DetNews: Lions not running from 'meat grinder' road schedule; more joint practices in the works

NFL Detroit Lions
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Sorry coach, I hope it doesn’t rain, and we aren’t playing in the mud, all I see in that scenario is more injuries…please no.

Full article at link.

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Away trips in 2025 include contests against the Washington Commanders, Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers, Baltimore Ravens, Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings — all playoff teams in 2024. The Lions will also travel to play the Chicago Bears (five wins in 2024) and Cincinnati Bengals (nine).

“You’re always looking for these nuggets of motivation,” Campbell said Tuesday at the NFL’s annual league meetings. “This is a challenge. We’re competitive. I’m competitive. … These are going to be outdoor (and on) grass. I hope it rains, it’s mud, it’s everything, the whole deal. … This is going to be a meat grinder, you know?”
Detroit’s nine road opponents in 2025 combined to go 102-51 last season. The eight road foes in 2024 went 69-67.

“I’ve said this before — we could be a better team than we were last year and have more losses,” Campbell said. “There is a chance that could happen. That’s OK. As long as we learn from what those are and we get better coming out of them, we’ll be good. I always think of this: No matter what happens in a season, you’re trying to sharpen your sword for the playoffs. You’re trying to win your division and sharpen your sword for the playoffs. Win, lose, whatever that is.”

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Joint practices will continue in 2025.

Though he didn’t reveal which teams he’s in the process of making arrangements with, Campbell said he’s hoping for two weeks of joint practices this upcoming preseason. In 2024, the Lions visited New York for joint practices with the Giants. They hosted the Giants and Jacksonville Jaguars in 2023 and traveled for joint practices with the Indianapolis Colts in 2022.

Joint practices provide organizations a chance to practice against another team during the week in the lead-up to a preseason game. It’s an opportunity for clubs to go up against someone fresh, as coaches on the same staff sometimes become too familiar with what their counterparts are running. In other words: Coaches can see how another team, who hasn’t seen their plays for weeks, reacts to their calls. It’s a positive for the players, too, as they often grow tired of competing against their own teammates during training camp.

“We’ve got something in the works,” Campbell said. “We’ll see what happens.”

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There are fewer injuries in mud, everything happens more slowly and feet don’t get caught in the turf.

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That may be but I still don’t want to play in rain and mud

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I used to love playing football in the rain and mud. The ground is a lot softer when you tackle or get tackled as well.

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How the game was intended to be played

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I hated playing on turf. Didn’t have to do it that often fortunately. Plus we’re talking the 90s so it was the old artificial putting green on concrete. That shit hurt. I can only imagine a world class athlete slamming you into it.

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Hated it too, was like cement it felt like.

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Oh shit the turf was so bad back in the late 90’s. Had some of the worst turf burn. Showering after the game was agony. Eventually learned to wear underarmor and it helped a lot. Hated it. Football should be played on grass. Feel the same about baseball.

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This is absolutely true, and I think it’s going to cause a lot of angst with fans.

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But people will retain calm temperaments in the game threads, right?

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The division is definitely getting better and we have a 1st place schedule. Some real tough road games looking at the schedule. So DC is likely right.

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Well. IF they manage to make the playoffs they will be battle-hardened af

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It’s really all about getting in the playoffs… The 1 seed was nice but didn’t matter. Get in. Get hot at the right time. Hopefully relatively healthy at the right time too.

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