RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Joint practices are now commonplace in NFL training camps, with 23 conducted this summer.
Only the Broncos , Lions , Chiefs, and Steelers did not have one, while the Jaguars , Saints and Titans have three. Another 12 teams had two.
However, there’s a tad more spice for Wednesday’s practice with the Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers , thanks to brothers Mike and Matt LaFleur being the head coaches and former Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon now the Packers’ defensive coordinator.
Coaches always communicate frequently with each other in advance to set the schedule and how the practice will be conducted.
That led to Matt LaFleur smiling and saying this week of his brother, “He’s quick to criticize everything that I put on the schedule. So, he’s like, ‘Why are we doing this? Why are we doing that? We never do this.’ And I was like, ‘All right, Mike, you’ve got all the answers.’ Nah, it’s been healthy, it’s been good. There’s been give-and-take on both sides for sure.”
Intensity can sometimes get out of hand, as what happened last week when brawls between the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints resulted in the league fining each team $500,000.
That led to Matt LaFleur saying, “If there’s an issue, I’m going to tell the guys, ‘Hey, you come tag me in. They can tag in my brother. And we’ll throw down on the 50.’”
That got a chuckle out of Mike LaFeur, who said he heard about that comment a few minutes before he met with the Cardinals media.
However, all he would say is first, “No comment,” and then added, “We’ll see what happens.”
Who knows; perhaps the pair have something planned.
Cardinals nose tackle Roy Lopez said it makes the day of work unique because of the family ties.
“Hats off and respect to them individually as brothers, as a family, as a whole, it’s so cool to see,” Lopez said. “Kind of relate it to seeing Marv (wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.), seeing his dad’s in the Hall of Fame (and playing in that) game. There are similarities to seeing your family members. With me, everybody knows I’m huge with my family and love and seeing things like that. I’m sure they will be smiling at each other and talking a little smack back and forth. What a privilege to be a part of it.”
Mike LaFleur recalled having a joint practice in Green Bay when he was the offensive coordinator with the New York Jets and said, “It’s a cool place. They got the bikes with the kids and stuff like that, and so we'll do that too, just like a lot of the other teams do when they joint.
“And there's a ton of fans there. I mean, it's Green Bay. What else are you going to do?”
He was probably thinking about that answer while an unrelated question was being asked and then made sure to say, “I love it there, by the way. My family will end up being there, my kids, and they just cannot wait to get to Aunt Bre’s house for all the snacks that are there.”
Meanwhile, tight end Trey McBride was asked about competing against the Gannon-led defense and said, “I’ve played against his defense for a few years and I know a lot of what they do. Nothing that we’re going to be surprised about. But I’m sure he’s going to have wrinkles, some different things to make it look different. It will be fun to go against his defense. I’m sure they’ll be chirping at us and we’ll be chirping at them. It will be exciting to see him.”
So, will you have any trash-talk ready?
Smiling, McBride said, “I don’t know what I’m going to say. I just hope I can make a big play right in front of their sideline. Maybe right in front of him would be fun. I know it will be a fun competitive week obviously with the brothers competing.”
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify , YouTube or Apple Podcasts .
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This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: Arizona Cardinals-Green Bay Packers joint practice is a family affair
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