The best example of the power struggle during the Giants-Lions’ two joint practices occurred on one side of the line of scrimmage.
The Giants’ defensive line, comprised of Kayvon Thibodeau, training camp star Rakeem Nunez-Roche and Pro Bowl players Dexter Lawrence and Brian Burns, was up against an offensive line rated the best in the NFL by Pro Football Focus heading into the preseason.
The Lions return four starters and filled a hole by signing Kevin Zeitler, who was accidentally released by the Giants, who needed to bolster their offensive line after 2020.
“It was definitely a great practice. They’ve got a great front line,” Thibodeau said after Tuesday’s practice. “We had a good practice. It’s not a one-practice thing, but I thought the two days of practice combined was pretty good.”
The Lions’ focus on Barnes may be a sign that Thibodeau, who had 11.5 sacks last season, will face more one-on-one blocks in decision-making situations this season.
Barnes recorded a couple of tackles for loss during team practice on Monday and was similarly disruptive on Tuesday.
“It means a lot to beat them in this practice,” Barnes said. “It’s a good confidence boost for us.”
Amid sweltering heat, there was some great play between two top class players before the second joint training session turned into a fistfight.
During one of the one-on-one pass-rush drills, Barnes spun around to Lions left tackle Taylor Decker, who shoved Barnes to the outside and sent him tumbling to the turf. Barnes got up, looked at Decker, exchanged low touches and returned to the drill.
Barnes’ spin move is different from and complements the move Thibodeau uses in his pass rush.
“I’m not particularly a spin guy. I’m not that good at it yet, so it’s always fun to watch him do it,” Thibodeau said. “Every guy has his own skill set and spinning is one of his key moves. I’m more of a downhill, power guy. He’s more of a nimbler guy, and he makes you move your feet.” [rusher]And I like to use my power long arm and work off of that.”
Daboll expects offensive coordinator Mike Kafka to remain in the booth on game days like Thursday’s game against the Lions.
Kafka has served as the play-caller the past two seasons, but with Daboll taking over as play-caller, there may be some logic in leaving Kafka on the field to interact with the offense while the defense is on the field and Daboll is controlling the game.
“We have the guys that we’ve relied on for the last two years in terms of communication,” Daboll said. “That’s what the preseason games are for. We want to experience the preseason process, how it works, communicating with the guys in all three phases and having the guys that are helping us with game management. So we need that a lot.”
Thibodeau declined to comment on whether any punches were thrown during the skirmish at the end of practice, when a special teams drill spilled onto the Giants’ sideline.
Apparently that was the case.
“I appreciate all the media being here,” he said. “We’re just going to keep getting better and better.”
What message did Daboll have for quarterback Daniel Jones, who dove into the middle of a scrum to protect center Greg Van Roten, who was being manhandled on the field during practice on Monday?
“Just don’t go outside,” Daboll said.
