Jerod Mayo has an interesting punishment for any players that fight during Patriots-Eagles joint practice
FOXBORO -- The Patriots and the Eagles joined together and had a practice session in Foxboro on Tuesday. Pats head coach Jerod Mayo and Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni made sure that their teams were there to play football ahead of the session.
The competition and intensity both ramp up when teams hold joint practices, as it breaks up the monotony of camp and lets players hit someone other than their teammates on the practice field. Occasionally, tempers can flare up and boil over, leading to fisticuffs instead of football.
The Patriots and the Packers had a pair of joint practices in Green Bay last summer, and the second day was filled with skirmishes and scraps. Several players were kicked out of the session as six or seven fights broke out throughout the practice.
The Patriots and the Eagles planned just one joint practice ahead of Thursday night's preseason game. Mayo said Tuesday morning that was by design.
"What I've seen over the years is that second day always get a lot more chippier. You go back and watch the film and say, 'I didn't see that.' Then the next day something breaks out," Mayo recalled on Tuesday. "We didn't want that to happen. We're out here as football players and not fighters. That is our message to the team.
"You don't fight in a real game. If you fight in a real game you get fined, you kicked out. It's the same thing happens here," Mayo added.
Mayo said that he and Sirianni discussed a plan should any tussles break out Tuesday. Players will obviously be kicked out of the practice, but Mayo said the repercussions would really be felt in Thursday night's preseason tilt.
"If you fight and you're a starter, you're playing the whole preseason game. If you're not a starter, you won't play at all," said Mayo. "That is my mindset with that."
A small fracas did break out in the middle of practice when Raekwon McMillan started to really fly around and lay some licks on Eagles players during kickoff return drills. The Eagles waited until the next rep to hit Josh Uche late, and a scrap ensued.
No punches were thrown though and no players were ejected, so it doesn't look like Uche will have to play every defensive snap come Thursday night.
Tune in to Thursday's Patriots-Eagles preseason tilt on WBZ-TV -- your home of the New England Patriots! Pregame coverage begins at 6:30pm with Patriots GameDay, kickoff is set for just after 7pm, and after the game stick around for Patriots 5th Quarter!
