Lions' Old School Approach is in Stark Contrast to Eagles' New School Style

PHILADELPHIA - The Lions' Dan Campbell is an old-school guy in a new-school NFL as the only current head coach to advocate biting a kneecap off if that's what it takes to win.

The new-school Eagles, meanwhile, open the 2022 season in Detroit on Sunday, hoping to start in a positive fashion as expectations reach a fevered pitch.

Philadelphia is certainly more talented than the Lions, who started last season at 0-10-1, including a 44-6 drubbing at the hands of the Eagles on Halloween before finishing somewhat strongly (for them) at 3-13-1.

The interesting dichotomy between the two teams starts in the summer where the Eagles believe less is more in an attempt to get as many key players as possible to the finish line in Week 1.

And if that's the goal, the mission has been largely accomplished as Nick Sirianni confirmed before Wednesday's practice that all 52 available players would be practicing in some fashion.

Players that had been held out in August like Miles Sanders (hamstring) and Javon Hargrave (elbow) seem ready to go.

Of course, the number 52 isn't 53 for a reason and that's because backup left tackle Andre Dillard broke his forearm and practice and had to be placed on short-term injured reserve meaning an absence in at least four games.

Philadelphia's light approach when it comes to practice has been well documented and stems from a recommendation from its medical staff.

Campbell, a hard-nosed former tight end in the league before moving into coaching, spoke of his own process Wednesday, which involves a more physical approach when it comes to preparation.

"I’m just a believer in, when you’re talking about a 17-week season with pads, you have to get in some type of [football] shape," he said. "You can’t go from not hitting and only getting 20-30 reps at practice and all of a sudden you just played 75 in your first two weeks.

"I think you’re asking for injury."

The difference might be a little overblown, though, because when the Eagles do practice, especially in joint sessions, it's the starters and key players who get most of the work, something that could result in a game-like number of reps with the caveat nothing is actually live.

Preseason games for the Eagles are a bit of a different story, however, and many of Philadelphia's marquee options will show up to Ford Field in single digits when it comes to live preseason reps.

Campbell is also cognizant of injury so it's not like he's putting his foot to the floor and throwing caution to win.

"We tried to be smart about it, too," the Lions coach said.

Ultimately, it is fair to say that Campbell is a little bit different when it comes to his coaching DNA when compared with his peers.

"[The physicality is] just something I believe in," said Campbell. "We don’t just bang our head against the wall every day, but yet, I do feel like once or twice a week you have to get after it pretty good. That’s something I believe in."

Later in the afternoon, Haason Reddick was asked about Campbell's comments.

“I think you can do that with a team like this,” Reddick said. “Why? Because there’s so many veteran leaders. You have about four or five guys who have been playing at least for a decade. And then under that you have guys that have been playing, six, seven, eight years.

"When you have a veteran presence like we do, you’re able to do that because that’s a lot of football that’s been played. We’re able to show the young guys with the reps we get in practice, this is how it looks"

It's also something the Philadelphia fan base believes in so there will be no room for hiccups against a lesser team for Sirianni and Co.

-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Sports. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talker Jody McDonald, every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube.com and JAKIBSports.com. You can reach John at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen

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