Though the Pittsburgh Steelers have officially broken training camp, they have one main event before their second preseason game on Saturday night. Today holds the team’s joint practice against the Buffalo Bills, the Steelers’ first such session in years. Asked about the upcoming session on Wednesday, Mike Tomlin explained why the team put it on their schedule.
“I was on the phone last night with [Bills head coach Sean McDermott]. He and I go way back,” Tomlin said via the Steelers’ YouTube channel. “He’s a great dance partner from that perspective. I know his values. I’m excited about good clean work in preparation for our season.”
Tomlin and McDermott were teammates at William & Mary before finding their way into NFL head coaching jobs. During his final camp Q&A, Tomlin described the joint practice as “hardcore” but he importantly notes and expects a clean couple hours of work.
The biggest concern and downside to joint practices are the fights that often break out. Teams take advantage of getting to hit someone who doesn’t wear their jersey. Earlier this month, the New York Giants and Detroit Lions were each fined $200,000 by the league for multiple scrums during their joint session. Yesterday, a Cowboys’ defensive tackle shoved down a Rams’ staffer in an OL/DL drill, leading to tempers flaring.
But given Tomlin and McDermott’s tight relationship, there should be clear boundaries and expectations for each side. Be intense, be physical, but keep it to the confines of the play instead of after the whistle. Still, as much as that can be preached, it doesn’t take much for a spark to go off in practice. Pittsburgh had an intense camp with multiple inter-skirmishes, and players like Patrick Queen and Elandon Roberts know how to stir the pot.
Beyond the NFL’s punishments, teams around the league are exploring ways to prevent fights from breaking out. New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo has a rule that starters who fight in a joint practice will play the entire preseason game. Backups who fight will sit out the preseason.
Starters loathe the preseason and hope they can quickly exit. Backups love it because they need the reps to win a battle or secure their roster spot.
Despite the issues joint practices bring, they’re likely to become more popular. Eventually, they could be viewed as a substitute for a preseason game. As the NFL keeps cutting down the number of exhibition matchups from four to three and eventually to two once an 18-game regular season is implemented, joint sessions will be viewed as the best way to evaluate players beyond facing their own team each day. For Pittsburgh, they’ll get that work in against the Bills today and meet them again at Acrisure Saturday night for the official preseason contest.
