Head Coach Brian Daboll

BRIAN DABOLL: Good to see some new faces. Look forward to these next two days against the Lions. Good football team. So, we're excited to get going here.

Q: Outside of the obvious, going up against another team, what are you most excited about seeing from your team competing against Detroit in these two practices?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, it's all about competition, so it's good. You've been going against each other for the last couple weeks. New faces, new schemes. Good football team. So, we're excited to get out there.

Q: How much do you view this as a litmus test? You know that this was a team that was obviously in the NFC Championship game and close to the Super Bowl. You went against them last year, so you kind of had an idea maybe last summer, where you stood against them?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, again, every year is a new year. We've got a lot of respect for these guys. You know, we're going to focus on doing well our part, doing our technique, our fundamentals, and have two good days of practice.

Q: Are you feel interested or excited to see the new kickoff a little bit more against another squad?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, I think it will be a work in progress through preseason games, in the early part of the season. We'll do punt today. Tomorrow we'll do that. So, it will be good to go against each other, evaluate it, go back, tweak some things. That will be a work in progress really. It has been all the way through the preseason.

Q: From your time working with quarterbacks, looking at (Lions quarterback) Jared Goff, what's allowed him to have success the last couple years here in Detroit?

BRIAN DABOLL: Well, he's been good for a while. Went to the Super Bowl. He's big. He's accurate. He throws on time. Got a lot of good pieces around him. Got a lot of respect for Jared, his game, him as a person. He's played well since he's been in the league.

Q: How will you treat these two days specifically for (quarterback) Daniel (Jones)? Will you treat these two days as his preseason game and then sit him on Thursday?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, we're just going to focus on these two days. We'll go through all that later in the week. But expect him to go out there and practice well.

Q: Are you going to just let him go today or any restrictions on him today at all?

BRIAN DABOLL: No, he'll practice like he normally has. Again, it's practice. It's a competitive practice against two teams. We'll try to do it the right way. (Lions Head Coach) Dan (Campbell) and I have talked about it. We talked about it last year. We thought we got a lot out of it. But again, it's practice. It's just a higher-tempo practice because you're practicing against somebody else.

Q: Back to the preseason for just one second. Big picture, how important do you think it is for Daniel coming off the injury to get in preseason action at some point this summer?

BRIAN DABOLL: That's not where mind's at right now. We'll talk about that. We'll go out there, work on today, work on tomorrow, and as we get going for preseason, we'll do what we think is best for our team.

Q: Any change to the injury status? (center John Michael Schmitz Jr.) JMS?

BRIAN DABOLL: No. Everybody's the same. The people that will come back today are (wide receiver) Bryce Ford-(Wheaton) and (defensive lineman) D.J. Davidson will do a little bit more. Other than that, everything's consistent.

Q: What's wrong with D.J.?

BRIAN DABOLL: He had a lower leg. We backed off a little bit. He'll do more today.

Q: You had the benefit of doing this last year. You're always trying to adjust to get better in everything you do. Are there any adjustments that you learned from last year that you're going to try to apply this year to how the operation runs?

BRIAN DABOLL: I thought it was pretty smooth last year at Detroit. I think the departments, they talk back and forth. They've been doing this for a while, getting things scheduled, organization of the field. Again, I really got a lot of respect for (Executive Vice President and General manager) Brad (Holmes), for Dan, for everybody at Detroit. (Director of Coaching Operations) Laura Young has been outstanding in terms of setting everything up here. It's been good communication. I feel like we have a pretty good plan, a pretty good routine. You always make subtle changes, but working with the people at Detroit, they're good people, good to work with. So hopefully we get some good work out of it.

Q: You knew he was a good player when you traded for him, but through two weeks of watching (outside linebacker) Brian Burns on the practice field, what stood out?

BRIAN DABOLL: He's a good player. He's rushed well. He's played the run well. He's got good leadership skills. He's helped out in his room with the other players. I'm glad we got him.

Q: With JMS down, you're keeping (center Greg) Van Roten strictly at center?

BRIAN DABOLL: We are.

Q: Why not give him any guard reps?

BRIAN DABOLL: He'll get guard reps eventually. But (Offensive Line Coach Carmen Bricillo) Carm's been with him for a long time, so he's done that at Las Vegas, maybe not in games last year. But Carm has a lot of confidence in his ability to do that, and it's good for him to get in, get all the calls. That will help eventually when he gets to guard. But he's done a good job of picking our stuff up in a short amount of time, and some of it there's some similarity with it. But good leadership, good communication, and JMS is not in there. We're going to put him in there right now and let him go.

Q: How beneficial is it for a guy like (wide receiver) Malik (Nabers) and other players also to have different matchups now, different guys, different competition, different everything?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, I think it's great for everybody. It's really good for the players. It's good for the coaches. It's good for the scouting departments. That's why I like to compete and practice against other teams. You get different looks, scouted looks. You have to fall back on rules. There's no game planning. They might do something completely different than our guys do on defense or offense or in the kicking game, and that's how you learn. And then you get good evaluation of players going against different players than they've been going against for the past ten practices.

Q: When you say no game planning, is it just 'you can line up and do what you want'? You can line up in the team periods?

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, you can do that, but you're not looking. I don't want to speak for Detroit. I would assume it's the same. You're not game planning. You're running your offense and doing things you need to do to continue to get better for training camp. It's training camp practice, but it's more competitive because it's against another team.

Q: Why do you think Dan Campbell is effective at coaching his personality on his team?

BRIAN DABOLL: Again, I got a lot of respect for Dan. Dan was the tight end coach for me when I was a coordinator. He's got great energy. He is who he is. He's smart. He does a good job of motivating the guys. I'm speaking back when I was a coordinator with him, not knowing him in his role. But he's got a lot of great intangibles. I got a lot of respect for him.

Q: One of the matchups within the match-up that would get a lot of attention is your young secondary against a veteran quarterback and a top five receiver in this league. What are you looking for out of your young DBs here?

BRIAN DABOLL: To compete. It will be good to see them against those guys. They have great talent. They've done a great job of drafting the last few years with Brad there. A lot of talent, speed, quickness. It's not just at the receiver position. (Lions tight end Sam) Laporta, (Lions running back Jahmyr) Gibbs, they've done a really good job of bringing guys in that have contributed very quickly with the skill set that they've had in college. It's really transferred over to the scheme that they use, the personnel, how they use it. This will be a good challenge. Then you add the offensive line to that, which is really the start of it all. It's a damn good offense.

Q: Can you talk about how Carm has been working with the offensive line and the injured guys and the shuffling and just how he's keeping everybody on the same page, his approach there?

BRIAN DABOLL: Probably no different than many O-line coaches in the league. That's what this time of year is about. You'd love to have all five guys out there. We have injured players, so you have to do that. You have to have alternative plans if something happens in the early part of the year. Again, that's something that all offensive line coaches do. Carm has done a really good job with it. It would be nice to get everybody out there so we can get some consistency with it.

Q: When you have these joint practices, do your scouts look at the other team just in case September rolls around and you need a player?

BRIAN DABOLL: Absolutely, yeah. It's good for the competition. It's also good for the evaluation part of it because not every player is going to make a team and you might see somebody that stands out that maybe doesn't make it, and you have some history with them. You're able to evaluate them a little bit more closely than you would just on tape through a couple practices, so absolutely.

Q: What have you seen from the chemistry that Daniel has been able to develop with Malik? Obviously, he didn't get to fully do it in the spring, but now they have full time here this summer.

BRIAN DABOLL: Yeah, I think it's growing every day. Again, Malik's a rookie. Daniel's coming back from his surgery. Those guys work hard in individual routes. Obviously, in team periods, I think each day it's gotten better and better. There's a lot of nuances to the passing game. We ask him to do a lot. Maybe it's a couple of different routes each day to make sure that we're getting the timing and the rhythm down, and if we need to get it again, we go back to another practice or the practice after that to make sure we're continuing to build that chemistry.

Q: Does having four healthy tight ends limit anything today or what you guys can do?

BRIAN DABOLL: No. You'd like to have more, but we'll mix and match personnel groups to make sure, and if we have to pull back or change a couple things based on how practice goes, that's what we'll do.

Outside Linebacker Brian Burns

Q: Pretty intense out there. How'd you like the practice?

BRIAN BURNS: It was decent. It was smooth. Good work.

Q: Were you surprised by the intensity of all the scrimmages?

BRIAN BURNS: No, that's just camp. That's just a hot day. Tempers start to flare when it's hot. You're tired and you got people hitting you. So, that's just what happens.

Q: We saw you kind of pumping up the crowd after that first big defensive skirmish.

BRIAN BURNS: (Laughs) Yeah, because it wasn't called for. I just felt like they were mad. Tensions were flaring. But all in all, it was great work from them. They stepped up to the challenge. We stepped up to the challenge. And it was good competition.

Q: Where are the fans at when there's a practice like that and there's a fight and the fans are cheering?

BRIAN BURNS: They enjoy all of that as you can tell by their reaction. At the end of the day, we want to keep the fights to a minimum just so we can get our work in, get our reps in, and have a successful practice. But it's just training camp. It just happens.

Q: What does it say about you guys? You had your skirmishes, but you kept your focus for the most part. You've got to be pleased with that; I would imagine.

BRIAN BURNS: Yeah, for sure. The focus never wavered. You know, I'd just rather not fight. I'd rather not waste energy breaking up fights. Just because you're fighting doesn't mean you don't have another three plays after that. So, that definitely can have you exhausted.

Q: What kind of test is this for the Giants' pass rush you specifically, the guys up front? Because that's one of the best offensive lines in the NFL.

BRIAN BURNS: Like you just said, they're one of the better offensive lines in the league. With (Lions tackle Penei) Sewell, (Lions tackle Taylor) Decker, and (Lions center) Frank (Ragnow). So, they've got some guys. And it's a group that worked together for a while now. So, to have success against them in this practice means a lot. It's a good confidence builder for us.

Q: I know you're on the other field but what do you think or hear that your quarterback (Daniel Jones) was in the middle of a scuffle?

BRIAN BURNS: Oh, Lord. Daniel got jiggy with it. Daniel was out there with it? Yeah. I'm going to need him to back up. Let his O-Line handle that. But Daniel, he's a competitor, man. He's a fighter. So, I don't expect anything less from him. But I don't need him in that. I don't need him to get hit. Keep him healthy.

Q: Your secondary, teams are going to challenge them. Today it seemed like held their own underneath, a couple got deep on them. What do you see from your young secondary knowing that teams are going to challenge them?

BRIAN BURNS: That's just growing pains. It's expected this early. I definitely think that those groups of guys are going to get through that. I think it's very minimal. We can clean that up on the tape. But it's our job, me, (defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence II) Dex, (outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux) Thibs, (defensive lineman Rakeen Nunez-Roches) Nacho, (defensive lineman) Ryder (Anderson), all of us to make their life a little easier, put as much pressure on the quarterback as we can because we can. And, yeah, I think they're going to bounce back. I like that group. They're very sticky. They're competitors, you know. It's a lot of guys, especially (cornerback) Nick McCloud. He showed me a different side of him. Every time I see him, he's been doing his thing. And, yeah, I just want to give him his flowers.

Q: In what ways?

BRIAN BURNS: Just competing. He challenges, competing, him, (cornerback Deonte Banks) Tae, (cornerback Cor'Dale) Flott, (cornerback) Dru (Phillips), (safety) Dane (Belton), (safety Jason Pinnock) J-Pin, they all compete. They all challenge, whoever they're going against. And I like that confidence, and I like that tenacity about them. So, I expect big things coming up especially this

next practice because we're going to run this back, so, yeah.

Q: How many tackles for a loss did you have? I saw you back there quite a bit.

BRIAN BURNS: I don't know. I got to check the film. I can count two or three off the top of my head right now, but I have to check the film and make sure they were quality tackles.

Quarterback Daniel Jones

Q: You got involved a little bit there in the skirmish earlier in practice?

DANIEL JONES: A situation happens like that, you try to stand up for your guys. I thought it was good competitive practice all day today and we made some plays and did some good things. There are some things we need to sure up, for sure, but good intensity and competitive spirit today.

Q: Do you agree that you guys stood up to them today and come out of this practice feeling better about the team?

DANIEL JONES: I think that's the goal every day you come out to practice, whether you're practicing against another team or yourself, is to feel better and more confident at the end of the day. I think we did that. Yeah, I think we made some plays, executed well throughout the day. Like I said, there's some things you want back and things we could do better for sure, but overall, I thought we played tough, played physical and executed well.

Q: Going up against them today what was your assessment of Detroit's secondary?

DANIEL JONES: Good. I think they got some good players back there and they can run and do some different things. They did a good job. When you're in a situation like this, in a joint practice, you're more focused on what you're doing as a team and your guys. You certainly are aware of who you're going against, but it's not a game situation where we're game planning and scouting and looking at that. We're focused on us and what we're doing.

Q: What is the thing you think you guys did well offensively today? You were able to hit some balls downfield which I know you've been working on and move the ball fairly consistently.

DANIEL JONES: I think just things we've done. Guys made plays down the field. I thought we converted when we had some opportunities, and then when it wasn't there, I thought we got the ball out and kept making positive plays. Certainly, some situations that weren't ideal and we look to sure those up and figure those out. But, overall, I thought we converted our opportunities and made good decisions when it wasn't there.

Q: Did your arm get hit on that one?

DANIEL JONES: Yeah.

Q: In games everything is fair, but in joint practice, is that a little too close for comfort?

DANIEL JONES: I understand they're playing hard and competitive. I think in a practice situation, you're typically not. That situation usually isn't something you're dealing with, but, yeah, they're playing hard.

Q: What do you think when your coach goes up to you immediately afterwards and asks, 'You ok?' and has your back there and was, kind of, yelling at them?

DANIEL JONES: I appreciate it. That's not something that typically happens in a practice situation. But it's a competitive practice, and guys are going hard.

Q: How does the red jersey not stop you from jumping in there when (guard) Greg (Van Roten) is on the ground?

DANIEL JONES: I don't think it should. He's my teammate, and just like he would stick up for me, I'm going to stick up for him.

Q: Do you want to play on Thursday night?

DANIEL JONES: Yeah, I'd like to play. I think, at the end of the day, that's the coach's decision, and I'll do whatever (Head Coach) Dabs (Brian Daboll) thinks.

Q: Do you not need it?

DANIEL JONES: I think you try to make practice as game-like as possible and get real game speed reps in practice and make sure you're ready to go. So regardless of what (Head Coach) Dabs (Brian Daboll) decides for this coming game, I'll be ready to go when I get my chance.

Q: This is obviously a little different, though, coming off the ACL. Do you feel like getting in a game… How valuable do you think that could be for you, even its just the preseason?

DANIEL JONES: I mean, I always think it's valuable to get game reps and to feel that. My knee feels good, and I feel ready to go. I've tested it and done everything that I need to do to make sure it's ready to go. So, I feel good about my knee.

Q: You said, in an interview recently, that your 'Absolutely, one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.' It seemed like a little bit of a break from your normal answers. I was wondering if you could expand a little on why you see yourself in that fame.

DANIEL JONES: I think the question had mostly to do with confidence and how I see my ability to play at this level. I'm very, very confident and know I can play at a high level here. I understand I need to do that consistently, and we all do if we want to go where we want to go as an offense, as a team. I'm confident in myself. I know I can play at a high level, and I think we've got a team and guys who are all confident and can play at a high level also.

Q: What have you seen, I think the last time we talked to you was the first day of camp, and learned about (wide receiver) Malik (Nabers) in these last couple weeks?

DANIEL JONES: I think he can do everything. His competitive spirit, his drive. I think when the ball's up in the air, he expects it to be his, and he's going to go get it. He's got all the physical ability in the world, and size, strength, speed, quickness, great hands, and he's got the attitude that he's going to go get the ball, and it's going to be his. We've got to keep working and keep building our chemistry, but I thought he's had a good camp.

Q: You guys seemed to think that one play was in bounds, that big touchdown…

DANIEL JONES: I haven't seen it.

Q: Talk about (wide receiver) Wan'Dale (Robinson) and what he does for you in this offense?

DANIEL JONES: He's an extremely dynamic and explosive guy, super twitchy, hard to guard, just how quickly he can start and stop in and out of cuts. I think he's getting the ball in his hands. He's a separator in his routes, and then when he gets the ball in his hands, he's a tough guy to tackle.

Q: Did you feel well protected today by your offensive line?

DANIEL JONES: Yeah, I thought they did a good job, overall. I think they've had a good camp. Like all of us, there's certain things we've got to look at and situations where I can help, and they can help too. I thought overall they did a good job, though.

Q: A lot different feeling today than after the first workout with the Lions there?

DANIEL JONES: You want to stay kind of where you are right now and what we did well today and fix that. The goal right now is to keep progressing and climbing through camp and making progress every day.