Tempers flaring, fists flying around NFL during joint practices

Joint practices are out of control when an easygoing, fun-loving guy like Jameis Winston is throwing punches and getting decked in the middle of a brawl.

Tempers have been flaring around the NFL as many teams are practicing against each other ahead of preseason games.

Winston was at the centre of a fight between the New York Giants and Miami Dolphins on Thursday.

The Dallas Cowboys and the New Orleans Saints were fined $500,000 apiece by the NFL after a brawl-filled joint practice Tuesday.

There were several skirmishes between the San Francisco 49ers and Tennessee Titans last week that led to two players from each team being tossed out of practice.

“It’s not a game, so you don’t have the same, quite, guardrails on it,” Giants coach John Harbaugh said. “And it’s a violent game. And so, in this sort of an environment, you have these rules of engagement that aren’t really rules of the game. And then somebody perceives somebody else goes over the line, or they do go over the line, and somebody needs to protect somebody, and that’s where it goes. And I think as long as it doesn’t get out of control where we get a violent type of situation, it’s fine. We decided that anybody that threw a punch in those scrimmages would be treated like the game."

The joint sessions have become the preferred way to give starters valuable repetitions in a competitive environment. Most coaches prefer to keep key starters or all their starters, in some cases, out of preseason games so facing opponents within a controlled setting has become a priority for most teams. Overall, 28 of 32 teams are holding joint practices this year.

Coaches have warned their players about fighting, making it clear it’s disruptive and counterproductive.

“We don’t tolerate it,” Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said. “The way I explain it to the players, every time we do one of these — you have 90 teammates in camp. Now you’ve got 180 teammates. We’re just working against each other. OK, they’re in a different jersey, a different helmet. We’re not here to fight. We’re here to get better as an individual and a team, and hopefully we’ll all treat it that way.”

Philadelphia held two joint sessions with the New England Patriots this week. There was one minor scuffle, prompting Eagles star running back Saquon Barkley to say: "I hate joint practices, to be honest.”

“More times than not nothing good comes out of it,” he said. “When you have the work, it’s good, but then you get the pushing, the shoving and someone says this about you and it’s ‘I don’t know about that but you’re this.’ It’s immature when you get to that level. I have to do a better job, too, because I’m a little troublemaker sometimes, but I was good this week.”

Fights are inevitable considering players are going at each other, talking trash, grinding in the hot sun on humid days.

“I love joint practices, being able to play in our defence, in our style against another team,” Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker said. “Yeah, the cons are fighting, but at the end of the day, we’re professionals. ...