Yeah, but why are we the only ones FORCED BY THE LEAGE to do them?
They've touched on the joint practices on Sirius over the past few weeks, most of the pundants on there feel that the joint practices and scrimmages are VERY helpful for teams. Gives your guys a chance go against different competition in a non-game setting.
Obviously injuries are always a worry (whether it's pre-season, regular, or as we've seen this year - even before the season), but if we make it through relatively unscathed, with our HOF game and these joint practices our team is going to have had some great opportunities to get ready for the season!