Giants-Lions joint practices: Day 1 takeaways for Saquon Barkley, Daniel Jones and more

ALLEN PARK, Mich. - Brian Daboll and Dan Campbell have a lot of respect for one another as coaches, which was paramount for both when they began discussing the opportunity to hold joint practices this summer.

Their relationship dates back to when Daboll was the offensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins in 2011 and Campbell was coming off a seasonal internship having worked with then-head coach Tony Sparano.

Sparano wanted to hire Campbell to his staff, so he asked Daboll to interview him for the vacancy at tight ends coach. It was a memorable interview, Daboll recalled last season, although Campbell insists not as memorable as Daboll made it out to be.

"He’s slamming chairs on the ground and hitting walls and going through all these drills," Daboll said last year, adding: "Entertaining interview. Knew a lot. Obviously, he was very passionate, tough as nails you could tell. He was out of breath in half that interview with the stuff he was doing. Yeah, great guy.”

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Campbell's ties with the Giants run deep, too, as their third round pick in the 1999 NFL Draft. He spent his first four years as an NFL player in New York before landing in Dallas and ending his career in Detroit.

"I have a lot of respect for [Giants co-owner] John Mara, [general manager] Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll," Campbell said Tuesday. "I know Mr. Mara for a lot of years, I was drafted by the Giants and got a lot of respect for him and the organization, they treated me well.  Joe Schoen and I go back to Miami, he’s a stud, he’s unbelievable, he’s done a great job and Dabs and I go way back, I’ve got a lot of respect for what he’s done. He did a helluva job last year. This is a good unit out here, we’re looking forward to great work, we’re going to be smart, we’re going to be competitive, but we’re gonna be disciplined and keep our composure."

Here are takeaways from the first of two joint practices, with the second one set for Wednesday morning, in advance of Friday's preseason opener between the Giants and the Lions at Ford Field in downtown Detroit.

Another brush with greatness for Saquon Barkley

The last time the Giants were here for joint practices, Pat Shurmur was the head coach, Odell Beckham Jr. was a few weeks away from signing a big long-term deal to stay with the Giants - yeah, we know - and Saquon Barkley was a rookie nursing a sore hamstring that kept him out of action.

The highlight of that week for Barkley was the chance to meet one of his boyhood idols, Pro Football Hall of Famer and Lions legend Barry Sanders. Fast forward to Tuesday and Barkley, in his sixth season having endured quite the offseason, got to see Sanders again, only this time in a completely different part of his career.

The weird thing about Barkley's summer is that, due to his contract impasse with the front office, the expectation was that he was going to garner so much attention. It was going to be a daily progress report on Barkley's status.

Yet since Barkley came into camp on time, declared that he had an "epiphany" and followed his heart, signing a 1-year deal worth up to $11 million, the Giants' star running back has essentially taken a back seat in terms of headlines.

Don't mistake that for Barkley having a quiet camp - it's just that the running game is a hard read when no one tackles backs to the ground. Still, the two best plays for the Giants' offense in Day 1 against the Lions were produced by Barkley. He had a long run in 11-on-11 drills, springing ahead off a down block by rookie center John Michael Schmitz that created a crease, and he was off to the races.

In the passing game, Daniel Jones hit Barkley on a screen - star left tackle Andrew Thomas made it possible by standing his man up in the pocket on a delay - and Barkley did the rest, weaving through the defense for another explosive play.

All eyes will be back on Barkley before long.

Uneven day for Daniel Jones

When you consider how high Daniel Jones has set the bar with his stellar play this summer, sooner or later things weren't going to click. He missed some throws high against the Lions, who were aggressive in the secondary against a Giants' passing attack that had been humming in training camp.

Jones had two plays to Darren Waller that he'd love to have back, and if they connected, he might feel differently about how the session went. Both throws were to Waller up the sideline with linebackers on his back. There were big plays to be had, but the Lions' Alex Anzalone broke up the first one despite initially trailing the play.

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The one that will bother Jones is another deep throw, again to Waller, who had a step on the defender. Jones put too much juice on the ball and overthrew Waller.

Jones was more accurate and productive on intermediate throws over the middle, including a skinny post by rookie Jalin Hyatt, who made a nice catch and run. Jones and Waller also connected on a 20-yarder in the void in Detroit's defense, a route that - had the teams been game-planning, which doesn't happen in joint practices - would have likely opened up over and over again.

Sights and sounds from Giants-Lions practice

-- Jalin Hyatt appears to gain at least a yard and a half of separation with every cut he makes at the top of his route. His catch and run on the skinny post from Jones was pretty, and he also drew a pass interference penalty with a wicked route, again across the middle downfield. Lions rookie quarterback Hendon Hooker, who played with Hyatt at Tennessee, said he would have been surprised if Hyatt was not making strides this early in camp.

-- Rookie center John Michael Schmitz won his 1-on-1 battles cleanly against the Lions starters, and he did well in picking up stunts from Detroit's interior line. Schmitz took every rep at center with Jones on the day.

-- Isaiah Hodgins was the best receiver for the Giants in 1-on-1s, and he carried over his strong performance to team drills.

-- The Giants held their own in 1-on-1s from their starting offensive and defensive lines/edge rushers.

-- Sterling Shepard was cooking with gas in his first action against an opposing team since tearing his ACL last year in Week 3 vs. Dallas. He had three catches in 7-on-7 and another in 11-on-11, coming in and out of his breaks with explosiveness that speaks to his recovery. The Giants have to feel good about what they saw from their longest tenured player.

-- Parris Campbell collided with a defensive back in 7-on-7 and was shaken up, but he returned to the field.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Giants Lions joint practice: Saquon Barkley shines, Daniel Jones shaky