbell told Stoney and Jansen on 97.1 The Ticket Thursday morning. “We’re going to sit that core group again, and let some of these young guys go. There may be a few select rookies we don’t play. We’ll see where we’re at there as well. But I think that’s the benefit of having this (joint practice session). We have over 40 reps yesterday.”
There was some concern that with the Lions only getting one team to run joint practices with them this year that maybe they would put their starters out there in the second preseason game. That could still happen, but Dan Campbell's comments on Tuesday sort of point to the idea that it won't.
"When you go live, the intensity goes way up. The exertion it puts on the body is totally different and your players need that. Because they have to do that on Sunday for 70 plays. And so I don't want that to be the first time, there's gonna be some of these guys, we don't play in the preseason. So I don't want this heavy exertion, all this torque through their body, to be the first time 70 plays on Sunday."
Campbell was talking about having the pads on and getting used to hitting again. But he snuck in there that some of the players aren't going to play in the preseason. So there you go. We'll see exactly what happens when the games get going, but I wouldn't expect to see Jared Goff or Amon-Ra St. Brown out there at any point this summer.
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