LaFleur learning best ways to deal with practice temperatures

Darren Urban/Word From The Birds

Mike LaFleur likes joint practices. Loves them, really. The Cardinals will hold one next week in Green Bay with the Packers, and if the head coach had his way, he'd have more.

(The NFL has data that players get the right kind of "amped up" work in joint practices as they would in games, with less of an injury risk.)

"I would love to do two joint practices," LaFleur said. "I'd love to do three joint practices."

LaFleur was behind the eight ball this year, because he found that most teams had already nailed down their joint workout plans by the time he was hired.

One thing is for certain. The Cardinals will never host one. It's too hot and no team is coming to Arizona for that. (Two full teams cannot practice at State Farm Stadium. Not enough room.)

"We will always go on the road to do it," LaFleur said, and that in itself can be an issue, since many times the joint work is connected to that weekend's preseason game, and every other year, the Cardinals host two of their three preseason games.

But that's a detail the Cardinals must work with.

So too is dealing with the heat themselves. Already, LaFleur has tweaked his practice plan in the handful of days the Cardinals have been back in Tempe. In the morning practice earlier this week, the temperature wasn't daunting, but the amount of time the players were outside took a toll.

On Tuesday morning, the Cardinals instead started inside the bubble, going through stretch, walkthrough and some routes on air before transitioning to the regular fields. The Cardinals can't practice in the bubble all the time (not good for the knees) and besides, they do have to prepare for some games outside. In Week 3 they play the 49ers at Levi's, which is sneaky hot for the visitors, especially in September.

"There is a reason," LaFleur said.